Books on Holiday
I read a number of books:
The Resilience Dividend by Dr Judith Rodin
Having attended her lecture the RSA I read her outstanding book on the subject
of Resilience which every politician should read.
XLR8 by John Kotter
John Kotter works at the Harvard Business School and is a
leading business guru and has written ten best selling business books including
Leading Change an A Sense of Urgency.
Some of the chapter headings might strike a chord:
1. Limits of Hierarchy in a Faster Moving World
4. Leadership & Evolution
9. The (Inevitable) Future of Strategy
The French Intifada by Andrew Hussey
Following the appalling atrocities in Paris two weeks ago I turned to Andrew
Hussey's book published in 2012!to give me a better understanding to the
background to these issues. It's clear that the French do not have an
unblemished record to French born Muslims and their record in Algeria, Tunisia
and Morocco was at times beyond the pail.
Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton
I bought Hillary's book in the middle of last year but what with moving and one
thing and another had left it until now. It is simply brilliant and her thinking
makes most European foreign secretaries look tired and second rate. I do hope
she stands for President.
Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War by Robert M Gates
Finishing off my US section of books bought last year, I ploughed through Robert
Gates's story of his time under first President George W Bush and then unusually
stayed on for a couple of years under President Obama. He was heavily involved
in Iraq and Afghanistan. I became more and more impressed with his record and
more and more alarmed at the dysfunctional Pentagon and his chief of staffs.