by Gary Alexander
December 25, 2025
Christmas morning races toward us on Thursday morning. Last week, I ran down the first six of my 10-recommended new books (published in 2025). In this issue, I’ll continue (and conclude) that list – a bit too late for Christmas shopping, but just in time for New Year’s resolutions, especially for young males who seem adrift, with the final book selection addressing the dilemma facing young males these days.
Books #7 to #9: More History Books with Some Investment Lessons
Book #7: “1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History – and How it Shattered a Nation” by Andrew Ross Sorkin (October 14, 492-pages). I already reviewed this in a recent column, along with the unfortunate after-effect of journalists focusing on any “parallels between the 1920s and 2020s,” which are not a part of the book itself. Like Sorkin’s predecessor, “Too Big to Fail” (about the 2008 financial crisis), the author provides a superbly researched blow-by-blow, day-by-day reconstruction of events leading up to, and following, the crisis in question. Despite all the press wrangling since its publication, the 1929 crash clearly did not cause the 1930s Depression, as I recently wrote, since several other major crashes (like 1906, 1920, 1962, 1987 and 2008 itself) did not lead to a lost decade. A series of poor political and financial decisions in 1930 and 1931 caused the “great contraction,” not the 1929 crash itself, but “1929” provides a crucial blueprint for understanding cycles of speculation and the cause of financial upheavals.
Book #8: “The American Revolution: An Intimate History,” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (November 11, 2025, 608-pages) is a generously illustrated coffee table companion to Ken Burns’ latest series on great American historical themes – following Jazz, the Civil War and Baseball, three of my favorite subjects – and timed for our nation’s 250th birthday next year. I’m not enamored with all of his wanderings into revisionist history, but for this 250th birthday party, the big takeaway I see in Geoffrey C. Ward’s book is that the ultimate military victory by colonists in that war was either lucky, miraculous, or fore-ordained, depending on your bias. Colonists had no business winning that war, which pitted our rich landowner generals in constant retreat – but betting “all-in” on victory – when the more predictable defeat would have them all swinging from a rope. That’s my way of saying that I think Burns covers the war well, but there’s too much about the war itself and not enough about why they risked their lives to fight.
Also, the many commentators in the TV series gave me ideas of what Revolutionary Era authors to read next, and I believe I’ll look into Rick Atkinson (“The British Are Coming” and “Fate of the Day”) first.
Book #9: “The History of Money: A Story of Humanity,” by David McWilliams (November 11, 2025, 416-pages) is a humanistic look at filthy lucre. Far from being “the root of all evil,” that famous Biblical curse is better translated as “the love of money is A (not the) root of evil.” McWilliams, a former central bank economist (from Dublin), sports a refreshingly brisk style and (as the sub-title claims) treats money as a humanist salve. His introduction says: “Most economists do not really understand money… They take the fun out of it. A highly emotional substance, money can be transgressive, sexy, dangerous, mind-altering. Money is power, it is domination, but it can also be literation. “Money defines the relationship between worker and employer, buyer and seller, merchant and producer. But not only that: it also defines the bond between the governed and the governor, the state and the citizen. Money unlocks pleasure, puts a price on desire, art and creativity. It motivates us to strive, achieve, invent and take risks. Money also brings out humanity’s darker side, invoking greed, envy, hatred, violence and, of course, colonialism.”
I like most of his coverage of gold in Chapter 16 (“The Yellow Brick Road”), but I wonder why he said FDR ended gold convertibility in 1936 (it was 1933), while barely touching Nixon’s 1971 gold moves.
Book #10 (Dealer’s Choice) – Helping Rootless Young Males Set Realistic Resolutions for 2026
I’ve written often about the job (and life) dilemma facing Generation Z males – boys and men facing long and apparently pointless lives. The percent of working-age males in the Labor Force has been declining drastically this century, despite today’s seven million unfilled job listings. It seems that many Generation-Z (and some Millennial) youth are seemingly without hope – they can’t afford a home on low-wage jobs, they carry killer loads of college debt and (partly as a result of that) they aren’t marrying or procreating, in fear of financial failure or the climate crisis, or other real or manufactured fears. To address that need, here is a Christmas gift idea (or two, or three) for young males in crisis, providing a road map out, and up.
Last Year’s Encore: “The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security, by Scott Galloway (a book from my 2024 list). Last year, I recommended Scott Galloway’s “Algebra of Wealth,” as a great Christmas idea for young people facing financial obstacles (which many of us older folks also faced, at their age) to find a valuable and successful life path toward money and more satisfaction. And now, here are two more solutions for those in that situation – focusing on the challenge to young males.
Book #10: “Notes on Being a Man” by Scott Galloway (November 4, 304-pages) is one of many recent books about Western (U.S. and European) boys and men in crisis. After the excesses of a male-dominated patriarchy, in which males were also deemed more expendable – in wars, or risky jobs – we now face a crisis in young males: Boys are less likely to graduate from high school or college than girls. One in seven men reports having no friends, half live with their parents in their mid-20s, and men account for three of every four suicides and other deaths of despair in America. Sadly, young males are also now the main assassins acting out in violent public killings. (Note: I wrote this before the recent murders of Rob and Michelle Reiner, the Brown killings and more.) Since the pendulum seldom stops in the middle, this seems like payback against patriarchy, accused of “toxic masculinity” instead of getting a helping hand.
In Notes on Being a Man, Galloway promotes a healthier form of masculinity, using his life’s journey to create examples – as he did in his 2024 investment book. He offers some helpful advice, along these lines:
- Get out of the house (or basement), since “action absorbs anxiety.”
- Take risks and be willing to feel like an imposter, at first: Don’t let rejection stop you.
- Be kind, a major secret to success in any relationship.
- Find what you’re good at, then follow your talent (not necessarily your “passions”).
- Acknowledge your blessings—and create opportunities for others.
- Relate to women, marry and be a good dad, and especially be good to the mother of your children.
- Life isn’t about what happens to you, but how you respond to it.
Alternative Book #10: “The Preparation” by Doug Casey, Matt Smith and Maxim Smith (August 18, 2025, 298-pages) is a radical solution for seeking a meaningful life and career without college. Doug Casey uses the real life example of Matt (father) and Maxim (son) Smith to show how and why to skip college, trading in four stagnant years of lecture halls, political correctness, massive debts and a sheepskin of dubious value for a debt-free launching pad into several skills, like becoming an EMT, a pilot, welder, web-application builder, rancher or business owner. This is a practical “field manual for young men” (and the parents who love them) in creating a roadmap that rapidly builds career competence, confidence and real‑world value. I would fault this game plan for its scattershot ambitions – doing too much instead of one thing well – but “The Preparation” favors a Renaissance Man who can build, heal, sell, or lead others.
Some other 2025 (mostly history) books are in a pile to read… I’ll finish them soon. They would include:
- “Why Nothing Works,” by Marc Dunkelman (February 18, 2025, 332-pages).
- “The Fate of the Day” by Rick Atkinson, volume II on the Revolutionary War (April 29, 2025, 863-pages).
- “Our Dollar, Your Problem,” by Kenneth Rogoff (May 6, 2025, 360-pages).
- “History Matters,” by David McCullough (published posthumously, September16, 2025, 192-pages).
- “To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower,” by Bret Baier (October 21, 2025, 416-pages).
That concludes my 10 (or 17) best books for 2025. Let’s hope 2026 delivers more gems between covers.
All content above represents the opinion of Gary Alexander of Navellier & Associates, Inc.
Also In This Issue
A Look Ahead by Louis Navellier
“Bad” Economic News Is Often Seen as Good Market News
Income Mail by Bryan Perry
Gold Has More Room to Rise in 2026
Growth Mail by Gary Alexander
My Top 10 Books from 2025 (Part 2: Conclusion)
Global Mail by Ivan Martchev
There is Still Time to Get to S&P 7,000 in 2025
Sector Spotlight by Jason Bodner
Seeing Beyond Our Stubborn Biases
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About The Author
Gary Alexander
SENIOR EDITOR
Gary Alexander has been Senior Writer at Navellier since 2009. He edits Navellier’s weekly Marketmail and writes a weekly Growth Mail column, in which he uses market history to support the case for growth stocks. For the previous 20-years before joining Navellier, he was Senior Executive Editor at InvestorPlace Media (formerly Phillips Publishing), where he worked with several leading investment analysts, including Louis Navellier (since 1997), helping launch Louis Navellier’s Blue Chip Growth and Global Growth newsletters.
Prior to that, Gary edited Wealth Magazine and Gold Newsletter and wrote various investment research reports for Jefferson Financial in New Orleans in the 1980s. He began his financial newsletter career with KCI Communications in 1980, where he served as consulting editor for Personal Finance newsletter while serving as general manager of KCI’s Alexandria House book division. Before that, he covered the economics beat for news magazines. All content of “Growth Mail” represents the opinion of Gary Alexander
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