Recently Mentioned Books

1. Gareth Stedman Jones, Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion .  I am not right now looking to read 595 pp. on mid-19th century Marxism, but this is a high quality Belknap book which should be of great interest to some.

This excellent book by June Teufel Dreyer has the subtitle Sino-Japanese Relations, Past and Present .  Here is one short bit:

That is William G. Clarence-Smith in the new, excellent, and self-recommending The Economics of Chocolate , edited by Mara P. Squicciarini and Johan Swinnen.

That is from the forthcoming Work, Power and Status in the Twenty-First Century , by the always worth reading Ryan Avent.

At least in some sectors, there are reasons to believe that the productivity gap dates at least as far back as the late nineteenth century, when Britain lost a good deal of ground to Germany. The debate is murky , but it is wrong to think of this as a recent problem, try here and here .

That is from T.M. Devine’s new and useful Independence or Union: Scotland’s Past and Scotland’s Present .

That is the new book by Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan , with the subtitle How People Shape Them — and They Shape Us .  I have not had it in my paws during my travels but everything they write is good.

She also has written two excellent books: The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code , and Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind .

She also has written two excellent books: The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code , and Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind .

Here is her Paris Review interview .  Read her also at Creative Non-Fiction .  Here is a $2.99 eBook of selected obituaries .  She is funny, that is funny ha-ha, the other funny I could not say.

6. Peter Parker, Housman Country: Into the Heart of England .  A lovely book, and what a wonderful opening summary bit: “My principal intention has been to investigate what I have called ‘Housman Country’, an English sensibility in which literature, landscape, music and emotion all play their part, and which finds one of its most perfect expressions in Housman’s poetry.”

5. Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet . Due out in February , the UK edition is already out.  Substantive and delightful on every page, this is one of my favorite non-fiction titles of the year so far, an excellent book all around.

4. Marwa Al-Sabouni, The Battle for Home: The Memoir of a Syrian Architect .  A poignant and readable take on what has happened in the city of Homs, Syria, through the lens of how the architecture of a city shapes its politics, norms, and liberties, including how it ends up getting destroyed in wartime.

3. Conversations with Roger Scruton .  A good introduction to Scruton’s overall thought, your opinion of this book will match your opinion of him.

2. Stevyn Colgan, Why Did the Policeman Cross the Road? How to Solve Problems Before They Arise .  How one very smart and analytical policeman thinks about the problems he encounters in his daily job.  No single part wowed me or revolutionized my ideas, but smart and thoughtful throughout.

1. Sebastian Junger, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging .  Super short, large print, and in some places too speculative.  Still, this is one of the better books for understanding why 2016 seems to be running off the tracks.

That is from Marie Kondo, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying , a recommended book.  Also never tidy the kitchen first, do not keep make-up and skin care products together, and “…the first step in tidying is to get rid of things that don’t spark joy.”

The author is Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon and the subtitle is Britain and Europe from the End of Empire to the rise of Euroscepticism .  It is maybe the best book to read on Britain’s earlier relations with the European Union.  Here is one bit:

If you want a new Brexit-relevant title of interest, try Brendan Simms, Britain’s Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation .

That is the new book by Ben Wilson , and no it has nothing (directly) to do with Brexit.  Rather it is a survey of the technological breakthroughs of the 1850s and how they reshaped Great Britain and the globe more generally.  Here is one short bit:

I have pre-ordered this forthcoming Robert P. Jones book , here is the Amazon description:

The Force is strong with this one. Cass is by far the most widely cited legal scholar of his generation. His older book, Nudge , and his new book on Star Wars are both best sellers, and he was head of OIRA [Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] under President Obama from 2009 to 2013. Powerful, you have become.

The Force is strong with this one. Cass is by far the most widely cited legal scholar of his generation. His older book, Nudge , and his new book on Star Wars are both best sellers, and he was head of OIRA [Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] under President Obama from 2009 to 2013. Powerful, you have become.

Dickie Davis, David Kilcullen, Greg Mills, and David Spencer, A Great Perhaps?: Colombia: Conflict and Convergence .  After Uruguay, is Colombia not the longest standing democracy in South America?

Richard E. Feinberg, Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy .