Books Read in 2022

In my research and investing I stress three things: people, structure, and value.  I look for companies that are controlled and managed by quality people, have corporate structures that align minority and majority shareholder interests and trade at valuations that are below fair value if not outright cheap.

One thing I like about my "job" is that I can read a lot and claim its "work". I put "job" and "work" in quotes as looking at new countries, industries and companies is very interesting. It certainly doesn't seem like "work" most of the time.

Originally posted on Twitter, below are the books I read in 2022. I was hoping to write more detailed reviews on several of these, but did not have time to do them justice, so smaller comments will have to suffice. Original Twitter post is here.

Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires; Shomari Wills  A great reminder that from adversity comes greatness. Very well written. Put first on this list for a reason. Highly recommended.

Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age From the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane; S. Frederick Starr   Eye-opening and crazy good book about Central Asia and the key role it played in preserving, inventing, improvising and improving just about everything. Government, Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion, Engineering, etc. Highly recommended.

The Model, 37 years investing in Asian equities; Richard H. Lawrence, Jr. with Contributions by James Squire, Leonie Foong and Wiliam Leung  I'm a big fan of Overlook, the investment firm that Mr. Lawrence founded. Great insight from him and his team. Must read for investors.

Nationalism in Sri Lanka; Srikantha Nadarajah I got a lot out of this small, easy to read book. Good post-independence history and insight into Sri Lankan politics and its underlying economic, linguistic and ethnic situation. Highly recommended for those interested in this small, yet important country.

The World for Sale; Javier Blas & Jack Farchy Very readable book about commodity traders. Recommended.

Flash Boys; Michael Lewis  Easy read from a great author. Makes you hate Wall Street and Corporate Greed. Who doesn't?  I suspect that nothing's changed since its publication. Institutionalized frontrunning. Rent-seeking American style.

Sir Robert Ho Tung, Public Figure, Private Man; May Holdsworth  Rushed out to buy this one. Ok biography of his later life. Some insight into his business dealings.  I'm still looking for a good book on his early life and wealth accumulation. 

The Evolution of Technical Analysis, Financial Prediction from Babylon Tablets to Bloomberg Terminals; Andrew W. Lo and Jasmina Hasanhodzic  Andrew Lo is one of the few academics that I know of doing serious work on technical analysis. I'm a big fan of his. Not his strongest work, but there are moments of enlightening insight.

Hit Refresh, The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone; Satya Nadella Last for a reason. There could be some great insight here, but it reads more like a marketing piece for the author and Microsoft.