Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Dava Sobel
The race to measure longitude and how it changed the globe... This one certainly could have been characterized as "technology" instead. Easy easy read.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
Mark Kurlansky
Yes, there is a reasonable discussion to have about the availability of cod and how it changed global nation states. Easy easy read.
Japan's Policy Trap: Dollars, Deflation, and the Crises of Japanese Finance
Akio Mikuni and R. Taggart Murphy
One man's theory on why Japan wouldn't get out of its economic trap. So far seems to have been on target.
Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power
Niall Ferguson
I think it may be impossible to grasp the world here in 2010 without grasping the British Empire... The impacts of the British influence up through 1950 will be felt for a hundred more years I suspect. Niall Ferguson makes an extraordinary attempt at accomplishing the impossible of putting it ALL into context. Awesome. I had my boys read it before their first trip to London.
The Lexus and the Olive Tree
Thomas L. Friedman
Superb superb piece on globalization.
The Clash of Civilizations
Samuel Huntington
Superb and simple read on assessing the on going role of cultural fault lines in the continual reshaping of the planets people.
One Billion Customers : Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China
James McGregor
A clear, simple, effective and interesting survey course in doing business in china.
A Visionary Nation
Zachary Karabell
Six stages of change as well as a look at the next change.
guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Jared Diamond
How did civilizations evolve around the planet... Unbelievably good... Pulitizer winner