Book 1: Lessons

Your First [Free] Book Is Here!

Welcome to a new chapter of The Lessons Conversation.

I am most delighted to finally share the first book in the Lessons series with you, FOR FREE.

If you’ve been following the podcast for a while, thank you for staying on this journey with me. And if you just recently joined us, welcome - I am genuinely glad you’re here.

You may have noticed that this week’s post arrived a day later than usual. Typically, I publish the podcast first thing on Mondays, to start the week with you.

I spent yesterday travelling to New York City for the 2026 United Nations High-Level Political Forum [HLPF], where I’ll be spending the week listening, learning, and engaging in conversations about sustainable development from around the world. Thank you for your patience.

Last week, I had hoped to make the first book available immediately, but I ran into an unexpected challenge with Amazon. Kindle promotions aren’t quite as straightforward, and it took a little longer than expected to make everything work. The good news is that we’ve figured it out.

From this week onward, every week you’ll receive one book from the series completely free.

Rather than following a strict sequence, I’ll simply share whichever book feels most relevant or inspired by the conversations, ideas, and experiences of that particular week. Today that is Lessons. Other weeks it may be Systemic Nonsense, Impossible Economies, or another title entirely. I want each week’s reading to feel like part of an ongoing conversation rather than a reading list.

One important thing to know: once you claim a Kindle book during its free promotion, it remains in your Kindle library permanently. Even though each giveaway lasts only a limited time [5 days to be specific], the copy you download is yours to keep forever.

If you find a book meaningful, I have one small favour to ask: please share it. Send this newsletter to a friend, colleague, student, policymaker, or anyone else you think would enjoy joining the conversation. The goal has never simply been to publish books. It is to build a community that thinks deeply about what works, in what context, under what circumstances, and why.

This Week’s Book

📖 Lessons [Book 1]

The opening book in the series introduces the central question that connects every book that follows:

What Works? In What Context? Under What Circumstances? Why?

Drawing on experiences across international development, entrepreneurship, technology, government, and systems thinking, Lessons explores why good intentions alone are never enough - and why better questions often matter more than quick answers.

How to Read

To receive your free Kindle copy:

* Click the Amazon link below.

* Select the Kindle edition while the promotion is active.

* Add it to your Kindle library.

You do not need a Kindle device. The free Kindle app works on iPhone, Android, tablets, Macs, and PCs, allowing you to build your digital library wherever you read.

Helpful Links

📚 Read this week’s book for free [search on Amazon or in Kindle for the book that is free for the week, and feel free to purchase the others]:http://amazon.com/dp/B0FQNJ61SB

📰 Subscribe to The Lessons Conversation:

Africa paperback pre-orders:https://forms.office.com/r/RMRMKTNd1M

A Small Update on the Podcast

Over the past months, The Lessons Conversation has largely taken the form of Lessons Weekly: my personal reflections on current events, systems, and international development.

For the next seven weeks, the podcast will take a slightly different form.

Each week I’ll dedicate an episode to one of the books in the Lessons series. For the first time, these episodes will also be available as full-length videos on YouTube, so you’ll be able to either listen through your favourite podcast app or watch the conversations as they unfold.

These videos are something I’ve wanted to create for a while - not simply to introduce the books, but to build a lasting body of work around the ideas behind them.

Once we’ve completed this seven-week series, The Lessons Conversation will evolve again. We’ll move beyond solo reflections into conversations with remarkable people whose work is shaping the future of development, technology, entrepreneurship, public policy, and society.

I’m excited for what comes next.

As I spend this week at the High-Level Political Forum here in New York, I’m already finding myself inspired by the conversations taking place. I’m curious to see which ideas stay with me; and, perhaps more importantly, which book feels like the right one to share with you next week.

Thank you for reading, thank you for subscribing, and thank you for being part of this community.

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