Saagar’s Substack

My Favorite Books Of 2024 + Christmas Book Giveaway

Saagar Enjeti — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 17:37:09 GMT

Best Books I Read In 2024 + Christmas Book Giveaway!

Hello Everybody!

Last year I bought 20 copies of the book Stalins War for some people randomly selected. I was honestly blown away by the thousands of people who entered for a chance to win a nearly 900 page history of World War 2 and so I decided to make it even bigger this year

The deal is this: Below are some of my favorite books I read this year broken up by category. On Friday December 20th, I will randomly pick 30 people who are subscribed to this newsletter and I will buy you a copy of one of the books below!

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For those selected we will reach out to you on the 20th and ask for an address and the book of your choice. Enjoy!

Find below my favorite books I read this year with links to Bookshop, which allows you to purchase books online but still support independent book sellers!

WW2 - The Pacific Theater

In preparation for my Honeymoon trip to Japan this year I spent a lot of free time reading books about the rise and fall of Imperial Japan. It made my visit to Tokyo much more thrilling as I recognized several landmarks where high profile assassinations took place or neighborhoods I recognized as once prime targets for the Curtis Lemay and his bomber force. I came away torn both with such incredible reverence of the US service members who fought the brutal campaign against the Japanese empire and with an obsessive fascination for Japanese society circa 1930.

For one volume books that will give you a pretty decent overview of the leadup to the outbreak of war with Japan PLUS some pretty detailed military history that explains the thinking of all commanders involved you cannot go wrong with The Rising Sun by John Toland and Eagle Against The Sun by Ronald Spector. If you want a deep dive into the to the outbreak of the war and then a detailed account of Pearl Harbor itself I recommend Pearl Harbor by Craig Nelson. For a book that exclusively focuses on Japan, its emperor, and a detailed description of how Japan went from the Meiji Restoration to the Imperial government that launched a war with the US and post-occupation I would read Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan.

Two other books that I cannot recommend enough are Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila and Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb both by James Scott. Scott is a former journalist who does an incredible job of profiling the main characters involved in both of these pivotal military decisions while also making sure he elevates the voices of the ordinary people who were caught up in the brutality of the war. If you want a biography of LeMay that includes World War 2 and the Cuban Missile Crisis then you should read LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay

I also think all Americans should be duty bound to read the memoirs of actual combat soldiers for their account of what it was really like to fight as a Marine grunt on the frontlines against the Japanese. The memoirs of Robert Leckie in Helmet for my Pillow and Eugene Sledge in With The Old Breed are famous for a reason. They were dramatized in the HBO series The Pacific. Reading those books will remove any romantic notions anyone has about just how horrible war is. Came away in awe of both warriors and with reverence for all the men lost in the campaign.

Honorable mention: Shogun by James Clavell. I loved the show and bought the book. Yes its corny sometimes but its great fiction and at least gives you some idea of 16th century Japan.

WW2 - The European Theater

Earlier this year Apple TV released the show Masters Of The Air telling the story of the 100th Bomb Group of the Eight Air Force during World War 2 which had an absurdly high casualty rate. To be honest, the show is not very good but it did make me want to learn more so I bought the corresponding book and found it to be 1000% better than the show. The book reads like a thriller by profiling the people involved who arrived in England in 1942 with barely any idea of what they were doing to achieving total domination over the skies of Nazi Germany by 1944. The story of how they got there is gripping and terrifying rivaling the Pacific war in how horrible it must have been to experience. One of the characters in the show named Harry Crosby also wrote his own memoir which gives a more personal account of the air campaign and is beautifully written.

Getting more familiar with the air war over Europe in World War 2 sparked a renewed interest in the ground campaign. I decided to revisit The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower by Stephen Ambrose. Warning, its not the most accurate book on Eisenhower in command but Ambrose in my opinion best captures what it must have been like to be Eisenhower and had an intimate relationship with him that captures his internal thinking. Of course, any book on Eisenhower is going to deeply discuss his relationship with General George Marshall who is unfortunately not as renowned an American hero. The best recent book on him is George Marshall by David Roll.

Gambling

Frequent viewers of Breaking Points know that I have recently taken up a crusade against online sports gambling. Nonetheless I was introduced to casino gambling this year by some friends of mine and have to enjoy it (responsibly) from time to time. I also really enjoyed reading and playing Texas Hold’Em poker which put my down the rabbit hole of poker memoirs.

The best biographies of legendary gamblers are The Godfather of Poker by Doyle Brunson and Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything. I also loved The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova and Molly's Game: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World.

Other great books on the gambling world are Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions and Whale Hunt in the Desert: Secrets of a Vegas Superhost

Arctic Exploration

As I mentioned on my episode with Lex Fridman, I love any and all tales of Polar Exploration. My favorite of the genre is of course Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. This year I picked up Shackleton by Ranulph Fiennes to flesh out my Shackleton knowledge. Fiennes does a great job of fleshing out the early years and expeditions of Shackleton as well as giving me some color about his personal life. If you want to humanize the hero that is the book for you.

I also loved Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night which is the story of the first overnight antarctic winter by human beings. You can a get glimpse into the young Roald Amundsen and also the good years of the infamous Dr. Frederick Cook. The book reads like fiction its so good that I could not stop until I knew how it ended. If you like the genre, this is a must read. Honorable mentions: Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition and The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook and Society of the Snow: The Definitive Account of the World's Greatest Survival Story

MISCELLANEOUS

Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War

Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974

Playing To Win - Michael Lewis

Tap Code: The Epic Survival Tale of a Vietnam POW and the Secret Code That Changed Everything

Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

Book Recommendations From Saagar Enjeti - Lex Fridman Episode

Saagar Enjeti — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:28:23 GMT

Welcome Lex Fridman listeners! Last time I was on the show in 2021 I got tremendous feedback asking for curated book lists which I did after the show. This time I thought I would be proactive and compile a list of all the books I used to prepare for this episode and those that I mention.

Subscribe to this newsletter for periodic book recommendations from me about what I am reading and for my annual book giveaway during the holidays. Feel free to share with friends too so they don’t miss out on book giveaways.

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Please also don’t forget to subscribe to my show Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar on Youtube or Podcasts. I also co-host The Realignment with Marshall Kosloff which you can subscribe to here.

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