Holiday reading that won't rot your brain

The idea that retirement, or holidays, are best spent in quiet contemplation or mild physical activity is given a rigorous workout by Matthew Crawford in an offbeat study, Shop Class as Soulcraft (Penguin paperback $30). A sleeper hit among the chattering classes, it aims to lift the status of manual labour, DIY and craftwork. Beneath its meticulous scholarship — which doesn’t make for light reading —i s a challenge to the way vocational training has been downgraded, when in fact it offers more cognitive benefits than much ‘knowledge work’. Nor does it spare the drudgery of assembly lines that have also undermined the creative use of hands and minds. This book could change your life.

The prolific Alain de Botton brings his perceptive powers to another riff on travel’s broadening experiences with A Week at the Airport (Profile Books paperback $30), which recounts his stint as a writer in residence at London’s Heathrow. From his perch in the middle of Terminal 5, and with his laptop connected to screens, he entices travellers to share their experiences. He also has access to many off-limits areas to watch baggage handlers, air traffic controllers and cabin crew at work. Never boring or overindulgent, this is a perfect time passer for anyone who has been on an aircraft.

Continental Drift

Lucy Wadham’s The Secret Life of France (Faber paperback $35) is superior to most outsiders’ accounts because it treats the French lifestyle as seriously as they do. Though aimed at an English audience, it delves deeply into both the public and private spheres of ordinary life. It offers genuine insights on how the French view business, politics and economics, as well as highlighting the many contradictions in areas such as health, education and law enforcement. No one leaves France without being impressed by its level of sophistication or being annoyed by its shortcomings. A must-read introduction to get the best out of a trip there.

Across the border is Italy, a nation that attracts no less attention and fascination from its millions of visitors. Tobias Jones’ The Dark Heart of Italy (Faber paperback $25, updated in 2007) tackles the chronic Italian afflictions of corruption, organised crime and political despair. Yet the country remains a creative powerhouse while pulled apart by powerful contradictory forces. Dominating the book is Silvio Berlusconi, the powerful businessman, media magnate and charismatic politician, who typifies much that is right and wrong with Italy. Alexander Stille’s The Sack of Rome (Penguin paperback $26) covers the more recent Berlusconi era leading up to his reelection after a brief period out of power. Loathed and despised by the liberal minded throughout Europe, Berlusconi nevertheless wields mesmerising power over much of the Italian populace because of the business acumen he has brought to a bankrupt political culture. In many ways, Italy is better off with Berlusconi than without him.

Thrills and spills

Good business thrillers are rare, and fortunately a year without a new Joseph Finder is also a rarity. Vanished (Headline paperback $38) launches a new investigative character, Nick Heller, whose estranged brother has disappeared into the usual morass of corporate conspiracy and chicanery. While the story concentrates more on the personal side than previous ones, the dense detail is the key attraction for those in business.

Real life skullduggery is also at the centre of the global financial crisis, which was triggered, if not caused, by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. A Colossal Failure of Commonsense (Random House paperback $22) is an insider’s account, though not of someone who was there when it occurred. Even so, it reveals a bad case of hubris and failure to read the many warning signs. Larry McDonald is knowledgeable about the Lehman operation, if not at mahogany row level, and he has no doubts about where the blame lies. The telling is vivid and compelling, while not yet revealing the full story.