The 5 Books Mark Cuban Is Reading This Summer

By on June 19, 2018 in ArticlesBillionaire News

Summer is supposed to be a heavy reading season, but that concept is usually paired with the idea of "summer beach reads," usually a good thriller or some other genre of novel, that you can sink your teeth into on vacation. Billionaire Mark Cuban recently spoke to CNBC on the subject of his own summer reading schedule, however, and there's not a Dan Brown or Agatha Christie novel in the whole bunch. Instead, he's keeping his reading diet non-fictional and cerebral (although I hope for his own sake he's slipping some Ian Fleming in there without telling anyone). Here are the five books he specifically cited as making up his upcoming summer reading list:

1. The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis

The Undoing Project is a 2016 book about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two Israeli psychologist who together researched the science behind human error, bias, and general uncertainty. But the book's author tells CNBC that the two scientists had quirky, unusual personalities that might hold the reader's interest even above and beyond the pair's scientific findings. Tversky in particular "had this preternatural ability to never do anything he didn't want to do," according to Lewis:
"He would look at his mail, and if he didn't want to open it, he'd toss it in the garbage can. He had a 'What can they do to me?' rule. If they can't do anything to me, I'm just going to throw this stuff away."

2. Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality by Max Tegmark

M.I.T physics professor Max Tegmark's theory on the "ultimate nature of reality" is extremely heady stuff. In this 2014 book he proposes that reality as we know it is merely part of a huge mathematical structure, and what is often referred to in comics and scifi stories as the "Multiverse."

Michael Cohen/Getty Images

3. Political Tribes by Amy Chua

Cuban has made no secret of his own political ambitions, and what better way to acquaint oneself with the lay of the political landscape than a book about how tribalism has come to dominate American politics? Cuban has neglected to rule out a 2020 presidential run, so maybe he'll get some good ideas from this 2018 book on that very subject.

4. That's What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together by Joanne Lipman

Even billionaires have to cope with evolving gender norms in the workplace, and to his credit Cuban says he plans to bone up on the subject by taking in this book.

5. The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics by Salena Zito and Bradd Todd

Finally, Cuban says he wants to explore the voting blocs that made a Donald Trump presidency possible, a reasonable choice from a person who's not been shy about criticizing Trump ever since he first became a serious candidate for the job. This book is likely a good way to do that, composed as it is of more than 300 interviews with Trump voters and supporters.

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