The Interview

Escape from Camp 14 is the official biography of North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk, detailing his harrowing life born and raised inside Camp 14, one of North Korea's brutal political prison camps, and his remarkable escape to freedom in the West. Blaine Harden recounts Shin's experiences of torture, starvation, public executions, and betrayal by his own family, as well as his eventual defection and adjustment to life outside North Korea. Note that in 2015, Shin admitted to lying about several aspects of his story, prompting updates to the book.

The Last King of Scotland is a novel that interweaves fiction and historical fact to tell the story of Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who arrives in Uganda on the day of the 1971 coup d'état. Garrigan becomes the personal physician and confidant of Idi Amin, the brutal and charismatic dictator of Uganda. The novel explores Garrigan's complex relationship with Amin, his gradual complicity in the regime's atrocities, and his eventual realization of the true extent of his involvement. The book is a meditation on conscience, charisma, and the slow corruption of the human heart, set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in modern African history.

In 'Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt', Michael Lewis delves into the world of high-frequency trading (HFT) and its corrupting influence on the U.S. stock market. The book follows a group of Wall Street iconoclasts, including Brad Katsuyama and Sergey Aleynikov, as they uncover and challenge the unethical practices of HFT firms. Lewis explains how these firms use advanced technology to front-run orders, creating a rigged market that benefits insiders at the expense of ordinary investors. The narrative is engaging and accessible, making complex financial concepts understandable for a broad audience. The book highlights the efforts of these individuals to reform the market and restore fairness, and it has had significant impact, including prompting investigations and public discussions about market structure and fairness.

In this landmark work of literary nonfiction, Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years, a period marked by significant events such as the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise of Kim Jong-il, and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population. Demick's meticulous reporting brings to life the Orwellian world of North Korea, where displays of affection are punished, informants are rewarded, and an offhand remark can lead to severe punishment. The book humanizes the North Korean people, showing how they fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival, ultimately leading to their profound disillusionment with the government.