You may have picked up on the fact that I typically read books that hit on investing or economics. I’ve taken a break from that lately with the following...
Rigged by Ben Mezrich (2008). Based on true events. Specifically, about the twenty-something who went to work at the NY Merc out of HBS and spearheaded the creation of the oil trading market in Dubai. Very light and quick. I didn’t get the impression that the author was terribly well-versed on the oil markets, the trading that goes on at the Merc, or Dubai. Nevertheless, it was fun.
Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott (2007). The story of the infamous Chicago madams of the early twentieth century, Ada and Minna Everleigh, and the cultural and political battle that took place with regards to the red light district in that city. Some interesting factoids: (1) Chicago’s name comes from the Native American word “Chicagoua”, meaning “striped skunk”, for the indigenous wild leek which is very smelly; (2) the “Windy City” nickname is not about the weather, but a journalistic creation in reference to the “blustery talk of civic leaders” in the late nineteenth century; and (3) the men who frequented the Everleighs’ brothel would say that they were “everleighed tonight”, a refrain that stuck around, but was eventually shortened to eliminate the first half of their name.
