Book Club (2008)

The Grifphon research team has a reading list. In order to remain abreast of the realities of business and geopolitics around the world, we read authoritative and in-depth studies that may pertain to regions, sectors, or issues that inform our investment thesis. We also read for fun, though, and we'll post about those as well. We decided that it might be helpful to rate them (out of 5) and provide a brief description of what we took away from each book.

Research books:

Fareed Zakaria The Post-American World
Grifphon Rating: 3.4
We liked Mr. Zakaria's treatment of the changing nature of global politics as we move into the 21st century. Zakaria's perspective is not that America is no longer great, nor that there is something we've done terribly wrong. As he says to begin his essay, "This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." The book was a modern treatment of the roles that countries like China and India will play going forward, and a debunking of myths common in our discourse.

Olivier Roy The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East
Grifphon Rating: 4.75
The Politics of Chaos was widely liked by the Grifphon team. Although it was dense, the book provided, we felt, a very insightful primer on the current difficulties of diplomacy and integration in the Middle East. We felt that this book was thoroughly educational, insightful, and engagingly argued.

Robert Bryce Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence Grifphon Rating: 3.8
The book read a bit too much like a newspaper article for the taste of some readers, but was a quick read as a result. If you think that we can and should achieve energy independence, that ethanol is a big part of the solution, and that the countries from which we currently buy our oil hate us and are unstable, Mr. Bryce begs to differ. An interesting perspective which, regardless of one's views, must be engaged.

Jim Rogers Hot Commodities
Grifphon Rating: 3.8
A fascinating and relatively quick primer in the world of commodities trading, this half-textbook, half-missive by George Soros' former business partner is a great first step for someone curious about futures. Rogers admits often that he is not a great trader, but his analysis is compelling and he has been right quite a lot.

Peter L. Bernstein The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession
Grifphon Rating: 4.7
This book is not for those who lack patience. It is truly a history of an obsession, beginning in antiquity and covering, exhaustively, the evolution of gold in monetary, religious/ceremonial, and cultural contexts. It's narrative is cohesive, and goes a long way towards comprising a complete history of the role of gold in the history of civilization.

Emmanuel Todd After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order. Grifphon Rating:4
A compelling read, Todd provides a European perspective on shifting global power structure and the American role in the 21st century, both thus far and moving forward. An educational and insightful read for anyone dealing with international perspectives in business or culture, this book reads like a short essay.

Bjorn Lomborg Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming
Grifphon Rating: 3.4
A little bit repetitive, this treatise nevertheless provides a level-headed (hence the name) approach to the climate-change debate. The book concludes that most spending to fight global warming has been economically irrational when the goals of the movement are considered more broadly. The book is essentially an admonition of Kyoto and a plea for international spending on pressing issues like malaria, AIDS, malnutrition, and lack of fresh water in order to save more people than anti-warming efforts.

T. Boone Pickens The First Billion is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
Grifphon Rating: 3
T. Boone Pickens is very proud of what he's done in his life, and with good reason. A very accomplished man, his book walks the reader through business deals and energy analysis in a conversational style that makes it easy to read. This book would essentially qualify as edu-tainment. Pickens' engaging style and insightful stories and analysis provide a narrative for the energy options in America's portfolio.

Mark Zandi Financial Shock: A 360 degree Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis
Grifphon Rating: 3.5
As concise as its title, this somewhat repetitive book must be excused in that regard because the events it describes were roughly two months past at the time of publication. The book is full of excellent analysis of the financial meltdown caused by toxic assets and how to have seen it coming. The lack of accountability and the unrealistic expectations of ever-increasing house prices put America in a situation where our system could withstand no drawdowns in the housing market, and simultaneously, the structure of the market would make such drawdowns self-reinforcing.

Tariq Ali The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power
Grifphon Rating: 4.7
This book is an excellent exposition of the evolution of the Pakistani state. Ali addresses the history of Pakistan without (much) bias, and explains in detail--and often seemingly from a first-hand perspective--the contexts and personalities that have molded the current reality. Insightful, educational, and well-written, this book was a favorite. Upon reading this book cover to cover, the reader instantly becomes something of an expert on Pakistani politics.

Eric Margolis War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet
Grifphon Rating: 4.5
Written in a style that seems to cross those of National Geographic, The Duel, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, Margolis' story is an easy read that is at once incredibly informative, entertaining, and shows the author's engagement with the subject and the people involved. The book explains that what is widely perceived as a collection of unrelated struggles between small nations and large states destined to absorb them is actually a collection of connected manifestations of the conflict between three nuclear states of Asia. Afghanistan's mountains, Kashmir, and Tibet lie in what might be called the "buffer zones" between Russia, China and India. The borders in the regions are ill-defined, as no one anticipated conflict over such desolate mountaintops. However, the three countries are constantly bumping into each others' spheres of influence in these all but uninhabitable border regions. Margolis predicts that these conflicts will shape and indicate the state of international relations between the three nations as they all test their power and flex their muscles.

Juan Enriquez The Untied States of America: Polarization, Fracturing, and Our Future
Grifphon Rating: 3.8
Enriquez explores the nature of sovereignty and the cohesion of nations in the modern era of globalization. The book reads more like a speech or a lecture, and the reader is immersed in Enriquez' intriguing worldview. The author envisions a world in which the forces holding states together are constantly at odds with forces trying to tear them apart. He contends that perhaps the age of American expansionism is over, and that American politicians would do well to turn inward, addressing the very real grievances of their constituencies rather than embarking on external missions. Enriquez supports the EU model as more realistic, although he seems to decry the 'watering-down' of sovereignty demanded by submission to an extra-governmental authority. Some of the facts used to support this narrative, however, may be surprising. If this is so, you should consider yourself well informed, because Enriquez is not always exactly correct. A quick internet search will sometimes yield more plausible numbers when something seems outrageous, but the qualitative aspects of the evidence presented are largely sound. Overall, this was a well received (if eccentrically written) treatise on the changing roles of civic society and national identity in global politics.