Friday's Five ✋ #429

The Roads to...

Happy Friday! ☀️

Could it be that I still could become a winter guy?! After having had a bad skiing accident when I was 12, winter sports stopped being for me. As an adult, I’ve rather spent longer winter breaks in warm and sunny places. Last week, however, we spent a few days in a winter wonderland of the Salzkammergut and while I only watched some of my younger family members ski, I did enjoy spending time where the mountains meet the lake and where the sun reflects in the snow. So did my daughter who hadn’t seen that much snow in her short life yet.

What I’m reading 📖

Friend and Friday’s Five reader Stefan recommended Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads to me, knowing that we both share a passion for big history books. I’ve had this book on my Goodreads list for many years and got to it over the holidays thanks to Stefan’s nudge. I am 75% through this 600+ pages book and it now ranks amongst my favourite history books that I’ve read. The book’s premise is to tell the history of the world through the prism of the Middle East and Asia where the silk roads originate from. Working through more modern history, the common thread is always the “the road to…” and covers the road to the first and second world wars, the road to first gold and then to the black gold. What makes the narration of historic facts dry at times is complemented by Frankopan through interesting anecdotes and lesser-known protagonists. This is an old school good history book. More about it here.

What I’m listening to 🎧

A few weeks ago, I shared that I enjoyed reading 1929, Andrew Ross Sorkin’s in-depth account of the events leading to the greatest Wall Street crash in history to date. Sorkin also wrote Too Big To Fail, which I read at the time and which made it to the movie screens. He was a guest on the excellent Acquired podcast to talk about the way he works and writes.

What I’m watching 📺

In January 2021, I spent six weeks on Mallorca to hibernate. During that time, I watched the first season of The Night Manager, a suspenseful thriller involving a spy that infiltrates the inner circle of a weapons dealer. Some of the episodes were filmed on Mallorca, as I discovered, just up to the North in the old fortress of Alcudia. And now, five years later, the second season of The Night Manager just came out. Watch the trailer.

What I’m thinking about 🧠

“History is not a series of isolated events but a tapestry of connections.” – Peter Frankopan

What else?! 💯

Nerdy and cool. This Substacker attempted to find the most life-changing books, statistically. Have a read.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!

David

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