In last week’s issue, I told you all about the podcasts I am currently listening to. And in that article, I also told you that perhaps soon I would tell you about my current reading list. Well, the responses from you told me that you had an eager desire to find out what I am reading. And, as I am never one to let my excellent audience down, this week, it’s all about what I am reading now.
By way of backstory, I will remind you what I said last week about what my high school AP English teacher told me that has stuck with me all of these decades. He said, “Jim, you are what you read.” This is definitely true. In fact, if you tell me your favorite novel, non-fiction work and your daily news feeds, I bet I could guess who you voted for, what your stances are on controversial issues and even your cosmic thoughts. But hey, that’s a task for another time.
Today, it’s all about what I’m reading right now. So, let’s get into the three books I’m currently reading (yes, I read multiple books at a time). And before I forget, each of these books are fantastic reads, written by brilliant authors. Moreover, I recommend each one wholeheartedly, although in the interest of full disclosure, I have yet to complete reading each.
So, let’s get it on!
The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, The World’s Most Versatile Genius by Dr. Mark Skousen
My Eagle Financial Publications colleague and Fast Money Alert co-editor, Dr. Mark Skousen, is a brilliant man with a tireless work ethic when it comes to writing books. In fact, he’s written over 25 books on subjects such as investing, economics and history.
His latest book, which now is also available as an audiobook, is not your traditional biography of Ben Franklin. Rather, it’s an exploration of Franklin’s thoughts on a vast variety of topics, and being the polymath that Franklin was, his brilliant insights on so many topics are there for all of us to learn from.
As Skousen tells us, Franklin was “a scientist, publisher, inventor, diplomat, musician, governor, legislator, military leader, city planner, university founder, humorist, financial guru and bestselling author.” Not a bad way to live a life, if I dare say so.
One of the things I like best about this book is that it’s as relevant today as any work of current non-fiction. I say that, because Franklin’s wisdom on so many topics is in dire need of understanding, right now.
Take, for example, Franklin’s stance on free trade: “No nation was ever ruined by trade.” But as Skousen points out, Franklin knew how to actually negotiate “fair trade” deals with other countries that benefit both sides.
Then on the issue of government’s role in society, Franklin said, “A virtuous and industrious people may be cheaply governed.” Now, do we have a “cheap government” today? The answer is obvious, and it is not very likely that Franklin would have approved of the encroachment of government in our financial and moral lives.
Finally, and I simply cannot let this part of the book go unmentioned; Franklin had a very modern view about sex and society. As Skousen writes, “Franklin was a lady’s man extraordinaire and a defender of women’s rights.”
So, an advocate of free trade, small government and women—no wonder Franklin is now my favorite Founding Father, we have so much in common!
Oh, and one more thing you might not know, Skousen is an eighth-generation direct descendant of Franklin, so for him, this is a work of profound love and familial tribute — and it shows!
If you order the hardback version of the book through Skousen’s website, Skousen Books at Discount, you get the book at a discount and with his autograph (Mark’s autograph, not Ben’s!). You also get a rare Franklin stamp with each book, making your book a collectible. And so, just go for it!
A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s Most Legendary Watch, by Stacy Perman
I mentioned last week that one of my hobbies is horology, which is the study of time, and specifically the study and love of high-quality, luxury watches. So, it will likely be no surprise that I found this book by award-winning journalist Stacy Perman a most-fascinating tale.
The book chronicles the race between two of the world’s wealthiest men to commission the building of the world’s most legendary and complicated watch, by the world’s best watchmakers, Patek Philippe.
The story revolves around two giants of industry, James Ward Packard, founder of the first luxury automobile manufacturer, the Packard Motor Car Company and Henry Graves Jr., a New York banker and refined collector with a passion for horology.
Your editor reading his copy of “A Grand Complication,” while also wearing the sublime horological specimen that is the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in ceramic.
I won’t tell you who won, but then again, the watch is called the “Graves Supercomplication,” so that might give you a clue.
That said, the story of how the watch was brought to life, how it disappeared, how it resurfaced and how it sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 1999 for a mind-bending $11 million to an anonymous bidder is the stuff of fascinating intrigue featuring equally captivating characters.
Perman is a brilliant writer and researcher, and her writing is as luxurious as her high-horology subjects. More importantly, the book expertly explores themes such as societal status, technological innovation and the passion that people have to acquire beautiful and prestigious things. If you are all interested in the secretive world of elite watch collectors, or if you just like cool stories about interesting people, then “A Grand Complication” is a must.
The Toilers of the Sea, by Victor Hugo
No reading list of mine would be complete without some great literature, and preferably from the romantic school of literature, and preferably featuring one of the greatest novelists ever, the sublime Victor Hugo.
Hugo is perhaps best known for masterpieces such as “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” but “The Toilers of the Sea” is somewhat of a hidden literary gem that I think needs to be equally exalted.
Like his iconic and more well-known works, Hugo’s “Toilers” tells the tale of a simple man, Gilliat, who is a recluse (like the hunchback, although not physically deformed) and who is a man of mystery shunned by the superstitious locals who believe he’s a sorcerer.
As Hugo often portrays, Gilliat is a man who falls in love with an unattainable woman. In this case, it’s Déruchette, niece of Lethierry, a wealthy shipowner. When Lethierry’s prized ship is wrecked on a dangerous reef, Lethierry promises Déruchette’s hand in marriage to whoever can recover the ship’s engine.
Driven by love (of course), Gilliat embarks on a perilous mission to salvage the engine and win Déruchette’s hand, and his efforts include battling storms, starvation and even a giant octopus!
Now, I won’t spoil the end for you, but let’s just say that Gilliat does, and does not, get what he so desperately fights for. Yet in Hugoesque fashion, the irony of longing and unrequited love and the bittersweet struggles of humanity are delivered with nearly unmatched literary verve and a precision for the depth of the human spirit.
Get this book, I mean, if you like to feel.
****************************************************************
Best Slogan Ever
“Ask the man who owns one.”
–James Ward Packard’s marketing slogan for the Packard Motor Car Company
One of the most famous corporate slogans of all time, the iconic, “Ask the man who owns one,” became so iconic because if you were fortunate enough to own one of the ultra-luxury Packard automobile, you likely weren’t hesitant to sing its praises.
This early version of “viral marketing” was said to have originated in 1901, when James Ward Packard (co-founder of the company) reportedly told his secretary, in response to a request for sales literature, to “just tell him to ask the man who owns one.” Some great ideas are manufactured, while others just seem to flow out naturally. And it’s usually those brilliant natural flows that leave a lasting impression.
Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.
In the name of the best within us,
Jim Woods
