Recently Mentioned Books

5. Nicholas Ostler, The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel .  A provocative book on the forthcoming decline of English as a globally dominant language.  I'm not (yet?) convinced, but I'm less unconvinced than I thought I would be.  One main point is that more and more business will be done without English at all, often through the BRICS countries.  It is interesting to see that fewer people in South Africa are learning English.

4. Samuel Moyn, The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History .  I don't have any objections to this much-touted book, but I expected to learn more from it than I did.  It didn't feel like 352 pp.

3. Richard Overy, 1939: Countdown to War .  I didn't think a book so short on this topic could be good.  I was wrong.  Overy has a strong overall track record as an author.

2. Vassily Grossman, Everything Flows .  I found this more fluent and compelling than his longer Life and Fate ; it's the story of a man who returns home from a concentration camp.  Recommended.

1. The Half-Made World , by Felix Gilman.  I very much enjoyed this mix of dystopian steampunk and speculative science fiction, reviewed by Henry here .

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , by Kanye West.

Sikilela , by Amabutho; from South Africa.

Timbuktu Tarab , by Khaira Arby ; from Mali, intense.

The best book to read on that topic is Robert Leonard's new and noteworthy Von Neumann, Morgenstern, and the Creation of Game Theory .  Excerpt:

My favorite recording of Swan Lake (and my favorite classical CD of 2010) is conducted by Mikhail Pletnev (controversial but there is a good review here ), who was recently cleared of child abuse charges in Thailand .

That is the new book by Jennifer Homans and it is one of the very best non-fiction works of the year, impeccably written and researched.  Here is the excerpt of greatest interest to most economists:

The author is Daniel Akst, a former guest-blogger at MR and the book is due out January 6.  I should finish grading exams, but in fact I am writing this blog post…

I agree with the conclusion but I am not sure that globalization was the mechanism.  I sometimes think of an imaginary economy with two sectors: music and bathtubs.  I believe that my bathtub is over thirty years old, yet for me it works fine and I have no desire to buy a new one.  When it comes to music, most people want to listen to what is new and hot , not Bach's B Minor Mass.  Furthermore, even within the music sector, acts seem to have declining longevity, in part due to the decline of the...

Christopher Buckley reports the following anecdote from one of his friends:

The subtitle is How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort (home page here ) and the author is Perry Mehrling.  The entire book is good but the paydirt comes in the last two chapters, where we are treated to a persuasive and original account of what the crash- and post-crash Fed is all about.

The authors are Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu and the subtitle of this excellent book is How American Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal .  In the old days they might have called this book The Panama Canal .  Excerpt:

I find it increasingly hard to resist the notion that he is the most enduring director of our time.  I've now seen Syndromes and a Century (the best place to start), Blissfully Yours , and Tropical Malady and wish to rewatch them all. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (not yet on DVD) won the Golden Palm at Cannes this year .  Themes of his movies include dreams, medicine and its authority relationships , sex and eroticism, homosexuality, the nature of cinema itself, memory, sudden fra...

I find it increasingly hard to resist the notion that he is the most enduring director of our time.  I've now seen Syndromes and a Century (the best place to start), Blissfully Yours , and Tropical Malady and wish to rewatch them all. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (not yet on DVD) won the Golden Palm at Cannes this year .  Themes of his movies include dreams, medicine and its authority relationships , sex and eroticism, homosexuality, the nature of cinema itself, memory, sudden fra...

I find it increasingly hard to resist the notion that he is the most enduring director of our time.  I've now seen Syndromes and a Century (the best place to start), Blissfully Yours , and Tropical Malady and wish to rewatch them all. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (not yet on DVD) won the Golden Palm at Cannes this year .  Themes of his movies include dreams, medicine and its authority relationships , sex and eroticism, homosexuality, the nature of cinema itself, memory, sudden fra...

[Terrell] Owens wrote a children’s book , had a breakfast cereal named for him , made guest appearances on several television shows and commercials, and in 2009 starred in a VH1 reality show, “The T. O. Show.” In addition to registering “I Love Me Some Me,” he has also sought protection for “Getcha Popcorn Ready” and a logo featuring his initials, T. O.

You can pre-order it here .  I agree with the main thesis.  My question is this: if there is some value in butting your head against the wall, do the "false prophets" and their preaching make us happy too?

4. Alan Taylor, The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Loyalists, and Indian Allies .  "The civil war had four overlapping dimensions.  In the first, Loyalists and Americans battled for control of Upper Canada.  Second, the bitter partisanship within the United States threatened to become a civil war, as many Federalists served the British as spies and smugglers, while their leaders in New England flirted with secession.  Third, Irish republicans waged a civil war with...

3. James K. Glassman, Safety Net: The Strategy for De-Risking Your Investments in a Time of Turbulence .  p.11: "Reduce the proportion of stocks in your portfolio."

2. J.P. Singh, Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity .  The definitive book for updating coverage on its topic, including the best and most comprehensive history of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity.

1. Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan , by D.R. Thorpe.  I'm not one of these people who enjoys reading a lot of long tracts about British politicians, but this is one of the best non-fiction books of the year.  It's full of good information, offers useful context for British economic and political debates, has plenty of original research, and is as suspenseful as a very good novel.  Most of all, it brings its world and character to life.  Highly recommended.