Recently Mentioned Books

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 .

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.