The 2023 Gilmartin Reading List

“Unaccountable” is written by Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The book explores the inner workings of the American healthcare system and exposes the ways in which it often falls short of its stated goals. Makary argues that the system is plagued by a lack of transparency, which allows hospitals and physicians to hide mistakes and avoid accountability for poor outcomes. He contends that the lack of transparency also allows for inflated prices, which drive up healthcare costs for patients and insurers. Through personal anecdotes and data analysis, Makary illustrates the ways in which the system often prioritizes profit over patient care. He also offers solutions for improving transparency and accountability in healthcare, such as the implementation of mandatory reporting for medical errors and the use of data to track and improve quality of care.

“Shadow Divers” is the riveting tale of the adventures of John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, two deep-sea divers who in the Fall of 1991, made history when discovering a World War II German U-boat 230-feet under the surface just sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey. Official records were in unanimous agreement that the discovery could not have been a sunken U-boat so close to American shores. Over the course of the next six years, an expert team of divers put their personal relationships, reputations and their lives on the line to solve the great mystery of the discovered U-boat and unknown crew lost in its wreckage. This book is thrilling, emotionally complex and details just how far two divers were willing to go to uncover history’s secrets hidden in the ocean’s underworld.

“Survival of the Sickest” is a book written by Dr. Sharon Moalem, a physician and researcher. The book explores the evolution of disease and how certain genetic mutations that were once considered detrimental, may have actually helped our ancestors survive. Moalem argues that many diseases that plague humans today, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, were once adaptive traits that helped our ancestors survive in different environments. He also examines how certain foods and medications interact with our genetic makeup and how that knowledge can be used to improve our health. The book is a blend of science and history and provides an alternate perspective on how we think about disease and how it evolved. He also provides examples of how understanding the evolution of disease can lead to new treatments and cures for diseases that currently have none.

“Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric” by Thomas Gryta is the story and history of General Electric’s epic fall from its position as a successful corporation that, for two decades, provided secure jobs, investment opportunities and business education for top executives. After its founding in 1892, GE powered everything from lightbulbs to turbines in America and through their work-hard-and-win culture, grew to be one of the country’s most valuable powerhouse corporations. After nearly two decades at the top and a tough CEO transition, GE lost its direction and value on both a personal and organizational scale. “Lights Out” details the cautionary tale of how one of America’s great companies fell from grace.

In “The End of the World is Just the Beginning,” author and geopolitical strategist, Peter Zeihan, maps out his theory on the global environment that’s to follow the faster-better-cheaper world built (but not being maintained) by America. Zeihan argues that the global reliance on American-made supply chains and U.S. consumer satisfaction were artificial, temporary and are coming to an end. In true Zeihan fashion, this book leads readers to confront the proposed truth: global economic and supply-chain interdependence is fleeting and countries/regions will be increasingly forced to rely on their own people and land for food, energy, security and protection in the face of aging and declining populations. As Zeihan proposes, the world as America has built it is on the precipice of change. “The End of the World is Just the Beginning” is thought-provoking and insightful, albeit a bit alarming.

In his book “The Selfish Ape,” Nicholas P. Money intermixes science and sociology to offer an interesting alternative to the fantasy surrounding the ascent of humanity. Through the exploration of genetics, planetary positioning, microbial origins, reproduction and brain function, Money paints the story of man as one of brilliant invention and self-destruction. Written in an easy-to-read style, “The Selfish Ape” tells the story of man through characteristics of greatness and failure.

In “A Prescription for Change: The Looming Crisis in Drug Development,” Kinch writes on drug development throughout history, coming to the conclusion that rising inefficiency threatens the ability to develop new medicines. We feel that Chapter 10 is of particular note in its description of M&A as a way for pharmaceutical companies to supplement their pipeline, highlighting companies like Pfizer who developed blockbusters in the 80s and 90s, only to start acquiring. By the year 2000, the company acquired Warner-Lambert for $90B and Pharmacia 3 years later for $60B. Overall, this book is solid read that asks important questions about the future medicine.

“When Breath Becomes Air” is an award-winning, heart wrenching autobiography written by Paul Kalanithi, a neurosurgeon who continued his work at Stanford through a terminal diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer. As a new father and in the face of his own mortality, Kalanithi confronts the question of what makes life worth living and what does it mean to nurture new life as your own life fades? His autobiography is a bittersweet read filled with lessons on perspective and the value of time from a doctor who became the patient.

In “Speed & Scale,” investor, advocate and philanthropist, John Doerr, maps out an unprecedented global plan to solve the world’s most pressing issue: global warming. In the wake of droughts, floods, wildfires and melting ice, Doerr asks the reader, what if we apply Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), a tool that fueled the rise of today’s most innovative organizations, to solving the climate crisis? This book has been described as a “launchpad” for those who are ready to take immediate action to arriving at net zero by 2050. Through wide-ranging analysis and firsthand accounts from Jeff Bezos, Al Gore, Bill Gates and others, Doerr provides an actionable roadmap to achieving net zero before it’s too late.