Bob Sternfels

Global Managing Partner, McKinsey

Operation Tidal Wave: The Bloodiest Air Battle in the History of War
by Vincent dePaul Lupiano

I come from a family of aviators and am a private pilot myself. In World War II, my grandfather was part of this specific US Air Force air raid. He is actually a character in the book, so I couldn’t ignore it.

A Gentleman in Moscow
by Amor Towles

As a history buff, I loved this period piece. The sociopolitical context has some powerful parallels to the world we live in today, and the themes of family, friendship, and self-growth gave me a lot to think about.

A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier
by Diana Preston and Michael Preston

I am planning on reading this book at the suggestion of a close friend and colleague. Looking forward to it.

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Acknowledgments

It takes a village to curate amazing lists from this rather busy group of leaders from all over the world. We would like to thank Kris Coratti, Chantal De Soto, Rimjhim Dey, Melanie Newman, Joellen Perry, and Jayne Rosefield for their help.

Within McKinsey Global Publishing, Eleni Kostopoulos led the effort to make this year’s list come alive, with collaboration and support from Mike Borruso, Nancy Cohn, Victor Cuevas, Torea Frey, Mary Halpin, Drew Holzfeind, Kathleen O'Leary, LaShon Malone, Philip Mathew, Janet Michaud, Kanika Punwani, Sarah Thuerk, Duane Tomaszewski, Petra Vincent, and Nathan Wilson.

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