Category: Uncategorized

...in today's FT.

This was a fascinating book to work on and delighted to see it so well received.

My review of Rich Karlgaard's inspiring book, Late Bloomers. It’s a nice idea that success can come at any point in life. You don’t have to be Mark Zuckerberg, vaulting up the rich-list rankings in his 20s, or Pete Buttigieg, running for president at 37. You can wait until you are more evolved and take… Continue reading Late Bloomers →

The deepening rift between the elites and the rest is not just an American phenomenon. Christophe Guilluy, a French geographer, analyzes how it's unfolding in France and the echoes are unmissable.

General Stanley McChrystal and Doris Kearns Goodwin take a stab at defining leadership. From Margaret Thatcher to Walt Disney. My review in the WSJ.

I reviewed Sophie Pedder's excellent new book Revolution Francaise for today's WSJ. It's about the rise of Emmanuel Macron and the state of modern France. Macron and Trump are vastly different characters, but in their way expressions of similar political forces: discontent with the political establishment; anxiety over the effects of globalization and technology on… Continue reading The Macron Miracle →

Tzien Tzuo and Gabe Weisert make the case for access over ownership in Subscribed. The lawnmower and car go the way of the CD collection.

This is a photo of my grandmother, Sylvia, my uncle, Ronald, my mother, Marcia, and aunt, Victoria, standing in front of their home in Rangoon in 1966 shortly before Ronald left to study in America. Since 1958, Burma had been slowly strangled by the Socialist military dictatorship of Ne Win. Many who could leave subsequently… Continue reading Leaving Rangoon →

Just reviewed Amy Chua's Political Tribes for the Evening Standard. I liked how she described America as the rare super-tribe, in which the idea of American-ness both binds and permits vastly disparate sub-groups. And how that unique concept has then blinded America to the importance of tribes during its overseas adventures. I was less convinced… Continue reading Amy Chua’s Political Tribes →

Tom Hodgkinson, the British founder of The Idler empire, has written a satisfyingly frank account of running a small business. It's introspective and at times very funny. A million miles from the gauzy WeWork visions of small enterprise as all post-industrial lofts and coffee machines. Hodgkinson's experience is struggling with cash flow and hung-over employees.… Continue reading Business for Bohemians →