Book Recommendations from Business and Cultural Leaders

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Eric Ripert

Chef and author of Vegetable Simple How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, by Bill Gates

“Obviously, climate change is a topic that’s very popular lately, and I wanted to be a bit more educated on the subject, and understand the point of view of someone like
Bill Gates.
It’s a very

interesting book with a lot of interesting numbers and graphics—it’s pretty comprehensive. It looks like we have to act very quickly and change our behavior if we want to be able to stop greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.”

Alejandro Agag

Chairman, Formula E and E1 Series; CEO, Extreme E The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

“I’m currently rereading The Foundation Trilogy by
Isaac Asimov.
I think the interesting aspect about the series of books is that there could be a science behind how we predict the future based on a mix between psychology and history. That can be applied to many things that are happening in the world today and we could probably extrapolate those lessons for the future.”

Maya Enista Smith

Executive Director, Born This Way Foundation The Wave: In Pursuit of the Monsters of the Ocean, by Susan Casey

“On a rare break from work, I read
Susan Casey’s
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Monsters of the Ocean. This book is half scientific analysis of the rogue wave phenomenon that quietly shifts the rugged surface of the Earth across continents, and half action-packed real-time reporting of the pursuit of a 100-foot wave by the big wave surfing community. I loved the balance between the study of the scientists and the quest of the surfers, both in the context of the powerful and uncontrollable movements of the ocean.”

Brynne McNulty Rojas

CEO and co-founder, Habi In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson

“The book follows the U.S. ambassador to Germany during the rise of the Nazis. The protagonist has a daughter who gets swept up in the perverted glamour of Nazi elites and is frustrated—to put it mildly—by a U.S. government that fails to heed his increasingly alarmed reports. I like stories where circumstances force so-called ordinary individuals to act in extraordinary ways by taking stands even when they would rather not or allow real circumstances to decide for them. I also loved Larson’s book Devil in the White City, so I may reread that one soon.”

Katy Knox

President, Bank of America Private Bank Gordo Stories, by Jaime Cortez The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, by Mark Twain and Philip C. Stead

“I am currently reading two books: Gordo Stories, a first novel by my friend
Jaime Cortez.
Set in a migrant workers camp in California, the novel is told through the voice of Gordo, the boy for whom the book is named, who shares his experience in a community defined by hard work, hot emotions, and family. With my daughter, I am reading The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by
Mark Twain
and
Philip C. Stead.
We love how this book imagines the two authors sitting together and sharing a story.” 

This article appeared in the March 2022 issue of Penta magazine.