MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman

(Tim Duggan, $28)

For five years now, Mohammed bin Salman has been selling his vision of a new Middle East, and “when he speaks, people listen,” said Lloyd Green in TheGuardian.com. Still only 34, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader has revealed a penchant for brutality to go with his inclination to dream big. He has launched a devastating war on Yemen, put his own mother under house arrest, tortured rivals and dissidents, and, according to the CIA, ordered the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. For anyone watching international politics, “what makes MBS tick, how he arrived, and where he may be headed are subjects of continued interest,” and the answers that Ben Hubbard’s new bio provides are “definitely worth the read.”

“MBS did not grow up nurturing expectations that he would one day rule,” said

by Stacy Schiff (2010). I’ve been interested in the history of the ancient world for as long as I can remember, and I’ve devoured dozens of books on the topic. Stacy Schiff’s Pulitzer Prize winner is the most compelling and eminently readable of those books, so much so that I’m reading it, again, at this very moment. Schiff weaves an electrifying story of one of history’s most remarkable individuals. You’ll feel as though Cleopatra is sitting next to you.

Cleopatra

by Simon Winchester (1998). This is a story of unimaginably ambitious sleuthing. I’m someone who loves learning about words and their origins, and I had no clue about how the Oxford English Dictionary came to be. Apparently, truth really is stranger than fiction. You’ll be spellbound.

The Professor and the Madman

by Michael Sims (2003). This book, which takes readers on a scientific and cultural tour of the human body, is so riveting and provocative that I’ve bought copies for dozens of friends and colleagues. So profound is the content that my view of the world has been permanently enhanced. And because the book is

Adam’s Navel

organized by body part, you can ricochet from chapter to chapter.

by Sylvia Plath (1963). Most people’s go-to coming-of-age novel is The Catcher in the Rye, but as a troubled teen, I found The Bell Jar infinitely more readable and relatable. Plath’s roman à clef is simultaneously beautiful and tragic, uplifting and haunting. For me, it’s a spiritual catharsis.

The Bell Jar

by Nora Ephron (2010). This is a collection of essays that I return to frequently, because I know it guarantees a good belly laugh. From “The Six Stages of E-Mail” to “My Life as a Meat Loaf,” Ephron’s wit and insights are delightful, and her journalism remains a wonderful antidote to the troubles of the world.

I Remember Nothing

by Diana Vreeland (1984). If you choose to read only one book about the fashion industry, it has to be the autobiography of the great editor and style icon. Vreeland, who held court at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, was at once a rare hothouse flower and a sphinx without a riddle.