Good morning.
It’s summer, and while news is still coming fast and furious, I’m setting aside time to read some overlooked books. My short list comes courtesy of the 41 Fortune 500 CEOs who answered the question in Fortune’s spring survey: “What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year?”
What’s interesting about their suggestions is how diverse they are, ranging from Les Misérables to The Greatest Beer Run Ever. Only four books were mentioned by more than one CEO, with top honor going to Chris Miller’s Chip War about the global battle for semiconductor supremacy, which got four nods. I agree with their endorsement, having read the book when it came out last year. If computer chips are the new oil, then Chip War is the modern equivalent of Daniel Yergin’s classic The Prize. It is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the geopolitical economics of our era.
