Wednesday, March 02, 2011

What I've been reading

Red Plenty by Francis Spuford. At its core, it's a narrative of the rise and fall of linear programming as the salvation of the Soviet system! It is funny, sarcastic, insightful and highly recommended, though I have to say it is a very weird book.

The Impenetrable Forest by Thor Hanson. A peace corp volunteer gets assigned to gorilla habituation in Uganda in the early 1990s. I started it because we are going to Uganda this summer, I finished it because it is a fantastic book!

Werewolves of Montpellier, by Jason. On Will W's recommendation I tried this graphic novella, something I'd never had read on my own. I have since bought 3 more of Jason's "books".

The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. If you only read one book on the crisis, or even if you only read one book all year, this should be the one!

1 comment:

John henry said...

Hi Angus,

I am a big fan of KPC, you and Mungowitz. Also of Munger when he is on Econtalk.

Also a big fan of Michael Lewis since I read Liars Poker in the 80's. I've read most all he has written. I too enjoyed The Big Short and look forward to a movie.

Liar's poker, at least in hindsight, predicted many of our current troubles. If you've not read it, or read it recently, give it a go.

I am currently reading Herbert Hoover's Memoirs. The 3 volumes plus a load of presidential papers are available online at

http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/ebooks/browse.cfm

I downloaded them as PDF, converted to txt and am reading them on my Kindle.

I recently started Vol 3 which deals with the Depression, its causes and economics.

I was amazed by the contemporary nature of it. Most of it (at least the 1st 4-5 chapters) could have been written in 2010 about our current problems. Fed mischief, easy credit, housing boom/bust, European economic problems and more.

It is very interesting.

The 1st 2 volumes were fascinating as well. I had not known much about Hoover. He was an extremely interesting and accomplished man. I knew he had helped with food relief during and after WWI but had no idea of the scope and size of the effort.

Well worth reading.

John Henry