Recommendations from CGAI’s Fellows and members of the Advisory Council
During these COVID times, reading has become a diversion from the pandemic and a pleasurable activity you can do without peril. We have asked our Fellows and the members of our Advisory Council to share their non-fiction and fiction recommendations, which you can explore here.
- Non-Fiction: Erebus, Michael Palin
- Fiction: The Sorrow of Belgium, Hugo Claus
- Non-Fiction: Retooling Politics: How Digital Media Are Shaping Democracy by Andreas Jungherr, Gonzalo Rivero, Daniel Gayo Avello
- Non-Fiction: The Culture of Military Organizations by Peter R. Mansoor & Williamson Murray
- Non-Fiction: War From the Ground Up: Twenty-First Century Combat as Politics by Emile Simpson
- Non-Fiction: The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab by Carl Miller
- Fiction: Calypso, David Sedaris
- Non-Fiction: Battle for the Fourteenth Colony by Mark R. Anderson
- Non-Fiction: Canadian Battle Series by Mark Zuehlke
- Non-Fiction: The Unknown Country by Bruce Hutchison
- Fiction: Soldier Boy by Glen Carter
- Non-Fiction: Napoléon & De Gaulle, Heroes and History by Patrice Gueniffey
Note: “The history of France, Europe and the world was in part determined by these two leaders. The book reflects upon the influence of a single person in the shaping of events and history. It offers an interesting perspective for Canadians on how single country can make its voice heard and continue to be relevant.”
- Non-Fiction: The Rise and Fall of the League of Nations by George Scott
- Fiction: Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
- Non-Fiction: How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer by Sarah Bakewell
Note: “Montaigne as many people know was a minor French aristocrat who lived through the turbulence of the reformation in France. He wrote extensively and auto-biographically but aimed to see the world through the eyes of people all around him –great and small, of all ideological stripes. To quote from the introduction: “This idea–writing about oneself to create a mirror in which other people recognize their own humanity– has not existed forever.” Bakewell’s book is drawn from his writings which are full of simple wisdom. But she renders what I gather are often somewhat rambling pieces (I have not read Montaigne in the original, translated or otherwise) into advice on how to live (e.g., Don’t worry about death, Pay attention, Survive love and loss, Be ordinary and imperfect). All of this is set in a rich recounting of the times and the sociological and political context of Renaissance France. The structure of the book (twenty distinct questions) allow for casual browsing – perfect for summer reading. And she is a truly wonderful writer. At the end the reader cannot help but say: well I probably knew that; I just didn’t think to articulate it and I wish I had. A hopeful book for rather less hopeful times.”
- Non-Fiction: The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World, Barry Gewen
- Fiction: Civilisations by Laurent Binet
- Fiction: The Monument by Colleen Wagner
- Fiction: The Lamp at Noon and Other Stories by Sinclair Ross
- Fiction: The Awakening and Other Stories by Kate Chopin
- Fiction: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
- Non-Fiction: Destined for War by Graham Allison
- Fiction: Conspirata, Richard Harris
- Non-Fiction: From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple
- Fiction: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Judit Fabian
- Non-Fiction: A Tuscan Childhood by Kinta Beevor
Note: "I learned a lot from it, and in my opinion it's a fine book. I was rediscovering it in May, while the pandemic was hitting Europe very hard. I actually had a quick thread about it on Twitter, pictures included, because I was asked what I was reading at the time. The thread can be found here."
- Fiction: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Captain Lemuel Gulliver
- Non-Fiction: The Last Warrior: Andrew Marshall and the Shaping of Modern American Defense Strategy by Andrew F. Krepinevich & Barry Watts
Note: “At a time of a strategic global change exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, our closest neighbour taking an “America First” approach to other nations, China and Russia with hostile rules ensconced for life, and the United Kingdom turning inward– this book provides a first hand look by the authors on the shaping on American defence policy, and how it evolved with changing times. This book will be of interest to the defence and security, as well as the diplomatic, communities.”
- Fiction: Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Note: “While published in 1968, this book really resonated with the challenging times that we are going through now – the Cancer Ward is an allegory that follows cancer patients in the ward that reflect on their personal circumstances and cannot rely solely on the hospital or medical staff for survival. The protagonist learns what he needs to find his own way to survive. Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for literature two years after the publication of this book.”
- Non-Fiction: Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare by Thomas Rid
- Non-Fiction: How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict by Nina Jankowicz
- Non-Fiction: Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations by Amy Chua
- Non-Fiction: Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World by Adam Tooze
- Non-Fiction: Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion by Jia Tolentino
- Non-Fiction: Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
- Fiction: Normal People by Sally Rooney
- Non-Fiction: The Evolution of Arms Control by Richard Dean Burns
- Fiction: The Cabinet of Curiosity by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
- Non-Fiction: Failed States. The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy by Noam Chomsky
- Non-Fiction: Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country by H.E. David Johnston
- Non-Fiction: Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9 – 12 by Ted Barris
- Non-Fiction: The Year of Lear by James Shapiro
- Fiction: The Parisian by Isabella Hammad
- Fiction: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Non-Fiction: The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
- Fiction: Asterix and the Picts by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad
- Non-Fiction: The Ages of Globalization by Jeff Sachs
- Fiction: The Linnet by Christopher McNaught
- Non-Fiction: Educated by Tara Westover
- Fiction: The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
- Non-Fiction: The Second World War by John Keegan
- Non-Fiction: Red Star over the Pacific by Toshi Yoshihara & James R. Holmes
- Non-Fiction: The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre and the Betrayal of Reconstruction by Charles Lane
- Non-Fiction: Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M. Gates
- Non-Fiction: The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton
- Non-Fiction: Claws of the Panda: Beijing's Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada by Jonathan Manthorpe
Note: “It is a “must read” to understand the extent to which Canada needs to recalibrate its relations with China. China is not a benign trading partner, as many in Canada would have it be. Its reaction to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, its efforts to dominate in the South China Sea and its behaviour regarding Hong Kong are just a few examples of its aggressive international posture and disregard for [the] rule of law, human rights and democracy. Against that backdrop, Manthrope probes deeply into how China is operating inside Canada in ways to project its power and advance its interests. Canadians need to beware.”
- Non-Fiction: Superpower Showdown by Bob Davis and Lingling Wei
Note: "The story of the emerging U.S.-China Cold War as told by two world-class journalists from both Beijing and Washington."
- Non-Fiction: Painting as a Pastime by Winston Churchill
Note: "Happy are the painters for they shall not be lonely. Light and colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end, or almost to the end, of the day."
- Fiction: Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Note: "One of the best ways to understand colonialism, its functioning and its legacy is to read some of the notable literary works of the era. Kim is an interesting story set against the backdrop of the British-Russia "Great Game" in Central and South Asia."
- Fiction: Fugitive Piece by Anne Michaels
Note: "One of the most beautiful novels ever produced by a Canadian (or otherwise)."
- Non-Fiction: Good Economics for Hard Times, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo
- Non-Fiction: The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac
- Non-Fiction: On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis
- Non-Fiction: Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America's Alliances by Mira Rapp-Hooper
- Fiction: Three-Body Problem Boxed Set by Cixin Liu
- Non-Fiction: The New Silk Roads, The Present and Future of the World by Peter Frankopan
- Non-Fiction: The Little Ice Age – How Climate Made History, 1300-1850 by Brian Fagan
- Fiction: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz
- Fiction: The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz
- Non-Fiction: The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
- Non-Fiction: Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution by D. Peter MacLeod
Note: "It looks at the entire campaign, not just the battle... and is written in a style that is reminiscent of Schaara's Killer Angels"
- Fiction: Word of Honour by Nelson DeMille
- Non-Fiction: In Spite of Myself: A Memoir by Christopher Plummer
- Fiction: All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
Chris W. J. Roberts
- Non-Fiction: The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
- Non-Fiction: Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stage by Adam Chapnick
- Non-Fiction: How to be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Fiction: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
- Non-Fiction: Exercise of Power by Robert Gates
- Fiction: War of the Wolf by Bernard Cornwell
- Non-Fiction: The Dictator’s Army by Caitlin Talmadge
- Fiction: World War Z by Max Brooks
- Non-Fiction: The Tragedy of Great Power Politics by John Mearsheimer
Note: “It was published nearly 20 years ago, and looks closely at a rising China against the backdrop of the established power – the U.S. It’s all the more relevant because of the time lapse, as the rivalry has played out very similarly to what Mearsheimer predicted. I hope that he’s wrong, as the trajectory of relations he predicts does not get better from here. All the more reason to revisit this seminal work.”
- Non-Fiction: The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, Zachary Carter
Note: “[This book] will not replace the Sidelsky three-volume biography but it is a readable and rather long survey of Keynes’ fascinating life and influence and the long intellectual and political struggle between what we might all Keynesian thought and its enemies, the latter largely triumphed in the United States (sic.).”
- Fiction: Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
- Non-Fiction: The Swerve. How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
- Fiction: War of the Roses Series by Conn Iggulden
- Non-Fiction: Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare by Thomas Rid
- Fiction: The Sympathizers, Viet Thanh Nguyen
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