Read this: recently read books on political theory and current events

robeiae

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I thought a nice thread about recently read books on political theory and current events might be apropos.

I just finished Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics by Paul Ormerod.

It is a look at economics from a kind of biological point of view. The underlying premise is that most things, nay all things, fail.

And the conclusion does a wonderful job of tying in the consequences of this premise to the viability, or lack thereof, of state economic planning.

What have you read, recently?
 

English Dave

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robeiae said:
What have you read, recently?
Dean Koontz. I don't remember the name of the book. Or the characters.

But I think the message was that sometimes thick books still don't last a long haul flight.




I've just noticed this forum has been renamed Current Events and Political Theory.

Thanks Jenna.
 
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sellthepharm

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Crighton's State of Fear.

Interesting read.
 

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse

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rob - i read his butterfly economics last year.
i was going through a second law of thermodynamics phase...i still am...
 

brianm

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One of the books I'm currently reading is something I found at a thrift store. It is the "Civil War in Pictures" by Fletcher Pratt. He uses original news articles and drawings with additional narration he wrote to tie together the articles to tell the story. I find the language and style of writing in the articles particularly interesting.
 

Kate Thornton

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The Wizards of Langley: Inside The CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology by Jeffrey T. Richelson

I've read most of Jeff's books - he's a phenomenol researcher.
 

robeiae

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Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse said:
rob - i read his butterfly economics last year.
i was going through a second law of thermodynamics phase...i still am...
Butterfly Economics is excellent, indeed. If you want to get really excited (or really confused), read The Invention of Capitalism by Michael Perelman.
 

Unique

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I've just started, 'Is Democracy Possible Here?', by Ronald Dworkin.

He laments the quality of political debate in America and hopes to encourage his readers to argue the issues, not the "demeanor and body language" of the candidates. (Rather like what we hope to achieve here) He also states there is common ground but no one is looking for it.

The first paragraph hooked me: "American politics are in an appalling state. We disagree, fiercely, about almost everything. We disagree about terror and security, social justice, religion in politics, who is fit to be a judge, and what democracy is. These are not civil disagreements: each side has no respect for the other. We are no longer partners in self-government; our politics are rather a form of war."

"The 2004 presidential election was sickeningly divisive."
I agree wholeheartedly. It was sickening. That's why I'm here in CE of AW.

I don't expect it to be dry - he likens some of our recent televised debates to contact sports. He uses words big enough to please Robeiae and small enough to please me. I'll let you know if I learn anything. ;)
 

Tiger

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"More Guns, Less Crime" by John Lott--also a social-theorizing economist. I also recently read "State of Fear."

I think I'll be processing data for the next lunar cycle or two.

Whoops, this thread is a bit long in the tooth, no?
 

Unique

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I think it gets overlooked stuck up here at the top. Also, since it's to discuss books we've read - some of those books have really big words....it takes a while to finish one. ;)
 

robeiae

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I finally finished The Iraq Study Group Report. Awfully written, woefully researched, questionably theorized.

I was going to blog about all of it's flaws, but that's just too much of a chore.
 

Bravo

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I'm working on The White Man's Burden, Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly.

So far, it's fascinating. Easterly is a hell of an economist and this book bears that out.

ive been meaning to read more of that.

what i read was damn good.

glad you like it rob.

let's compare notes later on. :)
 

dclary

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I finally finished The Iraq Study Group Report. Awfully written, woefully researched, questionably theorized.

I was going to blog about all of it's flaws, but that's just too much of a chore.


it's s/b its
 

robeiae

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LaceWing

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Okay, books are great for deep analysis. But for current current events, I'd like to mention these websites.

http://www.dailysource.org./ has become my preferred first stop for news and editorials online. The page on media problems explains what this non-profit news source is trying to fix: a poorly informed public.

http://www.3quarksdaily.com/ is chock full of culture and science and arts, enough to buzz every corner of your brain on any given day. It reminds me of what the prize for getting politics right is: quality of life, some of which is cerebral. Or it just replenishes one's fortitude before returning to the political fray.
 

benbradley

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Copy/pasting what I wrote elsewhere the other day, because it's easier. The book's a year old, but that's still younger than this thread:

I've only read the first 34 pages of Super Cunchers (by Ian Ayers, 2007, looks like the paperback is about to come out), but I find it interesting enough to post about here. The subtitle "Why thinking-by-numbers is the new way to be smart" is a bit misleading (unless you're getting a degree in statistics or economics). It's about how big companies use huge amounts of consumer data to predict what we'll buy and how much we'll pay for it. Those companies use the info to their advantage, but there are also companies started up to provide the consumer with such info. The book tells of the origins of faircast.com as a site that tells you whether an airline ticket's price is likely to go up or down. It's based on data from historical ticket prices to current things like fuel costs and weather.

Okay, there's a lot more, but that's just in the first 34 pages...
 

robeiae

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I'm reading House of Cards by William D. Cohan, right now. It's about the financial market collapse, starting with Bear-Stearns in March of last year.

Very detailed, very insightful, so far. And he does an excellent job--imo--of explaining some of the more difficult financial vehicles and concepts in this. Also, everyone--from the government to the leadership of the firms--is coming across looking like an @ss.