Recently Mentioned Books

1. Singer : Amalia Rodrigues, fado specialist.  I am also a fan of Sara Tavares, especially this CD .  Carmen Miranda is often thought of as Brazilian, but she was born in Portugal and I believe she grew up there as well.  She was good.

That is from Wendy Doniger's new and noteworthy The Hindus: An Alternative History .  Here is a favorable Michael Dirda review of the book .  Read the Wikipedia section on "Criticism" of Wendy Doniger , some of it from fundamentalist Hindus.  Here is a defense of Doniger .

That's by Marion Fourcade and the subtitle is Discipline and Profession in the United States, Britain & France, 1890s to 1990s .

That's the new book by Joan Roughgarden and the subtitle is Deconstructing Darwinian Selfishness .  I'm not sure how true this book is, but if you're looking for a new popular book on evolutionary biology which is engaging, this is the first one in some time.

5. Keith Thomas, The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfillment in Early Modern England .  His Religion and the Decline of Magic is one of my favorite history books ever (he tells us that, in equilibrium, a certain number of people should pretend to be witches, to get what they want).  The new one is impeccably researched and written, but I don't see so much original material there.  I can honestly call it a good book but for me it was a disappointment.

5. Keith Thomas, The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfillment in Early Modern England .  His Religion and the Decline of Magic is one of my favorite history books ever (he tells us that, in equilibrium, a certain number of people should pretend to be witches, to get what they want).  The new one is impeccably researched and written, but I don't see so much original material there.  I can honestly call it a good book but for me it was a disappointment.

4. Jason Scott Smith, Building New Deal Liberalism, The Political Economy of Public Works , 1933-1956.  A very good book arguing the case for New Deal public works projects, primarily on grounds of growth (not stimulus).  I also enjoyed Robert D. Leighninger's Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal .

4. Jason Scott Smith, Building New Deal Liberalism, The Political Economy of Public Works , 1933-1956.  A very good book arguing the case for New Deal public works projects, primarily on grounds of growth (not stimulus).  I also enjoyed Robert D. Leighninger's Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal .

3. Miles, Ornette, Cecil , by Howard Mandel.  I never considered putting this one down.  It appeals to readers who are already fans but it is also a good start for expanding your horizons beyond "traditional" jazz.

2. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die , by Tom Moon.  It's mostly popular music but a mix of everything.  I was amazed how much this guy's taste, including on particular classical recordings, matched my own.  This is a more serious book than the packaging indicates.

1. Gail Hareven, The Confessions of Noa Weber .  This newly translated Israeli novel was a great deal of fun, without being too light.  Recommended.

The subtitle is Forty Tales From the Afterlives .  This bestseller looks thin and unsubstantial but I would recommend it to some of you.

Pirates and economics may not be sexy subjects for a book, but economists tend to see things and do things a bit differently. So it made sense for Peter Leeson, an economist at George Mason University, to propose to his girlfriend in the preface of his forthcoming book, The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates . He presented the finished book (and a ring) to her on Friday–and she said yes.

The subtitle is Democracy in Dangerous Places and the author is Paul Collier.  Here are three bits:

2. New Paul Collier book , reviewed here .

Addendum : Buy Peter's book here .

5. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding .  Does our cooperative nature come from our love of babies?  Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found her earlier book more revelatory.

5. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding .  Does our cooperative nature come from our love of babies?  Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found her earlier book more revelatory.

4. Richard Dowden, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles .  Another mega-book on Africa, with mixed results.  At least half of it is worth reading, and I learned a great deal (or at least I think I did) from the analysis of how Somalia is a relatively ethnically unified nation, by African standards at least.

3. The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency , by David Marsh.  I can't say this book is fun to read, but it is the new go-to source on an increasingly up-for-grabs topic.  It's at least as much about the EMS as about the Euro.

2. Edward Skidelsky, Ernst Cassirer: The Last Philosopher of Culture .  A very clear and readable book on a still underrated thinker.

1. The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum , by Lawrence Rothfield.  The definitive book on its topic.

Not everyone assumes that Jim Cramer is smart but in fact Jim Cramer is smart (though his advice is no smarter than that of a monkey's).  Watch the early Jim Cramer and you will see (can anyone find a good YouTube link?).  But take the smartest person you know and put him or her on TV for hours a week, for years, and see what happens.  (See my book What Price Fame? .)  Usually only very smart people get to experience such fates.  Lots of screaming is an added bonus.

I enjoyed this book, which is written by Stephen Axilrod and has the subtitle Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin Through Greenspan to Bernanke .

I've read only fifteen or so pages and I'm already convinced it's one of the must-read books relevant to the financial crisis.  The other two books which come to mind are Lords of Finance and The Partnership , neither of which covers the crisis directly but both offer essential background.