Montanaro’s Christmas Reading List 2025
As is our tradition, with just a couple of weeks until Christmas the team has shared some of the books they have most enjoyed reading over the year.
We hope you find something of interest to help you unwind and relax over the festive season!
Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt. (2025) A sweeping, emotionally rich novel about two very different men thrown together by chance, trying to build something meaningful against the backdrop of economic upheaval and societal change. Lots of enjoyable points of reference if you began your career in the shadow of the Financial Crisis.
1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin. (2025) Cue lots of anecdotes about how similar today’s equity market is to the 1920s. A powerful narrative about the roaring twenties, financial excess, hubris and collapse — tracing the build-up to one of the most consequential market crashes in history and offering lessons about risk, greed and undoing.
Truss at 10: How Not to Be Prime Minister by Anthony Seldon. (2025) A sharp, timely look at modern British politics and leadership — reflecting on what makes (or breaks) a Prime Minister in today’s turbulent age.
Can Europe Survive? The Story of a Continent in a Fractured World by David Marsh. (2025) A bold, wide-ranging examination of Europe’s current crossroads: Marsh uses unpublished archives and more than 150 interviews to chart how political divisions, economic stagnation, energy dependencies and shifting global power dynamics — especially the challenges posed by the US, China and Russia — threaten the continent’s cohesion.
Abundance: How We Build a Better Future by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. (2025) As the FT review noted, “It’s been now too many decades focused on consumption and too many fights focused solely on distribution — and America needs to get back to building and inventing”. The same is true of much of the West. Oh for some vision and leadership…
Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang. (2025) A bold, data-rich examination of China’s technological ambitions and the global race for innovation blending economics, geopolitics and big-picture analysis of what it means for the future of industry. In a nutshell: China is being built by engineers, while the US stagnates amid a quagmire of lawyers and lawsuits.
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. (2025) A sharp and revealing insider memoir from the heart of Meta uncovering how power, politics and profit collide inside one of the world’s most influential tech companies.
The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. (2012) Yes, we are recommending this again. One of our favourites. A concise overview of world culture and civilization. This book is simply a gem. Short and beautifully written.
If Russia Wins by Carlo Masala. (2025) A chilling, timely geopolitical forecast and analysis — interrogating possible futures and the strategic stakes of power struggles in Russia and beyond.
The Wizard of the Kremlin by Giuliano da Empoli. (2022) A provocative and literary novel imagining a behind-the-scenes look at power: through one man’s recollections, it delves into the myths, manipulations and myth-making that underlie political dominance in Russia.
The Secret Life of the Universe by Nathalie A. Cabrol. (2025) A sweeping journey across cosmic time and space — exploring our universe, what we know (and don’t), and offering awe-inspiring perspectives on humanity’s place in the stars.
Our Brains, Our Selves by Masud Husain. (2025) A thoughtful, accessible examination of what it means to be human — investigating the brain, consciousness and identity through science, philosophy and insight.
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. (2025) A gripping non-fiction narrative that blends crime, history and art — telling the story of a daring heist, the alluring world of priceless masterpieces and the murky ethics around ownership and value.
The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks. (2011) A classic in the world of investing: a cool, clear-headed distillation of timeless investment wisdom — focusing on risk, psychology and the disciplined mindset behind successful long-term investing.
The Little Book of Behavioural Investing by James Montier. (2010) A sharp guide to understanding how human bias, emotion and irrationality influence markets — blending psychology and finance to help readers make smarter, more grounded investment decisions.
James by Percival Everett. (2025) An ambitious, genre-bending novel that confronts identity, history and morality — blending satire, tragedy and bold reinvention in a way that challenges expectations and leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. (2025) A warm, witty and cleverly plotted mystery (the fifth instalment in the Thursday Murder Club series). This time the gang find themselves drawn into murder, codes and danger at a wedding.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas!