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Alexander Stubb's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Alexander Stubb recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Alexander Stubb's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
A world of "smart" devices means the Internet can kill people. We need to act. Now.

Everything is a computer. Ovens are computers that make things hot; refrigerators are computers that keep things cold. These computers—from home thermostats to chemical plants—are all online. The Internet, once a virtual abstraction, can now sense and touch the physical world.

As we open our lives to this future, often called the Internet of Things, we are beginning to see its enormous potential in ideas like driverless cars, smart cities, and personal agents equipped...
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Recommended by Alexander Stubb, and 1 others.

Alexander StubbI will get this book. Looks interesting beyond the title...Click Here to Kill Everybody by Bruce Schneier via @FT https://t.co/GGCRlsTflT (Source)

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2
Recommended by Alexander Stubb, Mike Maclay, and 2 others.

Alexander StubbA brilliant book by @carlbildt. About: The New World Disorder. Includes: historical analysis and personal experiences. Written: analytically and well. Combines: theory and practice. A must: for all interested in international relations. Should: be translated into many languages. https://t.co/glQ4retFEf (Source)

Mike MaclayBildt is a former Swedish Prime Minister from the early 90s, who became European Representative in the Balkans after the war. He didn’t have an especially dynamic role, because in the summer of 1995 the Americans were increasingly committing themselves – partly because of the fall of Srebrenica, partly because they lost some very good men in the course of their own attempts to mediate – and it... (Source)

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3
With his trademark blend of political history, social science, economics, and pop culture, two-time NYT bestselling author, syndicated columnist, National Review senior editor, and American Enterprise Institute fellow Jonah Goldberg makes the timely case that America and other democracies are in peril as they lose the will to defend the values and institutions that sustain freedom and prosperity. Instead we are surrendering to populism, nationalism and other forms of tribalism.

Only once in the last 250,000 years have humans stumbled upon a way to lift ourselves out...
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Recommended by Alexander Stubb, and 1 others.

Alexander StubbTravel = read. Yesterday on the way back from #Davos2020. Timo Soini, who founded and lead the True Finns for 20 years, wrote a 111-page book/pamphlet on populism. It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand modern democracy. Available also in English. #Recommendation https://t.co/PBuCcUXhbY (Source)

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4

Educated

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no...
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Bill GatesTara never went to school or visited a doctor until she left home at 17. I never thought I’d relate to a story about growing up in a Mormon survivalist household, but she’s such a good writer that she got me to reflect on my own life while reading about her extreme childhood. Melinda and I loved this memoir of a young woman whose thirst for learning was so strong that she ended up getting a Ph.D.... (Source)

Barack ObamaAs 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018... (Source)

Alexander StubbIf you read or listen to only one book this summer, this is it. Bloody brilliant! Every word, every sentence. Rarely do I go through a book with such a rollecoaster of emotion, from love to hate. Thank you for sharing ⁦@tarawestover⁩ #Educated https://t.co/GqLaqlcWMp (Source)

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5
From the National Magazine Award-winning Runner’s World columnist, frequent New Yorker online contributor, and Cambridge-trained physicist: a fascinating and definitive exploration of the extraordinary science of human endurance and the secrets of human performance, for fans of The Sports Gene, Born to Run, and Grit.

From running a two-hour marathon to summiting Mount Everest, we’re fascinated by the extremes of human endurance, constantly testing both our physical and psychological limits.

How high or far or fast can humans go?...
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Malcolm GladwellThis book is AMAZING! (Source)

Bear GryllsIf you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled by Alex Hutchinson’s Endure. (Source)

Adam GrantReveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits. (Source)

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6

White

Combining personal reflection and social observation, Bret Easton Ellis's first work of nonfiction is an incendiary polemic about this young century's failings, e-driven and otherwise, and at once an example, definition, and defense of what "freedom of speech" truly means.

Bret Easton Ellis has wrestled with the double-edged sword of fame and notoriety for more than thirty years now, since Less Than Zero catapulted him into the limelight in 1985, earning him devoted fans and, perhaps, even fiercer enemies. An enigmatic figure who has always gone against the grain and refused...
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Alexander StubbIn Finland ongoing discussion about freedom of speech, self-sensorship and political correctness. Important, even if Finland often top 1-3 press freedom. May I recommend @BretEastonEllis latest book called White. Thought provoking. Interesting. https://t.co/26QJjR3krn (Source)

Cathy NewmanJust interviewed @BretEastonEllis about his fascinating new book White which talks about the adverse effect of the “cult of likeability” on social media. So I thought it only appropriate that I make myself look as unlikeable as possible. Let’s see how many likes I get - ha ha! https://t.co/mmxHcb0QsW (Source)

Sonny BunchI liked “White” a bit more than Wolcott did (though, like him, I much preferred the more insightful first half of the book to the lazier second half), but this is spot on. https://t.co/4AiL3T9dej https://t.co/9p6JeIT2c6 (Source)

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7
From the author of the international mega-bestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck comes a counterintuitive guide to the problems of hope.

We live in an interesting time. Materially, everything is the best it’s ever been—we are freer, healthier and wealthier than any people in human history. Yet, somehow everything seems to be irreparably and horribly f*cked—the planet is warming, governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and everyone is perpetually offended on Twitter. At this moment in history, when we have access to technology, education and communication...
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Nir EyalMark Manson has succeeded in explaining a crazy world to an entire generation by invoking hard science, moral philosophy, and gobs of hilarious wit. This book is guaranteed to make you laugh, question your beliefs, and (hopefully) change your life. (Source)

Ryan HolidayJust because everything appears to be a mess doesn’t mean you have to be one. Mark Manson’s book is a call to arms for a better life and better world and could not be more needed right now. (Source)

Eric BarkerMark provides an antidote to our era of spiritual malaise with a much-needed tincture of laughter, practical advice and philosophical wisdom. His counterintuitive insight will keep a three-bourbon smile on your face the whole time you’re reading it. (Source)

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8
If you think the world is coming to an end, think again: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science.

Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? In this elegant assessment of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, which play to our psychological biases. Instead, follow the data: In seventy-five...
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Bill GatesPinker is at his best when he analyzes historic trends and uses data to put the past into context. I was already familiar with a lot of the information he shares—especially about health and energy—but he understands each subject so deeply that he’s able to articulate his case in a way that feels fresh and new. I love how he’s willing to dive deep into primary data sources and pull out unexpected... (Source)

Yuval Noah HarariThere is of course much to argue about, but that’s what makes this book so interesting. (Source)

Sam Harris[Sam Harris picked this book as the first book in his Book Club.] (Source)

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