Summer Books - The World for Sale & The Odyssey!
BREAKINGWATERS Books Summer Double Header
Summer is in full swing and with it comes, hopefully, a little more time to read so BREAKINGWATERS has organised not one, but two options for you!
First,
The World for Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy - Sep 11th 2pm UKT
‘Gripping’ Economist
‘Jaw-dropping’ Sunday Times
‘Riveting’ Financial Times
‘Fascinating’ Reuters
We are entering an age of energy crises and food shortages. This book reveals why. Meet the swashbuckling traders who supply the world with energy, food and metal. Their goal: To make billions by buying and selling raw materials - flogging Russian gas to Europe, Saudi oil to America and Congolese metals to Silicon Valley. Their methods: Whatever it takes - whether funnelling cash to Vladimir Putin’s sanction-stricken Kremlin, schmoozing Russian metal oligarchs after the collapse of the Soviet Union, or striking deals with the Libyan rebels at the height of the Arab Spring.
These are the commodity traders. You’ve probably never heard of them. But, like it or not, you’re one of their customers.
Javier Blas and Jack Farchy are two of the world's best-known journalists covering energy, commodities and trading houses. They both work for Bloomberg News, where Blas is chief energy correspondent and Farchy is a senior reporter covering natural resources. Previously, they covered commodities for the Financial Times.
CPD
For this session, I will also be supporting informal/unstructured CPD requirements so if you would like a record of your attendance please select accordingly on the registration form.
Second,
Emily Wilson’s The Odyssey with Dr. Martine Cuypers - Sep 4th 2pm UKT
It’s categorically not a business book, nor an investment book but as it’s summer and Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster has taken over, I thought it would be fun to read one of humanities greatest stories alongside seeing it depicted on screen. Wilson’s translation has been reported to be the source of inspiration to Nolan making it a great place to start. We can then discuss it’s themes, messages, and Wilson and Nolan’s interpretations in the context of the modern world and why it has held up so well.
For the extra keen among you, and to keep it in a business context, Dr. Cuypers sent on a link for an essay entitled: An Economic Approach to Homer’s Odyssey which we can also discuss.
As majestic as literature gets - Max Porter
Fresh, unpretentious and lean - Madeline Miller
A cultural landmark - The Guardian
A revelation. Never have I been so aware at once of the beauty of the poetry, the physicality of Homer’s world, and the moral ambiguity of those who inhabit it.--Susan Chira
The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage, family and identity; and about travellers, hospitality and the changing meanings of home in a strange world.
This vivid new translation the first by a woman matches the number of lines in the Greek original, striding at Homer’s sprightly pace. Emily Wilson employs elemental, resonant language and a five-beat line to produce a translation with an enchanting “rhythm and rumble” that avoids proclaiming its own grandeur. An engrossing tale told in a compelling new voice that allows contemporary readers to luxuriate in Homer’s descriptions and similes and to thrill at the tension and excitement of its hero’s adventures, Wilson recaptures what is “epic” about this wellspring of world literature.
Dr. Cuypers holds a Ph.D. from Leiden University and has previously worked as a lecturer and research fellow in Hamburg, Leiden, Groningen, Chicago and Washington DC. Her research focuses on epic and the Greek literature and culture of the Hellenistic period and Empire.
N.B. Physical copies of Emily Wilson’s translation are taking a long time to source so ereader and audiobook may be required to get ahead of this one.
Very excited to read these and discuss them in person next month!
Any questions - bryan@breakingwaters.com