Recently Mentioned Books

That is from Tim Blanning’s The Pursuit of Glory, Europe 1648-1815 ; here is my previous post on the book .

These are from the new and noteworthy Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier , by Robert Emmons:

That is from Medicare Matters: What Geriatric Medicine Can Teach American Health Care , by Christine K. Cassel.  It should be noted that a) Cassel is much more positive about Medicare than that quotation alone would indicate, and b) this is an honest book which recognizes the weight behind many different points of view.

5. The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language , by Christine Kenneally.  The early chapters have excellent material on the contributions of Chomsky and Pinker, but after that it bored me.

4. Elizabeth Currid, The Warhol Economy: How Fashion Art & Music Drive New York City .  The title says it all.

3. Gunther Grass, Peeling the Onion .  Why oh why oh why do I let myself be fooled.  There is only one author I find flat out too obnoxious to read, and it is this guy.  And that was before I learned of the whole SS business.  I had heard this one is different, but it isn’t.  Or it is, but he’s still too far over the line for that to matter.

2. John Lanchester, A Family Romance .  Imagine finding out your mother was once a nun and then that she led a life of lies.  I would have liked this book much better had it not been fiction.  It felt so real and even has good photos but I am disappointed to keep on thinking it is only a story.

1. Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class , by Robert Frank (the economist Robert Frank).  The best statement of the Frankian world view; every book of his is full of ideas and there are very few authors you can say that about.

That is from new and excellent The Pursuit of Glory, Europe 1648-1815 , by historian Tim Blanning.  The best parts of this book — which are very good indeed — are the early sections on the economic history of transportation.

So if you want the podcast, pre-order my Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist .  The Amazon link is here , Barnes&Noble is here .

5. Ruth Rendell, The Water’s Lovely .  I used to think she was past her peak, but the first third of this is superb and the rest stays pretty good.

4. Alfredo Jose Estrada, Havana: Autobiography of a City .  One of the best city biographies, almost as good as the books on Cairo .

4. Alfredo Jose Estrada, Havana: Autobiography of a City .  One of the best city biographies, almost as good as the books on Cairo .

3. Jennifer Michael Hecht, The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think is Right is Wrong .  The claim is that happiness follows from self-knowledge, self-control, self-realization, and awareness of death.  There is little consideration of what is the proper margin for each.

2. Martin Krause, La Economia Explicada a Mis Hijos , and Por el ojo de una aguja .  Economics, explained through the medium of literature and fables, from an Argentinian classical liberal.

2. Martin Krause, La Economia Explicada a Mis Hijos , and Por el ojo de una aguja .  Economics, explained through the medium of literature and fables, from an Argentinian classical liberal.

1. Douglas Wolk, Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean .  My consumer surplus from this book was huge.  The author calls it an "economic history" of the graphic novel; he hasn’t read Bob Fogel but it remains one of the best introductions to any topic.

OK people, we’re going to do an MR book forum on Greg Clark’s A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World .  Pre-order it, get it July 27.  (Guess whose book you can buy it with, for a two-fer discount ?)  We’ll start the first chapter or so about a week after that and I’ll discuss the book sequentially.

OK people, we’re going to do an MR book forum on Greg Clark’s A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World .  Pre-order it, get it July 27.  (Guess whose book you can buy it with, for a two-fer discount ?)  We’ll start the first chapter or so about a week after that and I’ll discuss the book sequentially.

Here , or try Charles Mann’s 1491 , one of my favorite books.  Try reading him on the selective breeding of corn, still one of mankind’s most impressive scientific feats. Or :

5. Cosmonaut Keep , by Ken MacLeod, 77 out of 352 pp., sorry guys.

4. Gold: The Once and Future Money , by Nathan Lewis, 13 out of 447 pp., some of you will love it.

3. Kiwis Might Fly , by Polly Evans, 1 out of 310 pp.

2. Kim MacQuarrie, The Last Days of the Incas , 169 out of 522 pp., it is actually quite good.

1. Taxi: A Social History of the New York Cabdriver , by Graham Hodges, 44 out of 240 pp.