As 2025 comes to an end, I have compiled a list of books that my colleagues at Edelman Smithfield read this year and would recommend to our clients and friends. This compilation reflects a wide range of interests, perspectives and curiosities that drive our leadership team. Our selections span historical works, literary fiction, biographies and business insights. Some offer frameworks for understanding the world, others spark creativity, empathy, or fresh ways of thinking, and a few simply stand out as great reads.
Together, these books touch on themes of power and trust, resilience and merit, ambition and empathy, and how individuals and institutions deal with change. This list offers a look at the ideas, stories, and perspectives our leaders are spending time with, and what they find interesting, useful, or just enjoyable.
Rosie Gillam, Managing Director and Bay Area Lead:
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail by Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio’s Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order is a must-read because it offers a clear, historically grounded framework for understanding how empires rise and fall, and why the current moment of high debt and geopolitical tension signals a major global transition. Dalio helps readers see beyond daily market noise to the structural forces reshaping power, capital flows, and global leadership, making the book especially valuable for investors, policymakers, and business leaders navigating uncertainty.
Deidre Campbell, Managing Director:
James by Percival Everett
James is a work of historical fiction that centers on bravery, courage, and quiet acts of kindness amid the brutal realities of slavery in the antebellum South. Through Jim’s perspective, the novel reveals his moral strength, intelligence, and compassion as he navigates constant danger along the Mississippi River, protecting others while preserving his own humanity. Acts of resistance are often subtle but deeply courageous. The story culminates in a surprising plot twist that redefines Jim’s identity and agency, powerfully challenging inherited narratives of American history.
All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
All In chronicles Billie Jean King’s journey as a transformative leader who reshaped sports, business, and society through unwavering determination and conviction. The biography highlights her fight for gender equality in athletics, from equal pay to opportunity, while revealing her strategic mindset in building leagues, advocating for women’s professional sports, and leveraging her platform for lasting change. King’s leadership is defined by courage and persistence as she repeatedly challenged entrenched systems, broke down cultural and institutional barriers, and demonstrated how purpose-driven leadership can drive both social progress and sustainable business impact.
We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade by Ellyce Arons
We Might Just Make It After All is a candid account of building a fashion business from the ground up, centered on entrepreneurship, resilience, and partnership. Arons chronicles the creation and growth of Kate Spade, offering insight into the risks, creative problem-solving, and operational discipline required to scale a brand in a competitive industry. The book highlights the realities behind glamour—cash-flow challenges, strategic decisions, and perseverance—while emphasizing the power of collaboration, adaptability, and long-term vision in transforming a small idea into an iconic global fashion company.
Ira Gorsky, Managing Director:
How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services by Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher
This book provides techniques for consultants and other professional services firms to engage clients, build trust and get hired. Helpful read for any professional whose skills are the “product.”
Lauren Torres, Executive Vice President:
The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward by Melinda Gates
I found Melinda Gates’ book interesting on many levels, as she covered major life transitions and offered guidance on embracing uncertainty. I liked how she provided real-life anecdotes, both personal and professional, and provided universal lessons – including letting go of perfectionism, supporting friends in crisis, trusting your inner voice and finding courage in the unknown. The book focuses on how to find the strength to move forward into a new chapter of your life.
Nicole Hakimi, Executive Vice President:
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Angela Duckworth, a psychologist, professor and MacArthur fellow, posits that the secret to success is not just talent, but a combination of passion and perseverance. As I read this, it brought to mind the many successful individuals I work with across finance, media and communications who embody these characteristics.
Duckworth discusses insights she drew from observing cadets at West Point and interviewing leading business executives such as JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. She also provides recommendations on how readers can learn grit and overcome obstacles.
Julia Fisher, Executive Vice President:
Brave New Worlds: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing) by Sal Khan
As an advocate for lifelong learning, this book had long been on my reading list. Hearing from the founder of Khan Academy on how artificial intelligence can supplement, rather than replace, education was both timely and compelling. The author offers practical, tangible examples of how AI can enhance learning for students of all ages, which are applicable to professionals navigating rapidly evolving careers. The book challenges us to think critically about how we design and use AI tools to deepen understanding, expand access, and unlock opportunity. I finished the final chapter with a sense of optimism about AI’s potential to strengthen education and create new pathways for future generations.
Kevin Sajdak, Senior Vice President:
Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein
While ostensibly about our former president, the book is just as much about American society, politics and culture in the 1960s and early 1970s. The book speaks to Vietnam, suburbanization, flower power, the so-called “Silent Majority” and how those cultural movements meshed with political ones. Outside of learning a ton about myriad moments that shaped my parents’ childhoods, what I found telling is how little has changed since then.
The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel
In his book, Harvard philosophy professor Michael Sandel examines our era of populism and polarization. The book urges a societal rethink of the attitudes towards success and failure, and urges a refocus on the role of luck, the ethics of humility and solidarity and, importantly, the dignity of work. The book demonstrates a useful framework for an uplifiting politics; I found its solutions for tackling inequality practical and uncontroversial.
Natalie Short, Senior Vice President:
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The fictionalized story of a Wall Street tycoon and his wife, who together have risen to the top of the social scene in 1920s New York. It's written in 4 parts: one, a "novel" published at the time that seems to echo their lives, an incomplete autobiography from the financier himself he wrote in rebuttal to the novel, a memoir by the ghostwriter of the incomplete autobiography, and notes from the wife at the end of her life. You're left asking which version is the "truth," but also understanding that the answer probably lies somewhere in between.
The Humans by Matt Haig
An alien is sent to earth disguised as a prominent scientist to sow the seeds for his race's eventual takeover of the planet. He begins disgusted by humans and baffled by concepts like love and family, but as he continues his life as the scientist, he starts to appreciate the beauty in humanity's imperfection. It sounds very sci-fi but I promise it's more about drinking wine, reading poetry, and tasting peanut butter for the first time than it is about space ships!
Katie Dillon, Senior Vice President:
Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten
Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Lucky Happens is the story of how she became the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. It dives into her entrepreneurial journey opening a store and creating a brand. She used to work for the government in policy so she had her start in corporate America – so fascinating and has some great lessons about leadership and life.
Julia Dixon, Vice President:
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell
In Revenge of the Tipping Point, Gladwell revisits and complicates his original theory by examining how social contagion is now shaped by power, institutions, and engineered environments, not just organic word-of-mouth. He focuses on how messaging, repetition, and structural forces determine what scales and what stalls. The book is particularly useful for communicators seeking to understand how narratives are intentionally accelerated, why certain ideas dominate, and where influence can be applied to create durable momentum.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Reid’s latest novel follows Joan Goodwin, a physicist selected for NASA’s astronaut program at the height of the space race, as she navigates intense training, personal ambition and extreme public scrutiny. Set against Cold War pressure and national expectation, the book explores how preparation, emotional discipline, and perspective can matter as much as talent when operating in highly visible, high-stakes environments.
By Nicole Hakimi, EVP, Edelman Smithfield