Recently Mentioned Books

That is a book by Anton Chekhov , part memoir, part ethnographic study of a penal colony and the surrounding economic institutions on Sakhalin Island .  I hardly ever hear of this work, but it is both a literary and social science masterpiece; I will teach it next spring in my Law and Literature class.  Here is one review of the book .  This excerpt reminded me of some recent events:

5. Michael Whinston, Lectures on Antitrust Economics .  A very good introduction to current thinking on antitrust policy, through the lens of theory and empirics.

4. Tom Segev, Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends .  Many books on the Holocaust tread on well-tilled ground, but this was original and compelling throughout.  Here is a useful review , although I think it considerably exaggerates how critical the book is of Wiesenthal.  I also very much like Segev's The Seventh Million .

3. John W. Dower, Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor/Hiroshima/9-11 .  Combines public choice and behavioral economics approaches to foreign policy, all through the lens of the events mentioned in the subtitle.  Consistently interesting, and it shows how the intelligence failures leading up to the second Iraq War had many precedents.  Dower is the same guy who wrote the excellent books on the Pacific War and Japanese postwar recovery; I recommend his work more generally.

2. W.G. Sebald, On the Natural History of Destruction .  Pitch perfect throughout, you can add Sebald to the list of authors with first-rate contributions to both fiction and non-fiction.

1. The Hunger Games , by Suzanne Collins.  It's derivative in its set-up, but still it has a splendid plot.  If you're looking to explore the new trend of adults reading works for "young adults," this is a good place to start.  The bottom line: I've just ordered volumes two and three, not just volume two.

The subtitle is How the Economy Works in the Real World and the author is Greg Ip , one of the best and most renowned economics journalists.  This is a very good book for someone who wants to start reading The Economist , or other forms of economics news, but doesn't have enough background knowledge of the real world economy.

That is the new book by Nicholas Phillipson from Yale University Press .  I urge all fans of Adam Smith to read this book.  It covers Smith's life and times more than his texts per se.  It is especially strong on Smith and Hume, Smith's work as a customs inspector, Smith's time in France, Smith and Quesnay, and Smith's dedication to his mother.  I like very much what it covers; my main complaint is that the book is not longer.

In his new book Encounter , Milan Kundera writes:

That's a chapter title from Jonathan Franzen's new book Freedom .  If you think you are going to like this book, you almost certainly will; it delivers on its promise.  The problem is, I never thought I was going to like this book.

That is the subtitle, the title is The Club No One Wanted to Join and the editor is Erin Arvedlund and the compiler is Alexandra Roth.  Here are a few excerpts:

6. Nearly complete works of Igor Stravinsky, conducted by Stravinsky, 22 discs, $33.98 .

As for novels about diplomats, The Constant Gardener comes to mind. The Diplomat's Wife is popular, though I have never read it.  I read the Ender trilogy as about diplomacy as well.  (Is there more from science fiction?  It seems like a good plot device to bring people into contact with alien cultures.)  Carlos Fuentes was himself a diplomat, as were Octavio Paz, Lawrence Durrell, Ivo Andriæ, Pablo Neruda, and Giorgos Seferis.  That's a lot of writer-diplomats and you can add John Kenneth Galbr...

As for novels about diplomats, The Constant Gardener comes to mind. The Diplomat's Wife is popular, though I have never read it.  I read the Ender trilogy as about diplomacy as well.  (Is there more from science fiction?  It seems like a good plot device to bring people into contact with alien cultures.)  Carlos Fuentes was himself a diplomat, as were Octavio Paz, Lawrence Durrell, Ivo Andriæ, Pablo Neruda, and Giorgos Seferis.  That's a lot of writer-diplomats and you can add John Kenneth Galbr...

The author is Eliza Griswold and the subtitle is Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam .  Excerpt:

3. Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities , by Lucien Karpik, from the French, chapter one pdf and home page .

2. A Short History of Celebrity , by Fred Inglis, home page here , with chapter one pdf.

1. Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy , by Viviana A. Zelizer, home page here .  From a browse I learned that many prostitutes spend their "dirty money" more quickly.

That is from Mary Roach’s new book , subtitled The Curious Science of Life in the Void .

The author is Mark Goldman and the subtitle is Buffalo, New York .  I loved this book.  It is a splendid portrait of twentieth century America, the connection of industrialism and the arts, the decline of manufacturing and the resulting urban casualties, an applied study of the wisdom of Jane Jacobs, and on top of all that it is the best book I've read on how excess parking helped destroy an American downtown.  I recommend this book to all readers of serious non-fiction.

That's the new tract by Glenn Hubbard and Peter Navarro; the subtitle is Why the Path to Economic Ruin Runs through Washington, And How to Reclaim American Prosperity .

The author of this book is Max Hastings .  Although this topic may seem like well-trodden ground, this is so far one of my favorite non-fiction books of the year.  Excerpt:

You can buy the book here .

Dean Karlan is one of my favorite young economists and in April he will publish a popular economics book, co-authored with Jacob Appel.  The subtitle is How a New Economics is Helping to Solve Global Poverty .

6. Super Sad True Love Story , by Gary Shteyngart.  I didn't like his previous two books and I usually dislike pomo novels about cool-talking young people in major U.S. cities.  Still, the flood of very good reviews nudged me to read this and I'm glad I did.