The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, and Civilization by Martin Puchner From the publisher: “The story of literature in sixteen acts—from Homer to Harry Potter, including The Tale of Genji, Don Quixote, The Communist Manifesto, and how they shaped world […]
John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics by Richard Parker From the publisher: “John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) was one of America’s most famous economists for good reason. From his acerbic analysis of America’s “private wealth and public squalor” to his denunciation of the […]
American Burke: The Uncommon Liberalism of Daniel Patrick Moynihan by Greg Weiner From Amazon summary: “Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927–2003) may be best known as a statesman. He served in the administrations of presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford; was ambassador to India and the United […]
Oliver Wendell Holms: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas by Stephen Budiansky From the publisher: “The extraordinary story of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most influential justice. “Oliver Wendell Holmes twice escaped death as a young Union officer in the Civil War when musket balls […]
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind by Raghuram Rajan From the publisher: “Raghuram Rajan, distinguished University of Chicago professor, former IMF chief economist, head of India’s central bank, and author of the 2010 FT-Goldman-Sachs Book of the Year Fault […]
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard From the publisher: “James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. […]
The Ideas that Made America: A Brief History by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen From the Publisher: “Long before the United States was a nation, it was a set of ideas, projected onto the New World by European explorers with centuries of belief and thought in tow. From this […]
A Little History of Economics by Niall Kishtainy From the Publisher: “What causes poverty? Are economic crises inevitable under capitalism? Is government intervention in an economy a helpful approach or a disastrous idea? The answers to such basic economic questions matter to everyone, yet the unfamiliar […]
Figuring by Maria Popova From the publisher: “Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries—beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and […]
Breaking News by Alan Rusbridger From the publisher: “Technology has radically altered the news landscape. Once-powerful newspapers have lost their clout or been purchased by owners with particular agendas. Algorithms select which stories we see. The Internet allows consequential revelations, closely guarded secrets, and dangerous […]