It is now officially the season to be jolly. The season for shopping begins as we now begin our search for gifts that seem interesting & personal. I thought I would give my two cents as a gift giver. These books that I advise range in audiences, but anyone who loves history should love them all. I've narrowed it down to four genres with a book each. Eat, read, and be merry:
Political:
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
This is a biography, and moreover it is a good biography. If you are interested in learning about one of the most fascinating men that inhabited the White House you have your book. It is packed full of historical nuggets and very well researched. A great read for anyone interested.
Economic:
Irrational Exuberance
by Robert Schiller
This book is for people who love economics and want to have their minds blown. The realm of economics has gone through a massive transformation. The fundamental basis that economists have rested much of their theories is that markets are rational and people are rational. Meanwhile, if you asked any psychiatrist if people were answered you would get a very different answer. People are not rational. That is a fact. But what are they then? How are markets driven by irrational forces? Robert Schiller predicted both the dot.com boom and the housing crisis in this very book. The book is quite academic. Only buy it if you like reading academic works.
Military:
Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany
Stephen Ambrose
This is a book for everyone. Seriously. This book is a classic. Buy it. Stephan Ambrose is legendary in military history circles. He tells a tale that includes both the macro and the micro picture in a way that is seldom done. His book Band of Brothers was turned into a HBO series that won plenty of awards. He was the historian that was consulted for the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. If you want a second opinion read the NYT review.
Cultural:
The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia
by Douglas Smith
This is a fantastic book. I rarely say that about books that have the words "forbidden love" in the title, but this one is an exception. It is a book about one of the principle families that literally owned thousands of serfs. It is more than a simple romance book, but rather a history of serfdom wrapped up with a true love story. I highly advise this book based on the story, but the writing is fabulous. This would be a perfect gift for a girlfriend (or boyfriend) who likes stories & fiction, but never found a passion for history.
In the area of economics, a much better book to read is "Reckless Endangerment" by Gretchen Morgenson. It accurately documents the ambition, greed, and corruption of government officials and their political cronies that lead to the residential real estate boom and bust. Also, you may want to consider reading "The Next 100 Years" and "The Next Decade" by George Friedman of Stratfor.
ReplyDeleteWhile I find corruption, greed, and all those other fun human failings to be quite interesting, the structural weaknesses in a market are usually the reason for market crashes similar to the housing bubble. I'm not saying those books are bad (I'd have to read them myself to get a good picture), but rather they are a sideshow of the real economic fundamentals that caused the crisis. The best thing to get a big picture view of the crisis would be to watch this video:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx_LWm6_6tA
I won't say my books are "better", but irrational exuberance is certainly a book heralding a revolution in economics.
I agree. My choice of the word "better" was inappropriate. I will put it on my reading list.
DeleteThe financial services and the housing markets are simply not free markets. The "structural weaknesses" were created by the federal government through its fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and tax policies. It is the political influences on, and the resulting actions of, the Federal National Mortgage Corporation and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, two government-sponsored and influenced entities, that facilitated the housing boom and created conditions causing the lowering of lending standards at financial institutions throughout the nation. This "structural weakness" is what Ms. Morgenson documents in her book.