Prior to a whirlwind tour of France and Italy with the family, I picked up a handful of “A Very Short Introduction” volumes. If you want a quick primer on nearly any topic I highly recommend these bite sized textbooks. I’ve only just started “The Habsburg Empire,” by Martyn Rady, and it is exceptional. While it is low on palace intrigue it is high on context setting.
I’m not sure how I found it but “Nomad Century,” by Gaia Vince, is a must read for those interested in understanding how to prepare for the ever shifting realities of a new climate. For the capitalists its a how-to-guide for developing a long-term portfolio strategy. For policy-makers and everyone else it is a great framework for helping set priorities as we face one crisis after another.
One of my favorite new finds is www.palladiummag.com. It is replete with deep and thoughtful prose; challenging convention and reminding us of the heavy weight an individual can place on humanity’s back.
Lastly, this blog article cross posted on HackerNews , “Biomanufactured Materials,” by Tsung Xu gives a glimpse into our material future while weaving new words into our lexicon. If you aren’t familiar with the synbio stack, buckle up.