What we’re reading: Holiday edition

Want to know what Santa brought Foreign Policy editors this year? Judge for yourself whether we were naughty or nice.

Blake Hounshell: Want to understand our latest financial disaster? Go back and read When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management, Roger Lowenstein’s painstakingly reported explication of the spectacular 1998 implosion of this most ambitious and arrogant of Greenwich hedge funds. You’ll find many of the same characters who are still key players in the game today.

Britt Peterson: In the holiday light reading edition, I spent a good chunk of last night working my way through Kate Christensen’s The Great Man, a caustic and hilarious take on ego, love, family, and the New York City art world. Back at work, I’m reading novelist James Salter’s review of William Langewiesche’s book on Chesley Sullenberger. Salter, a former Air Force pilot, apparently speaks from past experience when he writes, somewhat thrillingly, "Ditching is best done with power."

Rebecca Frankel: The Prince of the Marshes. I’ve only just begun this memoir of Rory Stewart’s about his time in Iraq from 2003-2004 on assignment for the British foreign office, sent there to replace the governor of Maysan. I heard him speak earlier this year and his commentary on occupied territories (in that instance, Afghanistan) was captivating. Judging from what I’ve read so far Stewart has an aptitude for community immersion in war-torn countries.

David Kenner: Santa brought me Tom Ricks’s The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 for Christmas, so I’m working my way through that. I’m just up to the point where Donald Rumsfeld gets the axe, and Gen. Petraeus assumes control of the war effort in Iraq. Also, I’m still reading Mohammed Shafi Agwani’s The Lebanese Crisis, 1958: A Documentary Study, where Saeb Salaam and the United National Front are lauding Nasser and bashing Lebanese President Camille Chamoun.

Annie Lowrey: For the holidays, I bought someone else Harold McGee’s delightful, exhaustive On Food and Cooking, which I promptly stole back to read. It is part history, part chemistry text, part cooking book, with details about everything from why some fishes taste good as sushi to what makes egg whites hold texture when whipped. I’m also doing some brushing up on Iran and revolutions, and am currently reading Ali Ansari’s great article "The Revolution Will Be Mercantilized" in the National Interest.

Christina Larson: It’s hard to escape lists this time of year. One of the most interesting comes from Gady Epstein, Beijing bureau chief of Forbes magazine, who predicts that while the world continually expects bold moves from China, 2010 will be Beijing’s "year of incrementalism."

If you have any recommendations for articles or books we should read, throw them in the comments!