Books
Barbarians At The Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
This classic book is about the famed leveraged buyout of the once famed RJR Nabisco. My godfather, Teddy Forstmann, is one of the main characters in this historical event and I decided to take a deep dive again. It’s truly incredible to get a glimpse into the financial industry’s apex of the 80’s. It is also great to peer into the beginnings of the private equity industry, the growth of the banking industry, and the modernization of some of the most important industries in the world.
Guns, Germs, & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
An all time classic I finally read. Highly recommend for anyone into history, anthropology, and sociology. It even has value for some of the great geopolitical, economic, and philosophical questions for today.
Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
A memoir written by my uncle who happens to be a pretty legendary musician. He has a pretty incredible story, along with tremendous insight into some of some of the most important cultural moments of history that he has been apart of, and influenced, directly. — “I see my story as a suite of songs that have a magical connection. I never understood that connection until I sat down to write. It was then that the magic started to flow.”
Reports
The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century by The Council on Foreign Relations.
A great report on the future of work and the challenges our labor force will face in the 21st century. We need more innovation to create jobs, and we need to prepare for ways innovations will replace jobs. This should be a bipartisan focus led by the most qualified (not career politicians).
Future of Defense Task Force Report (2020) by The Senate Armed Services Committee
This was really exciting to see such strategic, long-term, thoughtful thinking for how to properly build and modernize our military. Everything about this was great - except the assumption that the RAND corporation are best equipped to lead this charge ha.
Lectures
2020 Nimitz Lecture: Technology and the Future of Warfare by Ellen Pawlikowski
“The Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial Lectureship was established in 1983 to enhance the spirit of collegiality and sense of community to the University of California through the multi-disciplinary subject matter of national security affairs. The lectureship provides a fuller understanding and awareness of national security concerns in the light of geopolitical balance, world economics, advanced technology, and other critical factors. Retired Air Force General Ellen M. Pawlikowski is the Judge Widney Professor at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. She serves on the Boards of Directors for the Raytheon Company, Intelsat SA, Applied Research Associates, and SRI International. She was the third woman to achieve the rank of General in the US Air Force. In her last assignment, she served as Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The command employs some 80,000 people and manages $60 billion annually, providing the Air Force with research and development, life cycle systems management, test and evaluation, installation support, depot maintenance and supply chain management.”
Movies
Tenet
IT IS GREAT