It’s a day for the books. Can’t attend the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, or other global book festivals kicking off this weekend? Consider enriching your library with fresh recommendations from more than 35 global leaders in our 2023 summer reading guide. For a sneak peek, check out these seven books curated by McKinsey leaders, or browse the full guide for 70-plus books in nine genres.
The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Recommended by: Bob Sternfels, global managing partner
The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping’s China
by Kevin Rudd
Recommended by: Tracy Francis, senior partner and chief marketing officer
How the World Really Works: The Science behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going
by Vaclav Smil
Recommended by: Sven Smit, senior partner and chair of insights and ecosystems; chair, McKinsey Global Institute
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Recommended by: Homayoun Hatami, senior partner and managing partner, global client capabilities
Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña (tenth-anniversary edition)
by David Hajdu
Recommended by: Pierre Gentin, Senior partner and chief legal officer
Trust
by Hernan Diaz
Recommended by: Rodney Zemmel, senior partner
The Age of AI: And Our Human Future
by Daniel Huttenlocher, Henry A. Kissinger, and Eric Schmidt
Recommended by: Joydeep Sengupta, Senior partner