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Chanticleer

Chanticleer

Chanticleer's recommended holiday reading

What better way to pass away the hours on holidays than read some meaty non-fiction recommended by the Financial Review's resident Rooster.

Chanticleer's list of non-fiction books worth reading on holidays is long enough to keep the most avid reader going until the collective business world comes back from vacation in the first week of February.

Page Turners

Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow. This book is oozing with suspense even though you know the ending before you pick it up. Farrow manages to take you with him every step of the way as he brushes off the outright hostility of his bosses at the NBC TV network.

The intimidatory behaviour of private investigators continues when he takes the story to The New Yorker. Farrow shared a Pulitzer prize for uncovering the predatory moves by powerful Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, over many decades.

Ronan Farrow helped break the allegations of sexual misconduct against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and CBS boss Les Moonves. Brook Mitchell

There are insights into investigative journalism and the obfuscation techniques used by the rich and powerful including electronic surveillance and ploys used by unscrupulous lawyers.

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It is alleged Weinstein used commercial and personal connections to suppress the story at NBC. The book is a tribute to the magnificent bravery of so many women.

The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre. KGB Colonel , Oleg Gordievsky could well be the most influential double-agent of the past 57 years - a time period that does not disturb the legacy of MI6's Kim Philby, who defected in 1963. Gordievsky's career has echoes of Philby's. The Russian has the same mental discipline that allowed a complete separation of  family and work. Their superior use of spycraft fooled the KGB, the CIA and MI6. Both men believed they were doing the right thing for the world. Gordievsky's extraordinary escape from under the noses of his highly suspicious masters is a thriller within a thriller.

Business strategy

The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger. Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Iger has got it all - emotional intelligence, strategic smarts, brilliant negotiating skills and a rainbow shining directly on the spot where it helps.

Iger's writing style is like his personality, direct and without pretension. He is not afraid to puncture a few reputations. The anecdotes around the tortuous process of becoming CEO in 2005 stand out.

Robert Iger, chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co., has written a revealing book about life at the top of the world's most successful entertainment company. DAVID PAUL MORRIS

As do the tales of corporate deal making, which are up there with the best given he bought Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. Sometimes it is not what you buy rather than what you do that defines a CEO's tenure.

Iger was about to buy Twitter in 2016 but pulled back at the last minute because of a bad gut feeling. One of the more telling cameos is about Heidrick & Struggles, Westpac's preferred head hunter. The firm's head, Gerry Roche, treated Iger like dirt. Roche died in 2018.

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The Anarchy, William Dalrymple. It is no wonder critics have rushed to compare the East India Company of the 17th, 18th and 19th century with big tech. The EIC proved that a well run company, guarded by politicians with the appropriate financial incentives, can take over virtually an entire economy.

As tensions escalate between China and the United States, the tech companies will become defacto weapons for projecting power. This geopolitical imperative could suck the spines out of politicians charged with protecting privacy and encouraging competition. Dalrymple lives and breathes Indian culture. There's lots of blood and guts and it is very long at 400 pages. But it is wise to persist because after 200 pages it gets a lot better.

Gruesome tales

The Killing in the Consulate, Jonathan Rugman. This meticulous account of the death of Washington Post journalist and commentator Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2 , 2018 exposes the mutual distrust between the US and the Middle East as well as the simmering hatred between Saudi and Turkey.

Rugman opens a window into the world of arrogant strongmen able to brazenly flex their murderous muscles without fear of international retribution.

The splintering of global alliances,  the transactional nature of diplomatic relations and the ever present surveillance of intelligence agencies from Turkey and the US form the backdrop to Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman's creation of dual realities around Khashoggi's dismemberment.

Danger Close, The Battle of Long Tan. As told by the commanders to Bob Grandin. Re-published after 16 years to coincide with the release of the film of the same name this book engenders immense respect for the Australian army's training and professionalism.

The book brought back memories of Stephen E. Ambrose's Band of Brothers which is about kids becoming trained killers. In Grandin's book, kids fresh out of school are conscripted to fight in Vietnam, given training beyond the ordinary and shipped out to a vulnerable base camp in Phuoc Tuy Province.

When hit with overwhelming opposition they excelled under pressure. The book exposes the men in the upper ranks who jumped on the opportunity for aggrandisement.

A total of 18 soldiers died and 25 were wounded when D Company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment came up against an estimated 2500 Viet Min regular soldiers. The survivors had good reason to thank the 1st Field Regiment - mainly comprising New Zealand gunners.  The batteries fired 3198 rounds in a period of three hours.

As is typical of many military disasters, the root cause was egregious failures of intelligence, for which no one was held accountable.

Tony Boyd is the Chanticleer columnist. He has more than 35 years' experience as a finance journalist. Connect with Tony on Twitter. Email Tony at tony.boyd@afr.com

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