Recently Mentioned Books

1. Brian Boyd, On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction .  If you've read Geoffrey Miller, Karen Dissanayake , Denis Dutton, and Comeuppance , this is the next book in line.  It's well-written and intelligent, but also a little underwhelming.  The main point is that the arts are an extension of the play instinct.  Blog audiences, who expect rapid delivery of the main points, may be especially frustrated.

1. Brian Boyd, On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction .  If you've read Geoffrey Miller, Karen Dissanayake , Denis Dutton, and Comeuppance , this is the next book in line.  It's well-written and intelligent, but also a little underwhelming.  The main point is that the arts are an extension of the play instinct.  Blog audiences, who expect rapid delivery of the main points, may be especially frustrated.

1. Brian Boyd, On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction .  If you've read Geoffrey Miller, Karen Dissanayake , Denis Dutton, and Comeuppance , this is the next book in line.  It's well-written and intelligent, but also a little underwhelming.  The main point is that the arts are an extension of the play instinct.  Blog audiences, who expect rapid delivery of the main points, may be especially frustrated.

That's the new book by Cass Sunstein and the subtitle is How Like Minds Unite and Divide .  I am a fan of Cass Sunstein and I hope they confirm him for OIRA, but I am not persuaded by the main thesis of this book.

I am told that is from p.23 of Triumph of the Optimists .

That is the title of Robert H. Frank's latest book , published by Basic Books and due out later this month.  The subtitle is Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times .  I received my copy today and of course it goes to a prominent spot in my "to read" pile.

That's the new book by Geoffrey Miller , of The Mating Mind fame.  The exposition is a bit of a sprawling mess but the best pages of content are fascinating.  I recommend it and I am glad that I started reading it the moment I got my hands on it.

That's the new book by Geoffrey Miller , of The Mating Mind fame.  The exposition is a bit of a sprawling mess but the best pages of content are fascinating.  I recommend it and I am glad that I started reading it the moment I got my hands on it.

That is all from the new and noteworthy Famine: A Short History , by Cormac O Grada.  Here is the book's home page .

5. Dying Inside , by Robert Silverberg.  This 1972 classic has just been republished.  Is it science fiction or speculative fiction?  In any case it is full of social science; the basic premise is about how other people react to a man who has the ability to read peoples' minds and how psychologically destructive this power turns out to be.  If you wish to read every great science fiction book this is a must.

4. George Scialabba, What are Intellectuals Good For? , recommendation via Henry .  Fascinating essays on 20th century intellectuals, from an "ethical left" point of view.  I especially liked the piece on Pasolini (a favorite director of mine).

3. Mahmood Mamdani, Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror .  This revisionist account argues the conflict is political rather than racial and that the notion of "genocide" is an externally imposed category for international political reasons.  I found the arguments of this book hard to assess but it made for stimulating reading.

2. Joseph Contreras, In the Shadow of the Giant: The Americanization of Modern Mexico .  A neglected side of recent Mexican history; one of the best books on where Mexico is headed.  Here is a recent article on related progress in Mexico's legal system.

1. Siddharth Kara, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery .  A serious research effort and the best book so far on its topic.

That's from Fernando Pessoa's book , written under the name of Baron of Teive.

I enjoyed the book , most of all the chapter comparing Argentina and the United States.  I was struck by this bit:

The bottom line : I just bought his other non-fiction book .

The author is Michael Stein and this is possibly the most interesting and engaging book I have read this year.  The subtitle is “One Patient, One Doctor, One Year.”  The ongoing dialogue between a doctor and his addicted patient defies excerpt but here is one small (non-dialogic) bit:

That is from his quite interesting Bouvard and Pecuchet .  This unfinished book is a parody of self-education and perhaps of gay marriage as well.

6. Poet and essayist : Pessoa.  I've been influenced by his work. The Book of Disquiet is his masterpiece.

3. Novelist : Jose Saramago.  But I don't like them all. Blindness , The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis , and The Double are the primary ones to read. Baltasar and Blimunda I should try again. The Stone Raft is good.  Currently I am reading, and enjoying Antunes's Fado Alexandrino .

3. Novelist : Jose Saramago.  But I don't like them all. Blindness , The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis , and The Double are the primary ones to read. Baltasar and Blimunda I should try again. The Stone Raft is good.  Currently I am reading, and enjoying Antunes's Fado Alexandrino .

3. Novelist : Jose Saramago.  But I don't like them all. Blindness , The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis , and The Double are the primary ones to read. Baltasar and Blimunda I should try again. The Stone Raft is good.  Currently I am reading, and enjoying Antunes's Fado Alexandrino .

3. Novelist : Jose Saramago.  But I don't like them all. Blindness , The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis , and The Double are the primary ones to read. Baltasar and Blimunda I should try again. The Stone Raft is good.  Currently I am reading, and enjoying Antunes's Fado Alexandrino .

3. Novelist : Jose Saramago.  But I don't like them all. Blindness , The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis , and The Double are the primary ones to read. Baltasar and Blimunda I should try again. The Stone Raft is good.  Currently I am reading, and enjoying Antunes's Fado Alexandrino .