Holiday Gifts for Expats and Global Citizens: 10 Great Books from 2022

By Peggy Creveling, CFA and Chad Creveling, CFA

It’s that time of year – as holidays approach, have a look through our annual list of good books from 2022.  With the year drawing to a close, we hope everyone can enjoy a break over the holidays.  As usual, while some books are more serious, others are just for fun. And for those expats who may live far away, most of these titles have digital and audio versions available, which makes getting them to your friend or loved one that much easier.

1. Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller. An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world's most critical resource—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in conflict….Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips. “Chip War makes a whale of a case: that the chip industry now determines both the structure of the global economy and the balance of geopolitical power…..it’s a nonfiction thriller — equal parts “The China Syndrome” and “Mission Impossible.” —New York Times 

2. Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World by Peter S. Goodman. The history of the last half-century in America, Europe, and other major economies is largely the story of wealth flowing upward….Goodman’s revelatory exposé of the global billionaire class reveals their hidden impact on nearly every aspect of modern society: widening wealth inequality, the rise of anti-democratic nationalism, the shrinking opportunity to earn a livable wage, the vulnerabilities of our healthcare systems, access to affordable housing, unequal taxation, and even the quality of the shirt on your back. "A biting, uproarious yet vital and deadly serious account of the profound damage the billionaire class is inflicting on the world." — Joseph E. Stiglitz, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics

3. Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health by Russell Foster. We increasingly push our daily routines into the night, carrying out work, exercise, and our social lives long after dark. But we have forgotten that our bodies are governed by a 24-hour biological clock that guides us toward the best time to sleep, eat and think. New science has proven that living out of sync with this clock disrupts our sleep and makes us more vulnerable to infection, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness. “Astonishing . . . What gives the book special force is the author's prominence on the front lines of circadian neuroscience and sleep medicine, not to mention the breadth and depth of the research, which he is as excited to share as if he were recounting a gripping mystery. ― Wall Street Journal.

4. Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World by Gaia Vince. Global migration has doubled in the past decade, on track to see literal billions displaced in the coming decades. “What exactly is happening,” Vince asks. And how will this new great migration reshape us all? In this deeply-reported clarion call, Vince draws on a career of environmental reporting and over two years of travel to the front lines of climate migration across the globe, to tell us how the changes already in play will transform our food, our cities, our politics, and much more. “Nomad Century is a landmark work―terrifying in its message and urgency, but ultimately empowering in its conviction about a path forward. Gaia Vince lays bare the scale of the challenge before us, and the grand ideas that will be needed to meet it. We must be ready; this book shows us how.” ―Ed Yong, author of An Immense World

5. My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin Hill. While preparing to sell his home…retired Secret Service agent Clint Hill uncovers an old steamer trunk in the garage, triggering a floodgate of memories. As he and Lisa McCubbin, his coauthor on three previous books, pry it open for the first time in fifty years, they find forgotten photos, handwritten notes, personal gifts, and treasured mementos from the trips on which Hill accompanied First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as her Secret Service agent—trips that took them from Paris to London, through India, Pakistan, Greece, Morocco, Mexico, South America, and “three glorious weeks on the Amalfi Coast.”  "Packed with rare images and fond reminiscences, this is a page-turning portrait of the Camelot era." —Publishers Weekly

6. Freezing Order: A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, Murder,and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath by Bill Browder.  Following his explosive international bestseller Red Notice, Bill Browder returns with another gripping thriller chronicling how he became Vladimir Putin’s number one enemy by exposing Putin’s campaign to steal and launder hundreds of billions of dollars and kill anyone who stands in his way. “The author has been trying to get the west to take the threat from Putin's Russia seriously for many years. In return, the Putin regime has pursued him around the world. Browder's new book recounts this struggle and is part thriller, part policy prescription. In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, it has deservedly become a bestseller.' -- Gideon Rachman ― Financial Times.

7. Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel.  In July 2011, the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso was drifting through the treacherous Gulf of Aden when a crew of Somali pirates attacked and set her ablaze in a devastating explosion. But when David Mockett, a maritime surveyor working for Lloyd’s of London, inspected the damaged vessel, he was left with more questions than answers. The questions didn’t add up—and Mockett would never answer them. Soon after his inspection, David Mockett was murdered….Award-winning Bloomberg reporters (Campbell and Chellel) piece together the astounding truth behind one of the most brazen financial frauds in history. “Dead in the Water tells a startling tale of fraud and impunity at sea…exposes the dark, barnacle-encrusted goings-on beneath the shipping industry’s waterline…gripping.” --The Economist.

8. Butler to the World: The Book the Oligarchs Don't Want You to Read by Oliver Bullough. In his forceful follow-up to Moneyland, Oliver Bullough unravels the dark secret of how Britain placed itself at the center of the global offshore economy and at the service of the worst people in the world….Butler to the World reveals how Britain came to assume its role as the center of the offshore economy. “Mr. Bullough, a lively and clever writer, has alighted on a lively and clever metaphor around which he builds Butler to the World. Riveting it is to read.” ―Wall Street Journal.

9. Five Laterals and a Trombone: Cal, Stanford, and the Wildest Finish in College Football.   The wildest finish ever to a college football game occurred when five laterals on the final kickoff ended with a sprint through the opposing team’s marching band—prematurely in celebration on the field—for the winning touchdown. It was… so unfathomable it has become known simply as The Play. Journalist Tyler Bridges has deftly reconstructed the pivotal moments and resulting lore thanks to hundreds of interviews with all the key figures on both sides of the rivalry. “Having been there, standing on the end line near the action at the end, I am grateful that this book was written as it answers that 40-year old question in my mind … what the hell happened?!” – A Reader.

10. Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals: A Cookbook by Melissa Clark. Melissa Clark brings her home cook’s expertise and no-fuss approach to the world of one-pot/pan cooking. The streamlined steps ensure you are in and out of the kitchen without dirtying a multitude of pans or spending more time than you need to on dinner. These are simple, delicious recipes for weekdays, busy evenings, and any time you need to get a delicious, inspiring meal on the table quickly—with as little clean-up as possible. “New York Times food columnist Clark calls upon her decades of ’recipe streamlining’ in this excellent guide to weeknight cooking. . . . Busy home cooks shouldn’t miss this smart collection.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About Creveling & Creveling Private Wealth Advisory

Creveling & Creveling is a private wealth advisory firm specializing in helping expatriates living in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia build and preserve their wealth. The firm is a Registered Investment Adviser with the U.S. SEC and is licensed and regulated by the Thai SEC. Through a unique, integrated consulting approach, Creveling & Creveling is dedicated to helping clients cut through the financial intricacies of expat life, make better decisions with their money, and take the steps necessary to provide a more secure future.

Copyright © 2022 Creveling & Creveling Private Wealth Advisory, All rights reserved. The articles and writings are not recommendations or solicitations, and guest articles express the opinion of the author; which may or may not reflect the views of Creveling & Creveling.