Ben Leacock Ben Leacock

As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty

As I See It was one of the increasing number of autobiographies I came across through the Founders podcast. I’m always interested to learn more about successful figures both past and present and must admit that I knew little about J. Paul Getty until the podcast introduced me to him.

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Ben Leacock Ben Leacock

Debt:The First 5,000 Years

I’ve read a number of books on monetary history however Debt: The First 5,000 Years went in a slightly different direction to what I had originally expected. I purchased the book based on the title without even checking the synopsis and was expecting it to be a history on monetary debt and the consequences when debt levels get out of control. What I found when I started listening though was pleasantly surprising as it took a different lens to the topic of debt, credit and money to books I’d previously read.

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Mind Ben Leacock Mind Ben Leacock

Apple In China

At 13hrs 32 mins in audiobook form or 448 pages in physical this is a substantial commitment. Is it worth it? It really depends on how deep your interest lies in not just Apple but supply chain dynamics affecting US companies leveraging Chinese manufacturing. There are many books written on the rise of Apple both as a company and more directly focused on Steve Jobs. This isn’t one of those, instead this focuses more on the Tim Cook era and the shift towards the company leaning more heavily on Chinese supply chains to drive down the cost of production.

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Mind Ben Leacock Mind Ben Leacock

Nick and Zak’s Adventures in Capitalism – Words of Wisdom from the Nomad Partnership Letters

Nick and Zak’s Adventures in Capitalism could be considered a memoir in discipline, conviction, patience and complete comfort with inactivity. The last part may require qualifying unless you have any existing familiarity with Nick, Zak or Nomad and their investing approach. As successful investors Nick and Zak excel in a trait that is almost counter to most people’s human nature, which is their completely comfortable in ‘doing nothing’ in the sense that if their investment thesis is working, they’ll continue as is without the need to interfere with the beauty of compounding just for the sake of ‘doing something’.

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Mind Ben Leacock Mind Ben Leacock

Richer, Wiser, Happier

This will probably be one of the rare instances where I review and recommend a book and podcast in the same post however given the nature of Richer, Wiser, Happier by William Green and the accompanying podcast it makes sense to combine into one.

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Mind Ben Leacock Mind Ben Leacock

Chokepoints - How the Global Economy Became a Weapon of War

As with most books I listened to this as an audiobook however the physical book comes in at around 550 pages so it’s quite a hefty read. If you’ve picked the book up based on the title then my assumption is that you have some interest in the topic of global economic policies and sanctions. That being said it’s not necessarily a given as I often pick up new titles just to explore new ideas and understand different disciplines.

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