5 books to become the most interesting person in any room —

5 books to become the most interesting person in any room — from a Columbia English lit grad who left Goldman + Uber to write novels I studied English literature at Colombia then spent over a decade at Goldman Uber and Waymo these four books will make you the single most interesting person in any room they're not business books they are books that completely rewire how you see the world start with The Wager by David Grann a shipwreck; a mutiny and survival at the edge of the world in the 1700s I promise you will never ever take for granted sitting in row 1087C on a commercial flight ever again the way humans used to cross the world was actually unhinged then Salt yes Salt one seasoning that actually started wars built empires and funded entire revolutions you will never look at your dinner table seasoning the same way and you'll have a wild fact for truly every occasion The Body by Bill Bryson is a hilarious jaw dropping tour of the thing you live inside and know almost nothing about you will be dropping insane facts about yourself for weeks The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a woman's cells are still alive in labs all over the world 70 years after she died and she never even knew science ethics and a story that will genuinely haunt you and a bonus mine okay real talk this is mostly just fun but it does do justice to a world that I actually lived in the money, the backstabbing the boardroom knives of big tech and it will drop you into a world that you probably didn't even know existed the glamorous chaotic classic car rallies that tear across Europe The Rally is out September 29th