Book Reviews - August 2007

Hello everyone,

In what is hopefully the first in a series, I am posting a book review on select books that I have read in the past month. My self-education goal is to read at least one book related to investment/money/finance (IMF book) and one book on something else. I will put up my take on the book as well as a link to the Amazon profile (so you can see more reviews, get details, etc.)

IMF Book

Basic Economics: a citizen's guide to the economy by Thomas Sowell, 3rd edition - 2007

Most introductory books on Economics are aimed for a classroom, and contain many formal equations, curves, phenomena names, etc. Besides being rather boring, many of these texts also paint a somewhat unrealistic picture of economics by sparsely covering the implications of governmental (and to a lesser extent, private) regulations, taxes, fees, and policies on market dynamics. Sowell's book is good in that it does a great job of qualitatively describing economic phenomena while providing an ample number of examples of past events and their impacts on the economic system. The examples serve as a good history lesson for current events (such as the collapse of the housing bubble and credit crunch) and for future trends (public debt, globalization, etc.).

Sowell brings a lassiez-faire, free market bias to this book, but, fortunately for most readers, it should become clear where this bias is apparent and to consider it appropriately. The conservative bias, however, is not my biggest problem with Sowell's book. My biggest disagreement (and disappointment) comes with his all too brief examination of externalities.

Overall, Basic Economics is a great book on the basics of our economic system. I would highly recommend it for those who want to develop a better broad understanding of economics. This book is available both at the UCI (3rd edition) and the OC Public (1st and 2nd editions) libraries.

Amazon.com description and reviews of Basic Economics.


Other Book

Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas by Kevn Merida and Michael A. Fletcher - 2007

Amazon.com description and reviews

This is a very well written biography on the most enigmatic and controversial member of an enigmatic (and often controversial) government body. Merida and Fletcher and trace Thomas' personal and ideological journey from a small, backwater Georgia town to the highest court. They try to examine the origin of the traits that, to his supporters, make Thomas courageous and, to his detractors, make him a hypocrite. In doing so, the authors' exam the forces that contribute to the most conservative jurisprudence on the Supreme Court; a tenure that has lasted a decade and a half, and which could last another 25-30 years.

I enjoyed reading this book very much as it is one of the best written books that I have read lately. Even if you don't follow government or politics very much, this story is intriguing.

That's my reading for this month.

Ray