Recently Mentioned Books

Here is a short excerpt from the review , and the gate is there for subscribers.  You can order the book here .

They can be fired for donating a kidney to their boss (fired by the same boss, that is), refusing to have their person and effects searched , calling the boss a “cheapskate” in a personal letter , and more.

That is the new novel by Gillian Flynn , which has found great favor among readers.  It does not present itself as an intellectual book, yet by the end it turned out to be clever in a very different way than what had been promised up front.  Recommended, if you are looking for a page turner and an excellent novel about both crime and marriage.

Hypocrites and Half-Wits: A Daily Dose of Sanity from Cafe Hayek , by Donald J. Boudreaux.

You can buy An Economist Gets Lunch here .

That is from The Hour Between Dog and Wolf .  The author is John Coates and you can buy the book here .  I would consider that hypothesis speculative, but nonetheless I found the passage of interest.

I also have received William L. Silber’s Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence , which looks quite interesting.

Thomas K. McCraw, The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economy .

There is also The Kipper und Wipper Inflation, 1619-23, An Economic History with Contemporary German Broadsheets , by Martha White Paas, John Roger Paas, and translations by George Schoolfield.  The origins of German monetary thought turn out to be more important than might have been expected…

Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class–Revisited: 10th Anniversary Edition–Revised and Expanded .

Killer whales hunt a seal , from the superb series Frozen Planet .

The years to 2090 show remarkable technological progress in transportation and health care delivery and artificial intelligence.  Labor-saving innovation eliminates even the job of Peter O’Toole.  Before departing on an interstellar mission, have each crew member read Richard Epstein’s Simple Rules for a Complex World .  Do not bring anyone who was brought up in a barn.  Not all animals are cute.  It is possible to signal that you have a really important message to be heeded.  When making a proj...

You can buy Priceless: Curing the Health Care Crisis here , her comments are under the fold…

The author is John Coates and you can buy the book here .

1. Rigor appears to be declining over time at all levels of American education.

That quotation is from Alice Amsden, Asia’s Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization .

There is also The Kipper und Wipper Inflation, 1619-23, An Economic History with Contemporary German Broadsheets , by Martha White Paas, John Roger Paas, and translations by George Schoolfield.  The origins of German monetary thought turn out to be more important than might have been expected…

Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class–Revisited: 10th Anniversary Edition–Revised and Expanded .

3. A modest bundle of guaranteed coverage and services.  I am very influenced by David Braybrooke’s book on meeting basic needs .  Yet for me basic needs truly are basic and do not involve cable TV or small probability chances of delaying death from prostate cancer.

3. Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja, Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth. Full of cliches, but thoey do not totally drown out the substance.  I have been wanting a book on this topic, namely why the poor are (sometimes) more innovative, illustrated through India.

2. Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, Pax Ethnica: Where and How Diversity Succeeds .  Some parts of the world make cross-ethnic collaboration work.  I would prefer more comparative analysis with the regions where diversity does not work so well, but this is an interesting book with historical substance.

1.  Charles Rosen, Freedom and the Arts: Essays on Music and Literature .  Rosen has mastered pianism, writing, and learning.  The best parts, such as on Chopin or Schumann, are stunningly good.

2. I wish the book had been more Hegelian.  One could well have written a book called * The Twilight of the Non-Elites *, for instance:

That is the new book by Christopher Hayes , here is one marvelously good review .  I was myself very impressed by the level of execution in this book.

I very much enjoyed reading the book, you can order a copy here .  For the pointer I thank Daniel Klein.