The reading list for March 2025

Book recommendations from David Pakman

This month I read some terrific books, both fiction and non-fiction. Check them out and if any look interesting, consider checking them out. Also, MY BOOK comes out this month! If you haven't pre-ordered, please do. There are also a limited number of remaining signed copies at Brookline Booksmith, available at this link: http://www.davidpakman.com/booksmith

Here are this month's books:

The Mastermind: A True Story of Murder, Empire, and a New Kind of Crime Lord by Evan Ratliff

This is a wild "true crime" story, but unlike others I've read. It follows Paul Le Roux, a South African programmer-turned-global crime boss who built a shadow empire of drug trafficking, arms dealing, and money laundering—all while hiding behind layers of encryption and digital anonymity. Ratliff unpacks how Le Roux exploited the internet and global markets to become a new breed of criminal kingpin, evading authorities for years. If you think cybercrime is just some guy in a hoodie hacking bank accounts, this book will make you rethink that, and it also sheds a different light onto the drug war.

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam

If you’ve ever wondered why civic life in America feels so fragmented, this is the book that explains it. Putnam breaks down how social capital has been eroding for decades. He tracks the decline of everything from bowling leagues to social groups and argues that this loss of social connection has deep political and economic consequences. It’s a crucial read for understanding why politics feels more toxic, why trust in institutions is crumbling, and why it’s so hard to rebuild a sense of collective purpose in modern America.

Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken by Richard Sandler

Michael Milken is best known as the so-called "junk bond king" a guy I never thought much about previously. He was taken down in a high-profile financial scandal. This book takes a different angle, arguing that Milken was unfairly targeted and that the case against him was built on political ambition rather than actual wrongdoing. Whether you end up agreeing with the author's perspective or not, it's an interesting critique of how Wall Street prosecutions are often more about optics than justice. Whether you buy the argument or not, it’s an inside look at how financial power and legal maneuvering intersect.

Micro by Michael Crichton

This is a fun novel that sort of plays on themes of nanotechnology that a friend recommended to me. It's sort of a Jurassic Park type situation, but instead of dinosaurs, you get a deadly experiment with miniaturized humans in a Hawaiian jungle. This was Crichton’s final book, finished posthumously by Richard Preston, whose nonfiction books I've read. The science is ridiculous but fun, and if you like fast-paced thrillers with a dose of speculative tech, you will like this one.

If you aren't in the habit of reading, it's very easy to get started: Get an interesting book and commit to reading just one page per day, which takes about one minute. Over time, just read a bit more.

You can also pre-order my forthcoming book The Echo Machine anywhere that books, e-books, or audiobooks are sold, and at http://www.davidpakman.com/echo