The Story of Mankind
By Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“Beginning with cavemen and ending 485 pages later circa 1922—the year
the book was published—this title provides a brief history of mankind.
Seeing the rise and fall of the Roman Empire compressed between pages
132 and 168 puts modern-day power shifts into perspective. Van Loon has
a snappy, lively tone, and he doesn’t take anything too seriously. He
can’t, because each great civilization, whether the Egyptians, the
Romans, or the English, has fallen from dominance. Their steadfast
convictions that their way is best always plays a role in their peril.
If Van Loon were still writing, the past 85 years would get about two
pages of ink.”
Inés of My Soul
By Isabel Allende
“I love Latin storytellers. While Allende is my favorite, I also adore
Gabriel García Márquez and Paulo Coelho. There’s a deep fantasy and
sensual wonderment deeply infused in their prose. I think Icebreaker’s
branding evokes a similarly mysterious feeling. Set in the early 1600s,
Inés of My Soul is the
fictional love story of two Spaniards in South America: a widowed woman
and a general determined to conquer Chile. It’s written from the
perspective of the woman later in her life. She’s trapped inside her
body yet still feels very much alive. Allende writes the story of a
life filled with love, adventure, and great challenges, elements that
inspire me to wonder,
When I grow old, what will make me feel truly happy? I ask that question whenever I’m making ‘big’ decisions.”
Jeremy Moon, 38, started his now-global apparel company, Icebreaker, in 1994 by selling samples out of his briefcase.
