Good month. Exactly the kind of balance I'm looking for. Kapuscinski is the discovery of the year so far, and I thank Pat for that.
Imperium
From Amazon. Not as good as I'd hoped, but after Shah of Shahs, I had set the bar exceptionally high. The long view, after Gorbacev, at the end, is one of the best I've read, and the story of crossing into the USSR at the border with China in is amazing.
Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking
From Farnam Street recommendation. Nice summary of useful approaches to help in problem solving. Not a lot was new to me, but it was concise and well written, and I did learn a few things.
Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
From G Lo. Colorful cross-section of today's Rome, but the characters were cardboard and the protagonist beloved by all struck me as a little too perfectly drawn.
American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers
From NYT Review. Social media turns girls into insecure approval seekers, and the consequences won't be known for awhile. But the stories are horrifying for parents.
Specialization and Trade: A Re-introduction to Economics
by Arnold Kling
Regular reader of his blog. Clear writing from my favorite curmudgeon. Convinced me that a lot of the science underpinning current economic thinking is bunk.
From Delfi, the bookstore near my office, which has a couple of hundred titles, mostly classics and pulp.. Enjoyed these very much. Great stories, economically written in a distinctive voice. Of a time.
Raging Bull: My Story
From the used bookstore down the street. Great story of a sad, wonderful life and a flawed but remarkable man.
From the used bookstore down the street. Ripping yarn about the derring-do of an implacable Englishman. Had never read it, and am glad to put that in the past tense now. Fun read, although some of the stunds strech the bounds of credulity.
