Top Books of 2025: Financial Times’ Picks in Economics, Business, and Travel

Web Editor

December 25, 2025

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Top 3 in Economics

Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth, and Power, Victoria Bateman

Written by feminist and economic historian Victoria Bateman, this book reclaims the role of women in global economic history, a contribution that Bateman argues has been historically overlooked.

Spanning over 12,000 years from prehistoric times to the current digital age, Bateman presents compelling examples that demonstrate women’s crucial contributions to wealth generation worldwide, challenging the notion that women are merely chess pieces in economic landscapes.

Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress and How to Get It Back, Marc J. Dunkelman

Marc J. Dunkelman critiques American progressivism in his book, arguing that it has restructured and limited the role of government power. According to Dunkelman, this has weakened the state, disappointed society, and paved the way for populist movements like MAGA.

Violent Saviors: The West, the Rest, and Unconsented Capitalism, William Easterly

William Easterly questions why the wealthy seem to know more about the less fortunate than their own people. His book directly challenges the notion that underdeveloped countries must adopt economic and social models that have worked for developed nations.

Top 3 in Travel and Culinary Arts

No Reservations: Lessons from a Life in Restaurants, Jeremy King

Renowned English restaurateur Jeremy King offers insightful critiques of iconic London eateries through this book.

Total Consumer: Why We Eat the Way We Do Now, Ruby Tandoh

Using a narrative style relatable to millennials, Tandoh explores the pop culture side of gastronomy. By comparing internet phenomena, she analyzes how these trends have influenced and transformed the food world.

Mobile Feasts: Paris in Twenty Meals, Chris Newins

Awarded the Jane Grigson Trust Prize, this culinary travelogue explores Paris’s most representative dishes across its districts. From Ratatouille to Breton crepes and Vietnamese bánh mí, Newins delves into the history and preparation of these iconic meals.

Top 3 in Business

Fair Work: Data-Driven Design for Real Results, Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi

Focusing on the Trump administration’s resistance to diversity, these experts in gender equality propose “justice” as a more fitting term for the ongoing struggle for minority rights.

Your Life is Manufactured: How Things Are Made, Why It Matters, and How We Can Improve It, Tim Minshall

Minshall’s book examines the constant concern of deindustrialization and supply chain vulnerability exposed by recent crises. However, it also highlights the technological, logistical, and organizational sophistication that keeps the global production system running.

The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Desired Microchip, Stephen Witt

Nvidia’s rise in today’s society is chronicled through the eyes of its co-founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, in this engaging biography.

Key Questions and Answers

  • Who is Victoria Bateman and why is her book significant? Victoria Bateman is a feminist and economic historian who, in her book “Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth, and Power,” reclaims the role of women in global economic history, challenging the notion that their contributions have been historically overlooked.
  • What critique does Marc J. Dunkelman present in “Nothing Works”? In “Nothing Works,” Marc J. Dunkelman critiques American progressivism, arguing that it has weakened the state and contributed to populist movements like MAGA by limiting government power.
  • What argument does William Easterly make in “Violent Saviors”? In “Violent Saviors,” William Easterly challenges the notion that underdeveloped countries must adopt economic and social models that have worked for developed nations.
  • What does Ruby Tandoh explore in “Total Consumer”? Using a millennial-friendly narrative style, Ruby Tandoh’s “Total Consumer” delves into the pop culture side of gastronomy, analyzing how internet phenomena have influenced and transformed the food world.
  • What culinary journey does Chris Newins present in “Mobile Feasts”? In “Mobile Feasts,” Chris Newins takes readers on a culinary travelogue through Paris, exploring the history and preparation of iconic dishes across its districts.
  • What topics are covered in the business section of Financial Times’ picks? The business selection includes “Fair Work” by Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi, which advocates for justice in minority rights; “Your Life is Manufactured” by Tim Minshall, discussing deindustrialization and supply chain vulnerability; and “The Thinking Machine” by Stephen Witt, a biography of Nvidia’s co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang.