It’s disruptive to review The Bitcoin Dilemma when the author is called ‘READ’ because once that gets in your head then ‘read’ and ‘review’ merge into one portfolio word and all those old days of LSD come back with a swirly vengeance.

Even so, the aforesaid The Bitcoin Dilemma is not a book to be forgotten and while not an easy read, it’s very much worth the effort in doing so.

Instead of focusing on all the speculation and hyperbole about making profits and destroying Satoshi’s invention, this book delves into the maths of crypto.

Moreover, Colin L. Read really knows what he’s talking about. He has worn many hats, but his experience of being the mayor of a ‘crypto mining’ US city lays bare the real costs of bitcoin mining, not just for the local and global environment, but for the people who live where mining takes place.

Effectively they pay for the mining to take place and it takes a tough mayor to ensure that miners do not take the capacity, the piss, the biscuit.

In some places the book reads like a collection of essays and the gentle touch of a sub-editor to dispel the over-adjectives and the self-crusading would have been welcome, but those who know of maths and mining no less about reading and reviewing.

As somebody who is fairly well-versed in crypto, there was a lot in this book that was new and I learnt a lot. While proof-of-work protocols are clearly bad and proof-of-stake are much better for Planet Earth, those who don’t know the difference will know by the end of the book.

Apparently Ethereum’s recent ‘upgrade’ from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake took off a whopping 0.2% of the world’s total power supply and it is a move that bitcoin, alas, cannot replicate.

This book made me want to sell my bitcoin portfolio and move it a more sustainable currency. It made me think. I would suggest most readers will have a similar reaction.

That makes it a good book.

Chain Reaction – How Blockchain Will Transform The Developing World is an important publication that strips away the focus on technology and puts the emphasis on culture and how blockchain will change the way emerging countries operate.

Written by Paul Domjan, Gavin Serkin, Brandon Thomas and John Toshack, the book is essentially a collection of essays that point out the benefits that blockchain technology can bring to countries that need a more equitable way of operating.

The disparity in some of the poorest places in the world is an insult to anybody who considers themselves human and the immutability of blockchain means that any corrupt organisation or politician cannot buck the ‘system’.

The book also points out the wider implications of blockchain in other parts of the world and for those who are not completely familiar with the subject, it is also an excellent guide to what blockchain is, not just a bunch of disconnected chain or two… and in these examples, nothing to do with Bitcoin speculation or all the nonsense narrative that surrounds this New World.

At 110 pages, it’s a short book but covers eight subjects in detail such as comparing blockchain to the railroads of yesteryear, explaining who ‘really controls blockchain’ and what blockchain actually solves.

I am familiar with the subject of the emerging world and the opportunity blockchain offers after speaking at many conferences in Africa in places such as Lagos, Accra and Johannesburg about how it can bring about positive change.

Whether it’s preventing blood diamonds, child labour or work conditions, some companies are already harnessing its power and they are mentioned in this excellent book.

This is essential reading for those who are new to blockchain and those who are experts in its implementation as well as reinforcing ideas that people such as me already have. I hope it reaches a wide audience. Long live blockchain!

Upscale by James Silver must have taken a long time to research and write, but that makes it one of the better reads when it comes to the ecosystem of startups and investors.

As somebody who has written widely on technology and knows the effort it takes to write an article, let alone a book on the subject, this is a seriously impressive piece of work.

The Upscale accelerator ‘powered by’ the UK’s Tech Nation wants to increase the success of startups companies and, er, upscale, the chances of investors in receiving serious returns on their capital.

There have been numerous success stories, not least FinTech company The Accountancy Cloud that has scaled considerably due to the programme, but others further down the line such as Monzo and Ometria.

However, this is a book review and not an accelerator review, but it’s difficult not to refer to the great companies that have resulted from this initiative. Silver has been granted exclusive access to the programme and he speaks to many of the UK’s successful entrepreneurs.

These include Saul Klein, Brent Hoberman, Wendy Tan White, Suranga Chandratillake and many others. If these names mean nothing to you, then this probably isn’t the book for you. However, if they do, you will love their words and inspiration.

Written by founders for founders, Upscale is the type of book everybody can learn from whether that is investing, scaling, marketing or making the right decision when that market turns in another direction.

There are few platitudes in this book, just smart advice from smart people who have been through the mill, have been shredded by the mill but have come out spotless and cleansed.

I’m not a fan of business books, especially when allied with a commercial venture, but I’ll make an exception in this case. Well-researched, very well-written and extremely topical. Buy it.