The pursuit of better growth, the purpose of technology, the economy of tribal instincts and improving longevity are among the topics tackled by the six finalists for the 20th Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award.
FT editor and chair of the judging panel Roula Khalaf said the judges would have “a hard task to select a winner from this range of exceptionally interesting and relevant titles.”
She announced the shortlist at a ceremony on Tuesday at Schroders’ US office in New York.
The finalists are:
- “The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century: Why (Almost) Everything We Are Told About Business is Wrong,” by John Kay, traces the impact on the corporation of the shareholder value movement, the knowledge economy and the digital and services revolution, which is changing the way companies are run.
- “Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together,” by Michael Morris, set to be published next month, is a vivid examination of the power of tribalism, often used to ill effect, but latent with potential for positive change if leaders in business and politics can harness basic human instincts.
- “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World,” by Parmy Olson, tracks the rivalry between Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind and Sam Altman of OpenAI, as they sought to apply artificial intelligence to change the world for the better, while Google, Microsoft and others vied for commercial advantage.
- “The Longevity Imperative: Building a Better Society for Healthier, Longer Lives,” by Andrew Scott, proposes ways in which people, policymakers and businesses can establish an “evergreen agenda” to help us make the most of our longer lives.
- “Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War,” by Raj Shah and Christopher Kirchhoff, takes the reader inside the technology revolution that is shaking up the way the US military is supplied and how modern warfare is waged.
- “Growth: A Reckoning,” by Daniel Susskind, examines the tension between our breakneck quest for growth, which can widen inequality and destroy the environment, and the need to preserve what we value.
The titles in contention for the £30,000 award were selected from a longlist of 16 books. The prize, which is also supported by FT owner Nikkei, will be presented in London on Dec. 9. Authors of each of the shortlisted books will receive £10,000.
