Joshua Foust on Jul 10 2008 | Filed under: Books, Foreign affairs
This book was written entirely in the passive voice. The passive voice was used to avoid assigning causation or personhood to various events. As a result, we learn that places were invaded, people were slaughtered, armies were founded, but no one can say by whom.
Good grief, that is exhausting. How is it a book almost [...]
Joshua Foust on Jul 03 2008 | Filed under: Books, Foreign affairs
Over the last ten years, Russia has emerged from one of the unfortunate victims of the 1998 financial crisis to become a strong, almost fearsomely assertive country. Much of this is thanks to Vladimir Putin, a man who has won and maintained near mythical popularity by doing his best to “make Russia strong.” While this [...]
MichaelW on Jun 23 2008 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Election 2008, History, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science
Over the weekend I read with fascination William Saletan’s review of the new offering from George Lakoff, “The Political Mind,” and was struck by the remarkable similarities between it and the revolutionary syndicalism espoused during the prior fin de siècle.
In particular, Saletan summarizes Lakoff’s principal idea as the need for progressives to recapture [...]
Joshua Foust on Feb 22 2008 | Filed under: Books
Cross-posted to Registan.net.
This is quite possibly the worst-named book ever. The UK version was the very simple, stark, and compelling Murder in Samarkand: A British Ambassador’s Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror. Why did that not suffice? Why the obvious play for the stereotypical American reliance on alcoholism, sluttery, and moral preening? [...]
Peg on Feb 20 2008 | Filed under: Books, Peg's Page, social science
One of the most depressing, pessimistic, negative and plain old unappealing books I have ever read is Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. Ms. Ehrenreich goes “undercover” as an entry level worker, and reports how incredibly difficult it is for people at the lower rungs to get by.
While I would never argue that people who [...]
Joshua Foust on Feb 18 2008 | Filed under: Books
Cross-posted to Registan.net
It is difficult to say anything useful about either of these books: after all, both have been read and discussed to death—Dupree’s because, 35 years after its publication, it remains the definitive source on Afghanistan, and Rashid’s because, eight years after its publication, it remains the best source on the Taliban’s origins, and [...]
Keith_Indy on Feb 11 2008 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Keith's Page
Thanks to Lance, I have a hankering to learn who this man is he is quoting…
http://www.chesterton.org/discover/who.html
This absent-minded, overgrown elf of a man, who laughed at his own jokes and amused children at birthday parties by catching buns in his mouth, this was the man who wrote a book called The Everlasting Man, which led a [...]
Lee on Feb 02 2008 | Filed under: Books, Developmental economics, Economics, Foreign affairs, Interviews, Lee's Page
Gas flaring in the Niger Delta (photo: Ellie)
John Ghazvinian is a journalist and historian of considerable insight into African affairs. He also happens to have written one of the best recent books on the emergent international struggle for African petroleum: Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil (the paperback edition is due out in April). Whilst [...]
Keith_Indy on Jan 25 2008 | Filed under: Books, Culture
A new monthly feature here at A Second Hand Conjecture, is going to be a roundup of what we’ve been reading during the past month. Feel free to discuss, or ask questions about any of the books.
Joshua:
Right now I’m re-reading Taliban by Pakistani reporter Ahmed Rashid. Though racist in parts (his description of all [...]
Lee on Jan 23 2008 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Lee's Page, Military Matters
(photo: trish brunner | blog)
This morning I stumbled into the story from last year of James and Lena Ahearn. James, the American officer, Lena the Iraqi woman who was apparently the first war bride in Iraq in 2003. They’d met in Baghdad’s Green Zone and it was a rather charming romance of flowers, with [...]
Lance on Jan 14 2008 | Filed under: Books, Developmental economics, Economics, History, Lance's Page
(Cross posted at Risk and Return)
Cafe Hayek fans take note, it is finally out. Short review from Tyler Cowen:
This is the best popular book explaining the benefits of international trade. Imagine Bastiat for 2008, or a Cajun updating of Henry George’s Protection or Free Trade. Sadly it is expensive but I’d sooner give [...]
Keith_Indy on Jan 09 2008 | Filed under: Books, Keith's Page, Military Matters
Another excellent post by Michael Yon giving a recap of his years in Iraq, and especially this last year of the “Surge.”
Some very important news, Michael is publishing a book this spring. You can pre-order it here which has the benefit of getting you a signed edition of the book, and providing support for [...]
Lance on Jan 08 2008 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Domestic Politics, History, Lance's Page
Echoing a wonderful discussion we had in the fall of 2006 on the nature of Fascism (see here, here and here) Jonah Goldberg writes a book which bristles at the use of the term by the contemporary left. I would really be interested in picking that discussion back up. So anybody interested, please read the [...]
Lance on Sep 16 2007 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Society, Urban planning and development, regulation, social science
I have not touched on the subject of the often hostile turn our culture has taken towards men, especially when it comes to their relationships with children. It is not that I don’t agree that that is a concern, in fact quite the opposite. I have in deeply personal ways been effected by this cultural [...]
Lance on Sep 06 2007 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Society
My grief knows no bounds, Michael Jackson, aka “The Beer Hunter” has passed away:
“He was simply the best beer writer we’ve ever known,” said Tim Hampson, chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers. “He told wonderful stories about beer, breweries and far away places. He told the story of beer through people, and he [...]
Joshua Foust on May 18 2007 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Military Matters, Notes on the war
Cross-posted at The Conjecturer
Defense
Part 2 of Danger Room’s interview with John Robb. I bought his book last night, and I’ll be posting a review of it here when I’m done. John Robb has some damned interesting ideas, and even if I wind up not fully buying them (I try to remain skeptical of these [...]
Joshua Foust on May 16 2007 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Media, Military Matters, Notes on the war, Race
Cross-posted on The Conjecturer.
The Pentagon
In laying out his thoroughly convincing case against widespread instant adaptation of the MRAP, the Robot Economist says something I thought profound: “One thing that I have noticed about about U.S. operations in Iraq is a tendency to favor material solutions over doctrinal, organizational, and training solutions when a problem crops [...]
Lee on May 07 2007 | Filed under: Books, Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
(photo: Sam Ouandja | Nicolas Rost | UNHCR via HDPT)
The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle and Gretchen Steidle Wallace
(Public Affairs, 230 pages, $16.47)
Two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius observed in his Meditations, that it was absurdly wrong that man’s spirit so often surrenders before his [...]
Joshua Foust on May 05 2007 | Filed under: Books, Developmental economics, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Military Matters, Notes on the war, Technology, social science
Cross-posted on The Conjecturer.
The Pentagon
Tony Snow declared the milblogging scandal overreported, but then admitted he didn’t know what he was talking about. See for yourself if such a major change in OPSEC rules was over-done.
Lockheed Martin builds a so-called sniper targeting pod, a device that can be attached to fixed-wing aircraft and used from even [...]
Lance on Mar 13 2007 | Filed under: Books, Foreign affairs
I have to second this recommendation from Greg Mankiw:
Well, actually listening too, as I drive between my home and the office: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Highly recommended.
I want to go further and suggest you listen to it as well. The authors accent and beatiful reading style give the book depth that reading [...]
Keith_Indy on Feb 20 2007 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, History, Keith's Page
Well, some historians obviously did. Michael J Totten interviews Michael Oren, author of the book “Power, Faith, and Fantasy”, “a sweeping history of America’s involvement in the Middle East from 1776 to the present.”
So, read the whole interview, it’s very interesting to see the connections between America and the Middle East, and how, what [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 15 2007 | Filed under: Books, Environment, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
We’ve recently sparked some interesting discussions on climate change and global warming here at ASHC. I’d like to add a little fuel (biodegradable, earth-friendly fuel, of course) to the fire by recommending this article on Dr. David Orrell’s new book, Apollo’s Arrow. Although I have not yet had the opportunity to read Dr. [...]
Lance on Feb 11 2007 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, History, Lance's Page, Libertarianism
From our friends at Laissez Faire we have Brian Doherty’s first chapter from his new book Radicals for Capitalism. A history of libertarianism in America that I plan on purchasing for myself.
An excerpt from the new book
[...]
Lance on Jan 23 2007 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, Libertarianism, Religion and theology
I haven’t addressed D’Souza’s new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, though Robby asked me to long before it was even out. I have meant to, but at this point it seems a bit superfluous. It has been dissected and critiqued so extensively that I can’t imagine as [...]
Lance on Jan 22 2007 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Media
Speaking of pumped, I should be, but I am less excited by the thought of Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age coming to the Sci-fi channel.
However, having George Clooney behind it means maybe it will get the funding it deserves and we can avoid some of the issues I have with the Sci-fi Channel adaptations of [...]
Lance on Jan 22 2007 | Filed under: Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Media
Hat tip: Stephen Bainbridge
It is being turned into an HBO series!
The series will begin with the 1996 first book, “A Game of Thrones,”
and the intention is for each novel (they average 1,000 pages each) to
fuel a season’s worth of episodes. Martin has nearly finished the fifth
installment, but won’t complete the seven-book cycle until 2011.
…..
“They tried [...]
Lance on Dec 29 2006 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, History, Lance's Page, Law, Libertarianism
I just received my review copy of Clayton Cramer’s “Armed America.” It is at least in part a response to the discredited work of Michael Bellisile’s “Arming America.” I’ll have a review up in the next couple of weeks, maybe even sooner.
Technorati Tags: history, colonial America, guns, second amendment, law, [...]
Lance on Dec 14 2006 | Filed under: Books, Economics, History, Humor, Lance's Page, Libertarianism
I spent an hour and a half in my wife’s AP European History class on Monday. My topic was the history of economic thought during the enlightenment. Subtopics were mercantilism, the physiocrats and Adam Smith. Brief digressions on the connection between Smith and Marx as well as Malthus. I know, eyes glaze over, but [...]
Lance on Dec 04 2006 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Economics, Lance's Page, Law, Libertarianism, Media, Milton Friedman Memorial Page, Uncategorized
Thanks to Tyler at Marginal Revolution I have found out that “The Power of Choice” a biography of Milton Friedman will air Monday, January 29 on PBS. This date has also been declared as Milton Friedman Day.
Right now you can go to Idea Channel and see all ten episodes of the original Free [...]
Lance on Nov 16 2006 | Filed under: Books, Developmental economics, Domestic Politics, Economics, History, Keith's Page, Lance's Page, Law, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Milton Friedman Memorial Page, The Poet Omar's Page
Last Updated at 10:23PM Central Time
For all of our coverage of the passing of Milton Friedman, and all the links you could ever want, go to our Milton Friedman Memorial page.
From Pejman,”That’s right. A lecture concerning a mundane topic like the creation of a pencil was made dazzling and fascinating by Milton Friedman. Imagine what [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 07 2006 | Filed under: Books, The Poet Omar's Page
I’ve been reading quite a bit lately (big surprise, I know). In addition to re-reading TME mentioned below, I’ve also been reading a much more pop history type book (although a pretty darn good one), Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Although a bit light [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 07 2006 | Filed under: Books, The Poet Omar's Page
I’m not really one to do book reviews. Frankly, I’m considered by colleagues to be overly critical. Almost every biography I’ve been asked to review I’ve rejected as shameless hagiography; every theology or comparative religious work incorrectly formatted for the target market (do not discuss the differences between the existentialist theories of Paul [...]
MichaelW on Oct 26 2006 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Economics, MichaelW's Page
I heard an interview late last night on Washington Post Radio (which, for me, is fast becoming a preferable alternative to NPR) with author Timothy Carney discussing his new book, “The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money” (available at Amazon and through Laissez Faire Books). Tim ponders the question [...]
Risk and Return Multinational Force-Iraq QandO