Books like Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

01

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

John Carreyrou · Business

Bad Blood is Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou's account of Theranos, the blood-testing startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes that claimed its proprietary technology could run hundreds of diagnostic tests from a single finger-prick of blood.

A kindred history read.

02

Killers of the Flower Moon

David Grann · History

In the 1920s, members of the Osage Nation in northeastern Oklahoma were being murdered.

A kindred history read.

03

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

Michael Lewis · Economics

The Big Short is Michael Lewis's account of the 2008 financial crisis as seen through the eyes of a handful of contrarians who saw the collapse coming, bet against the American housing market, and were right.

A kindred history read.

04

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

Patrick Radden Keefe · History

Say Nothing opens with a scene that sets its register precisely: Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten, is dragged from her Belfast flat by a gang of masked strangers in December 1972 and never seen alive again.

A kindred history read.

05

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot · Science

In 1951, a Black woman named Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

A kindred history read.

06

The Changing World Order

Ray Dalio · History

The Changing World Order is Ray Dalio's attempt to map the long arc of rising and declining empires through a systematic historical framework, with the explicit goal of understanding whether the United States is in decline and what a world with China as a co-dominant power would look like.

Both dig into wealth and power.

07

Better

Atul Gawande · Health

Better is Atul Gawande's examination of what it means to perform well in medicine, a field where the stakes are as high as they get and where the gap between ordinary and excellent care routinely determines who lives and who dies.

Both dig into accountability.

08

Crucial Accountability

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler · Business

Crucial Accountability is the sequel to Crucial Conversations, narrowing its focus from high-stakes dialogue to one specific problem: what to do when someone fails to meet an expectation.

Both dig into accountability.

09

Expert Political Judgment

Philip Tetlock · Psychology

Expert Political Judgment is Philip Tetlock's report on a twenty-year study of political forecasters.

Both dig into accountability.

10

Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin · Business

Extreme Ownership is former Navy SEAL commanders Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's argument that the single most important principle in leadership is taking total responsibility for everything that happens under your command — not just your own actions but your team's performance, your mission's failure, and the behavior of those above you when it doesn't support your mission.

Both dig into accountability.

11

Good Authority

Jonathan Raymond · Business

Good Authority is Jonathan Raymond's argument that the real job of a manager is not to produce results directly but to use the work as a vehicle for people's personal and professional development.

Both dig into accountability.

12

Leadership Is Language

L. David Marquet · Business

Leadership Is Language is L.

Both dig into accountability.