Recently Mentioned Books

The authors are Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson and the subtitle is The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty .  Could there be a better and more up to date book on the importance of economic institutions?  Self-recommending!  Excerpt:

That is from the new and excellent A History of English Food , by Clarissa Dickson Wright.  This book also offers up a good deal of confirming evidence for Paul Krugman’s prior hypotheses about English food .

That is the new book by John Taylor (not Herbert Spencer) and the subtitle is Five Keys to Restoring America’s Prosperity .  I predict Taylor will play a leading role in a new Republican administration, should there be one.  He advocates, among other things, the use of the Taylor rule.

The author is George G. Szpiro and the subtitle is Finance, Physics, and the 300-Year Journey to the Black-Scholes Equation, A Story of Genius and Discovery .  Excerpt:

I attempt to explain how this came about, in the podcast and in one chapter of my forthcoming book An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies .  Believe it or not, a lot of the blame can be placed on government, including Prohibition and immigration restrictions.  The book is due out in April, in both physical and e-copies, and it’s the longest and most comprehensive book I’ve written (yet without the price being high).

7. Your personal stream : This is arguably the biggest innovation in recent times, and it is almost completely overlooked.  It’s about how you use modern information technology to create your own running blend of sources, influences, distractions, and diversions, usually taken from a blend of the genres and fields mentioned above.  It’s really fun and most of us find it extremely compelling.  See chapter three of Create Your Own Economy / The Age of the Infovore .

7. Your personal stream : This is arguably the biggest innovation in recent times, and it is almost completely overlooked.  It’s about how you use modern information technology to create your own running blend of sources, influences, distractions, and diversions, usually taken from a blend of the genres and fields mentioned above.  It’s really fun and most of us find it extremely compelling.  See chapter three of Create Your Own Economy / The Age of the Infovore .

A few observations: Lots of good music this year, but I haven’t yet heard anything path breaking. Most indie rock is overrated and overall it is a less vital genre than pop, although since the latter is centered around songs rather than albums it is underrepresented on this list.  The artist I listened to the most this year was probably Lonnie Mack, followed by John Fahey .  The two best concerts I saw were Satyagraha at the Met and Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman playing together.  Indian classi...

11. Opika Pende, Africa at 78 RPM .

10. Indeed , by Oren Ambarchi and Jim O’Rourke (LP only, a real winner, beautiful sound).

9. The Smile Sessions , The Beach Boys.

8. Wilco, The Whole Love .

7. This May be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel on 45 RPM, 1957-1982 , assorted artists.

6. Miles Davis, Live in Europe 1967 .

5. Shabazz Palaces, Black Up .

4. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy .

3. James Blake, James Blake and also Enough Thunder .

3. James Blake, James Blake and also Enough Thunder .

2. Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes .

1. Abigail Washburn, City of Refuge .

Although the initial reviews were only somewhat positive, I’ve been noticing how many times it has popped up on the year’s end “best of” lists.  And so I bought it .  It is indeed brilliant, and it is not out of line to compare it to top novels by Thackeray or Forster.  I used to think of Hollinghurst as “superb writer but not so much along my lines of interest,” but this one has won me over.

Charles Calomiris wrote in 1999 that the euro is doomed (pdf).  Milton Friedman had some pretty good predictions about the euro .  Here are my 2004 predictions about the euro, and here is my bit from 2003 (“The three percent rule is effectively dead…The real question is what will happen when one of the smaller nations thumbs its nose at France and Germany…and then claims exemption from the relevant penalties.”)  I have been worried about euro-like arrangements since the late 1980s.  Here are Pau...

You can buy the book here .

It is a new graphic novel , by Gruber, illustrations by Nathan Schreiber, and it covers the U.S. health care system and ACA. Excerpt :

It is by far the best book on how to fix our current innovation dilemma and it is entitled appropriately Launching the Innovation Renaissance (Amazon link, B&N for Nook, also iTunes ).  I’ve read it twice and bought it once, even though Alex might have given me a copy had I asked, and now I am reviewing it once and probably will review it again.