Here’s part II of the run-down of what I read in 2007:
Stalin: Breaker of Nations
Robert Conquest
(384 p.)
The author, Robert Conquest, is an American professor and writer. I remember thinking that his account of Joseph Stalin might be biased, but I decided to neglect my worries thinking history must have cleared the last traces of McCarthyism in American intelligentsia of the road.
Good thing I was right, I already believe communism is inferior to capitalism, I don’t need yet another book to tell me so.
Though written very dryly, Mr. Conquest’s book is clear and objective. He pictures, in great length, Stalin’s upbringing in Georgia (the country, not the state!) all the way to when he first wielded power of the politburo, and ultimately turned the Soviet Union from something scary to something absolutely horrifying.
The story Mr. Conquest tells is extremely important, and we should all know about it. Highly recommended!
The No-Nonsense Guide to World History
Chris Brazier
(160 p.)
This book is short, yet it claims to cover the history of the whole world. Obviously, it cannot be done, and the author rightfully explain that this is only a quick glance of the big events the shaped our community.
I found it to be funny and sharp, yet clear and written with intellectual confidence. Instead of focusing on details, Chris Brazier tries to connect the dots between larger shifts of history. I like it, I like it a lot.
Papillon
Henri Charrière
(544 p.)
Having spent an awful lot of time on non-fiction, I decided to go with a novel for once. After watching the movie “Papillon” from 1973, I decided to pick up a copy of the book with the same name, Henri Charrière’s autobiography.
Monsieur Charrière was not only a man of extreme character and psychological muscles; he was also an excellent story-teller. We’re told the amazing history of his life: arrested in France for a crime he claims he didn’t commit, sent to a penal colony in French Guyana, spending many years in prison, of which several was in solitary confinement. Finally, he managed to escape.
A must-read.
Not much to be sad. This is a funny book, for people with not so funny jobs. I read it while on the toilet. I got it for free at a library hand-out. I would probably never have bought it myself, but enjoyed it greatly.
Why I Write
George Orwell
(120 p.)
“Why I Write” is a collection of short stories written by George Orwell. Quite obviously, Mr. Orwell is a political writer. But I fear most of his novels, besides Animal Farm and 1984 hasn’t really aged perfectly.
In Defense of Global Capitalism
Johan Norberg
(274 p.)
“ In Defence of Global Capitalism” is an easily read book of Swedish globalism proponent Johan Norberg. He argues believably, with lots of statistics, graphs, and sources to back him up, why globalization is not only good for “greedy” multi-lateral companies looking for low-cost production but also for poor people in poor people.
Giving its reader-friendliness and its few pages, I would recommend this book to anyone. It makes an interesting and important case of an interesting and important area.
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
(304 p.)
“The Tipping Point” is an interesting book about micro economics turning macro economics. How small things quickly can become the dernier cri. It’s very readable, and quite humorous with its many anecdotes and fascinating side-tracks. I liked it a lot.
The World According to Garp
John Irving
(472 p.)
This book is absolutely wonderful. I borrowed it from a friend several years ago, forgot about it, and discovered it when I was preparing an apartment switch. It took me totally off-guard with its explicit language and intriguing story. Fantastic!
This book of largely successful hedge-fund manager Nassim Nicholas Taleb is something as unusual as a Wall Street banker actually contemplating over his industry’s naïve players. But it’s even more about luck and randomness, and peoples’ abilities to constantly overrate their luck, and fail to see how randomness has played out in their lives.
The book is extremely well-written, and packed with a lot of wit. Highly recommended.
A Mathematician Plays the Market
John Allen Paulos
(224 p.)
In the aftermath of reading “Randomness plays the market” I quickly got hold of another book I thought potentially was of the same character. I just simply couldn’t get enough. But I was disappointed, very disappointed.
“A Mathematician Plays the Market” is mostly about Mr. Paulos miserable trading during the IT-boom with WorldCom shares. Nothing could interest me less. Can’t even say I liked the presentation. Sorry John. Hope the revenue from the book made up the stock losses!
Fermat's Last Theorem
Simon Singh
(368 p.)
Being somewhat interested in higher mathematics, I really enjoyed Simon Singh’s work about Fermat, his famous equation, and all the huge mathematicians that died trying to solve it. The book is very easy to digest, no difficult words, no unexplained mathematical concepts. This is a keeper.
Andrew Wiles, the man who finally got the theorem proved, is really something. Simon Singh as well.
And that was it. All in all, 17 books.
