Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House (Jared Cohen)

The lives of former American presidents have varied tremendously since George Washington retired to his farm and then was coaxed back to ceremonially lead the United States Army in 1798. Their place in American life is unique in that they once held the most powerful position in the country, arguably even the world, and then found themselves without that elected position. While nearly forty men have lived to become former presidents, each tackled their post-presidency in different ways.

Jared Cohen's Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House shares the stories of seven former presidents, from Thomas Jefferson to George W. Bush. Each changed history and America's trajectory in their own ways. Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. John Quincy Adams and William Howard Taft had second acts in Washington in different branches of government. Grover Cleveland had a second act in the White House. Herbert Hoover resumed the humanitarian work that he was famous for in the aftermath of World War I (but only after a dozen years on the sidelines). George W. Bush took up painting and made a clean break from American political life as a reminder of the days when presidents simply retired to a quiet life. And of course Jimmy Carter is known for working to advance democratic ideals and public service through volunteering to build houses.

Cohen does a wonderful job telling the stories of these seven men and how each charted their own vastly different course after their time in the White House.

MY RATING: 5

Solving The Price is Right: How Mathematics Can Improve Your Decisions on and off the Set of America's Celebrated Game Show (Justin L. Bergner)

The Price is Right has been broadcast in its current format since the 1970s. The iconic American TV institution allows contestants to win cars, vacations, and cash based on having a strong knowledge of item pricing, plus some basic math skills and a dash of luck. As someone who watched the show off and on for decades, I've sensed a level of math skill and game play associated with various pricing games but wasn't sure of the science behind the games. Author Justin L. Bergner does the heavy lifting and watches two seasons of shows to document his findings in Solving The Price is Right: How Mathematics Can Improve Your Decisions on and off the Set of America's Celebrated Game Show.

This book explores the game theory and necessary math skills for getting out of Contestants' Row, playing pricing games, spinning the big wheel, and bidding on the showcases at the end of the show. Some games are easier to play and require a relatively simple level of strategy (Cliffhanger), a bit of skill (Hole in One), or general strategy on chip or shell placement (Plinko and Shell Game). Bergner reviews two seasons of show data and quantifies contestant results versus what he determines to be the best strategy for each game.

Bergner devotes an entire chapter to the showcase portion and how the first showcase, irregardless of price, is often the winning showcase no matter if the first person bids on it or passes it to their opponent. The game theory in the showcase is arguably the most interesting part of the book since the showcases are different in terms of the items presented. Solving the Price is Right as a whole is a very enjoyable discussion of the math and theory behind a very successful game show. If you're thinking of trying to get on the show and love math, this book is for you.

MY RATING: 4.5

Yesterday: A New History of Nostalgia (Tobias Becker)

Nostalgia was first defined in the 17th Century as a "feeling of anxiety and homesickness, particularly when people were away from home." Over the past 50-75 years, that definition has evolved to a "longing for the good 'ol days," especially those positive memories of one's youth or early adulthood. Nostalgia occasionally gets a bad rap because it often obscures some of the less positive moments of the past and can be a bit of a trope. Tobias Becker, a German historian, has written about the concept of nostalgia in the West with a more nuanced, balanced view. 

Yesterday: A New History of Nostalgia tackles the evolution of the term and dives into three main themes of it in our lives. Covering politics, pop culture and preservation, Becker provides a strong, articulate argument for how nostalgia has been used in various capacities, both positive and negative, and how we have occasionally used our nostalgic moments to shape current events and thinking. Throughout the book, Becker often reminds us that nostalgia is one of the few concepts that bridges ideological and demographical divides. Both conservatives and progressives often pull out the nostalgia card to varying levels of success.

Yesterday is a well-researched look into our past and how longing for "better" times can often be helpful in shaping our future.

MY RATING: 4.5 

Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative (Jennifer Burns)

Milton Friedman was one of the foremost economists of the 20th Century whose contributions to economics and influence on global politics still reverberate to this day. Jennifer Burns has written the first full biography of Friedman in Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative.

Yes, calling this book a biography is accurate as Burns does chronicle Friedman's life from his upbringing in New Jersey to his final years in California. But the book also serves other purposes. First, it's a history of monetarism, which became the prevailing economic theory in much of the West in the late 20th Century and served as the next prevailing theory after Keynesian economics dominated in the wake of the Great Depression. Burns does an excellent job of showing the key players in the "Chicago School" of economics, including Friedman's wife, Rose, and others. 

Second, this book is also a history of conservative politics through the years of Friedman's life. Friedman was an outsized influence on both monetary policy and conservative thinking, with his influence in both fields waning in recent years as populism has taken over much of the American right.

Burns's work is very balanced and thorough but at times a bit too complimentary of some of Friedman's philosophies on social politics and, in the 1980's, deficit spending. However, Burns does provide a very authentic look at someone who was unapologetically conservative in the classical sense of believing in smaller government and effective fiscal policy to help the economy grow. 

MY RATING: 4.5

The Romanov Brides (Clare McHugh)

In The Romanov Brides: A Novel of the Last Tsarina and Her Sisters, author Clare McHugh offers a meticulously researched book on the lives of Princesses Ella and Alix, who would go on to become a Grand Duchess and Empress of Russia respectively. Both royal sisters made fateful decisions that would change their lives immensely.

Just two of the many grandchildren of the imposing Queen Victoria, the sisters are brought up with expectations of who they will marry (and this does not include Russians). Despite this, they are drawn to Russia and the Romanovs. Ella defies warnings and marries Grand Duke Serge, and Alix falls in love with Nicky, the heir to the Russian throne. 

I love books about royal families and was especially surprised how interrelated the families were. Members were encouraged to marry for status and country, even when they were first cousins! I imagine that except for the staunchest royalists, it would be a bit difficult to keep all the royal lines straight. However, McHugh does offer some handy diagrams to help with this. It was especially fascinating to see how the real characters in The Romanov Brides were direct descendants of the British royal family. For example, one of the sisters of Ella and Alix (Victoria) had a daughter named Alice, who was Prince Philip's mother.  

Overall, this book is a moving tale that offers deep insights into the lives of two spirited royal sisters. It's a must-read for those interested in the Romanovs and historical fiction in general.

MY RATING: 4

The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft (Peter Bellerby)

Every globe tells a story about the world as it was. While globes quickly date themselves, the stories that each one tells help us learn more about our world and how we got to the place we are today.

In The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft, author Peter Bellerby discusses the process of hand-crafting globes and how he himself decided to make a globe for his father's 80th birthday. While he didn't quite make the birthday deadline, he did start a company out of that project and makes hand-crafted globes of various sizes that are shipped throughout the world. One of his most ambitious projects was a replica of a globe that was gifted to Winston Churchill in 1942.

Globe-making has been around for centuries and was a semi-established craft since the early days of the Renaissance. As printing presses came into greater supply, the ability to produce globes became a bit easier. Bellerby, while discussing the growth of his business, goes into detail about the process of making a globe from start to finish. It requires a patient, steady hand and the ability to paint accurately. Neither of those are traits I possess, but I do possess an appreciation for a great story. The Globemakers accomplishes this with humility and wit.

MY RATING: 5

The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I (Steven Ujifusa)

Immigration to America in the late 19th and 20th Centuries was a big business, large enough that J.P. Morgan was involved and millions of dollars could be made by funneling Europeans on large steamer ships across the Atlantic. In fact, over two million Jews traveled from Eastern Europe and Russia to escape persecution and search for a better life.

Steven Ujifusa's The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I chronicles the migration of Europeans in the decades preceding World War I and men who built large businesses and banked huge profits off the transport of those wishing to go to America. It also describes how America gradually turned insular and anti-immigrant due to a number of factors. 

Ujifusa focuses much of the book on Albert Ballin, a Hamburg businessesman who was the managing director of the Hamburg-American line. Ballin created a sprawling network of trains and steamships to funnel migrants west. But his empire came crashing to the ground with the onset of World War I, as migration ceased and Europe and the North Atlantic turned into a war zone. Despite the war's end in 1918, immigration in America was severely restricted due to nativist and racist forces gaining influence in immigration policy.

The Last Ships from Hamburg is a great telling of the story of migration through Europe and to America but through the prism of how business in Europe helped in the mass migration.

MY RATING: 4.5