By Date (5 column layout) for MarginalRevolution.com

Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State

If you are looking for a context where the long-run Laffer Curve holds, you'll find it here.

by Michael Crichton

Yes it is "writing-by-numbers," yes it is better than his recent work, but no, it is not nearly as good as Jurassic Park, Sphere (my favorite), Congo, or for that matter his book on Jasper Johns...The start is OK but it falls apart as it proceeds.

Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market

by Katherine S. Newman

examines the upward mobility of (some of) the working poor

A deserving winner of a National Book Award, plus I am interested in the neurology theme. I find many of Power's earlier books too intellectualized, but this one held my attention throughout.

Why We Eat More Than We Think

How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care

The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood

Some of the apologetics and omissions really bugged me. But as to why the Palestinians failed to construct their own state -- before the creation of Israel -- I learned a great deal.

Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic

A good implicit "public choice" treatment of how the different factions in the Iranian government fit together. Surprisingly readable.

A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

by Steven D. Levitt,
Stephen J. Dubner

A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

by Steven D. Levitt

by Matthew D. Adler,
Eric A. Posner

There is not exactly a new thesis here, but it is the most intelligent discussion to date of the strengths and limits of cost-benefit analysis.

Unmasking the Real Shakespeare

by Brenda James,
William Rubinstein

The book's major claim is that Sir Henry Neville wrote the works of William Shakespeare.

A City and Its People at War

by Rodric Braithwaite

How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love

A good summary of a bunch of results I already knew, but a suitable introduction for most readers. It doesn't cover neuroeconomics.

by Cormac Mccarthy

by Richard Dawkins

This book didn't sway me one way or the other. And while I am not religious myself, I am suspicious of anti-religious tracts which do not recognize great profundity in the Bible. Furthermore, as Dawkins recognizes, civilization requires strong loyalties to abstract principles; I'm still waiting to see a list of the relevant contenders to choose the best.

How We Became a Gourmet Nation

Terrible title, good content, awkward writing style, terrible font, little economics, still good for foodies but only for foodies.

I loved Liar's Poker and Moneyball but this one did not grab me at all. I stopped. Perhaps the reader needs to love football.

Urban Growth And the Environment

by Matthew E. Kahn

a good and balanced treatment of the intersection between environmental and urban economics

by Robert Ohsfeldt

How to Read Between the Lines When the Media Manipulate the Numbers

Un economista politicamente incorrecto explora el lado oculta de lo que nos afecta

by Steven D. Levitt,
Stephen J. Dubner

American Weddings And the Business of Tradition

Weddings have become big business; this book tells you how and why.

Analysis and Evidence

Editors:
Roger D. Congleton,
Birgitta Swedenborg

This book offers the best minds in European public choice, Barry Weingast, and Roger.

History, Geography, and Culture

Editor:
Franco Moretti

this volume is a treasure trove of information about the history and early economics of the novel

A Story of Economic Discovery

While it pretends to focus on a single article -- Paul Romer's 1990 piece on endogenous growth -- the book is a tour de force through growth theory, the economics profession, the world of public intellectuals, and how science works.

Not really a diet, it's a method of suppressing appetite.

The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding

A Natural History of Four Meals

by Irene Nemirovsky

Human Nature and Human Individuality

by Judith Rich Harris

American Tort Law on Trial

by Eric Helland,
Alexander Tabarrok

Alex says: This book brings together in a popular format much of my research from the past few years on the effect on tort awards of elected judges, jury composition and contingency fees as well as other topics.

The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

a novel about family bonds

A Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment

by Nathan M. Jensen

Rule of law and credibility, not low corporate taxes, are the key features in luring foreign investment. You pro-tax people might think this is good news, but it probably just means that the burden of those taxes falls on labor, or on consumers.

New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

by Charles C. Mann

Memories and the City

Liberty vs. Power in the Lives of Mexican Amate Painters

The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

I was surprised to learn from John M. Barry's excellent book that germs continued to have a disproportionate influence on the civilizations well into the twentieth century and perhaps even today.

by Roberto Bolano,
Chris Andrews

A minor masterpiece. He is another of those first-tier Latin writers, along with Asturias and Rulfo, who for mysterious reasons no one in the United States seems to read.

How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness

by Virginia Postrel

Smart, fun to read, and correct. She tells us that we have entered the "Age of Aesthetics," a time when beauty and style are to be found everywhere, at least for market economies. Every product, every place, and every experience now is supposed to offer a touch of the aesthetic. The reason is simple: increasingly wealthy and sophisticated customers demand "an enticing, stimulating, diverse, and beautiful world." (p.4)

Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

Fortieth Anniversary Edition

by Milton Friedman

the second or third book I ever read on economics and it definitely shaped my life

Private Prisons and the Control of Crime

Editor:
Alexander Tabarrok

How Globalization Is Changing the World's Cultures

Choice, Community, and Civil Society

Editors:
David T. Beito,
Peter Gordon,
Peter Gordon,
Alexander Tabarrok

Bright Ideas from the Dismal Science

Editor:
Alexander Tabarrok

The Next Revolution in Physics

Fun from the outset, and you can test your knowledge of Bollywood and Islamic theology. Too famous as a political dispute, too little known as a book.

a neglected classic

Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy

by James M. Buchanan,
Gordon Tullock

My colleague Gordon Tullock is one of the most deserving scholars never to have received a Nobel Prize. This book set the foundation for how economists think about voting rules and "politics as exchange."

by Miguel Angel Asturias

by William Faulkner

worth reading for a tale of dysfunctional families

My favorite contemporary work in moral philosophy. He is also the most important thinker on social choice paradoxes since Kenneth Arrow.

A Debate with His Critics

Editors:
Milton Friedman,
Robert J. Gordon,
Robert J. Gordon,
Karl Brunner,
Karl Brunner,
Allan H. Meltzer

the new Criterion release of the 1991 Mexican film by the guy who did Y Tu Mama Tambien

Much of Fargo is set in Minnesota

a new recording, truly splendid, one of the best of 2006 or any year

Acoustic guitar, clear voice, light percussive rhythms, ringing bells, sheer magic. This is that "isn't it amazing I never heard of her before" CD you were looking for...

by Justin Timberlake

by Ornette Coleman

This recording has none of the flaws that Pollini would have shown in these pieces 20 years ago; they are lyrical and beautiful.

by Richard Egarr,
J. S. Bach

the only harpischord recording which stands up to Glenn Gould

better than the full-length version

by Luciano Berio,
Folk Songs

by Thelonious Monk,
John Coltrane

Le Nozze di Figaro [Hybrid SACD]

Masterpieces for Solo Piano, Vol. 2

Liszt fantasies and transcriptions are a good entry point into opera, that is how I got my start

Johannes-Passion; Matth√§us-Passion

the greatest opera of them all

by Puccini,
De Los Angeles,
De Los Angeles,
Bjorling,
Bjorling,
Beecham

by Richard Strauss,
Herbert von Karajan,
Herbert von Karajan,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Christa Ludwig,
Christa Ludwig,
Anny Felbermayer,
Anny Felbermayer,
Karl Friedrich,
Karl Friedrich,
Nicolai Gedda,
Nicolai Gedda,
Paul Kuen,
Paul Kuen,
Otto Edelmann,
Otto Edelmann,
Erich Majkut,
Erich Majkut,
Kerstin Meyer,
Kerstin Meyer,
Franz Bierbach

by Richard Strauss,
Wolfgang Sawallisch,
Wolfgang Sawallisch,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Nicolai Gedda,
Nicolai Gedda,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hans Hotter,
Hans Hotter,
Christa Ludwig,
Christa Ludwig,
Rudolf Christ,
Rudolf Christ,
Anna Moffo,
Anna Moffo,
Dermot Troy,
Dermot Troy,
Eberhard W√É¬§chter

...If you want to leap into the unique and the complex

by Giuseppe Verdi,
Herbert von Karajan,
Herbert von Karajan,
Tito Gobbi,
Tito Gobbi,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus,
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus,
Nan Merriman,
Nan Merriman,
Anna Moffo,
Anna Moffo,
Rolando Panerai,
Rolando Panerai,
Fedora Barbieri,
Fedora Barbieri,
Tomaso Spataro,
Tomaso Spataro,
Nicola Zaccaria,
Nicola Zaccaria,
Luigi Alva

...If you want to leap into the unique and the complex

by Jean Kraft,
Frank Little,
Frank Little,
Sherrill Milnes,
Sherrill Milnes,
Paul Plishka,
Paul Plishka,
Malcolm King,
Malcolm King,
Peter Crook

by Gaetano Donizetti,
Evelino Pid√É¬≤,
Evelino Pid√É¬≤,
Roberto Alagna,
Roberto Alagna,
Angela Gheorghiu,
Angela Gheorghiu,
Choeur et Orchestre de l'Op√É¬©ra National de Lyon,
Choeur et Orchestre de l'Op√É¬©ra National de Lyon,
Simone Alaimo,
Simone Alaimo,
Roberto Scaltriti,
Roberto Scaltriti,
Elana Dan

bubbling and playful erotic fun

The Barber Of Seville with Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Alceo Galliera, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus

by Gioachino Rossini,
Alceo Galliera,
Alceo Galliera,
Maria Callas,
Maria Callas,
Luigi Alva,
Luigi Alva,
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus,
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus,
Gabriella Carturan,
Gabriella Carturan,
Tito Gobbi,
Tito Gobbi,
Fritz Ollendorf,
Fritz Ollendorf,
Mario Carlin

Les Introuvables du Ring

Operatic Fantasies, Paraphrases, and Transcriptions, Vol. I

Einstein on the Beach

by Robert Wilson,
Michael Riesman

by Debussy,
Desormiere

...If you want to leap into the unique and the complex

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House,
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House,
Sir Colin Davis,
Sir Colin Davis,
Mirella Freni,
Mirella Freni,
Richard van Allan