This is a very important book. This is not another partisan screed telling us how the Right is trying to screw you over or how the Left is treasonous and gladly handing our country over to terrorists. This is a book about how our system of democracy has been corrupted by money, and how that… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Republic, Lost” by Lawrence Lessig
Tag: Books
Posts about books or book reviews
BOOK REVIEW: Steve Jobs by Walter isaacson
I remember hearing a story on the radio when I was much younger that talked about a man that was surly to his family, unkind to his friends, wrote racist and anti-Semitic articles and was all in all just a completely unpleasant person. I’m sure there are other details that I have forgotten. The big… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: Steve Jobs by Walter isaacson
BOOK REVIEW: “Diary of a Very Bad Year: Confessions of an Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager”
There have been a lot of books written about the Great Recession, with surely more to come. “Diary of a Very Bad Year” is different in that it was actually written during the crisis. Keith Gesson, a writer for n+1 magazine, was introduced to the Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager (HFM) by a friend and interviewed… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Diary of a Very Bad Year: Confessions of an Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager”
BOOK REVIEW: “Crisis Economics” by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm
Back during the go-go days of the mid-naughts when housing prices were appreciating at dizzying rates, Nouriel Roubini put out a prediction that the increase was unsustainable and would lead to a crash. For that he earned the nickname “Dr. Doom”, which was not meant as a compliment. As we have all painfully learned, his… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Crisis Economics” by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm
BOOK REVIEW: “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” by Daniel Okrent
One of the more fascinating periods in U.S. history is the era bookended by the beginning of the enforcement of the 18th amendment in 1920 to the Constitution and the ratification of the 21st amendment repealing the 18th amendment in 1933. The 21st amendment still stands as the only amendment to undo a previous amendment. … Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” by Daniel Okrent
BOOK REVIEW: “Soccernomics” by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
“Freakonomics” for Soccer. “Moneyball” for futbol. If you remember nothing else from this review than that, you will have the major point. “Soccernomics” is a book that applies economic principles to the game of soccer. While European soccer is the main focus of the book, Americans will find something of interest since the authors make… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “Soccernomics” by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
BOOK REVIEW: “The Mysterious Multi” by Mark Horton and Jan Van Cleeff
Finally a book for ACBL-land about the Multi 2♦ bid. Multi is not allowed in most ACBL competitions because it is considered too esoteric for club-level players to effectively defend against. In Europe however, it is a very common convention. One can only hope that this book will start a movement in North America to… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “The Mysterious Multi” by Mark Horton and Jan Van Cleeff
David Foster Wallace
"Infinite Jest" sits on my bookshelf mocking me. With the possible exception of "2666" by Roberto Bolaño, no book that I own seems more daunting to me. “Infinite Jest” is a sprawling 1000+ page postmodern classic, which, in a classic Wallace move, contains almost as much information in the footnotes as it does in the… Continue reading David Foster Wallace
BOOK REVIEW: “The Greatest Trade Ever” by Gregory Zuckerman
We all know the story. Housing prices got way overheated and eventually had to come down. Unfortunately, not everyone realized that while it was happening. In fact, very few people realized that. Even fewer had the access to the financial instruments that would allow them to profit from the inevitable fall. “The Greatest Trade Ever”… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: “The Greatest Trade Ever” by Gregory Zuckerman
The Ten Most Influential Books in My Life (so far)
I saw a blog post on a book related web site that listed several posts about the ten most influential books in a person’s life. It seemed like a good idea, so I have borrowed the idea for here. The books are listed in the order they occured to me, which is probably a good… Continue reading The Ten Most Influential Books in My Life (so far)
Apropos of Mark 