Tag Archives: politics

Basic Economics

Posted on August 14, 2013 by smellincoffee

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy © 2010 Thomas Sowell 789 pages (4th edition) Basic Economics is a sweeping introduction  to the fundamental principles of market economics and their application to  constituent elements of the local and global economy like … Continue reading →

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The Conservative Mind

Posted on August 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot© 1953 Russell Kirk534 pages (7th Edition) For most of human history, change has been a glacier — slow to move, retreating as much as it advances. Since the scientific and industrial revolutions, however, … Continue reading →

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The Choice

Posted on July 25, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism© 2006 Russ Roberts128 pages  Imagine that George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life had wrestled not with the impulse to throw himself off of a bridge, but with the decision whether … Continue reading →

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It Can’t Happen Here

Posted on July 24, 2013 by smellincoffee

It Can’t Happen Here© 1935 Sinclair Lewis400 pages The Great Depression sent the entire western world reeling, destroying faith in the existing order and creating opportunities for charismatic, forceful leaders with vision to sweep into power and create societies anew … Continue reading →

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Getting There

Posted on July 19, 2013 by smellincoffee

Getting There: the Epic Struggle  between Road and Rail in the American Century© 1996 Stephen Goddard366 pages Regardless of the status of George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, and William Pitt, each man of power traveled at the same speed as the … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: politics, Star Trek, a Cold War fantasy for kids, and trains

Posted on July 15, 2013 by smellincoffee

Last week’s titles:  The Price of Everything, Russell D. Roberts  | What It Means to be a Libertarian, Charles Murray |  Star Trek Silent Weapons, David Mack |  Day of Reckoning, Pat Buchanan | Getting There, Charles Goddard Dear readers: … Continue reading →

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The Price of Everything

Posted on July 15, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Price of Everything© 2009 Russell D. Roberts 224 pages The Price of Everything is an economics novel about the virtues of prices and markets, explaining how they work to maximize efficiency and spread goods out among those who need … Continue reading →

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Day of Reckoning

Posted on July 13, 2013 by smellincoffee

Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Greed, and Ideology are Tearing America Apart© 2009 Patrick Buchanan309 pages What’s wrong with America? Change, brown people, and wars, judging by Day of Reckoning.  Published in 2009, presumably to capitalize on the election, Day … Continue reading →

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Edens Lost and Found

Posted on July 7, 2013 by smellincoffee

Edens Lost and Found: How Ordinary Citizens are Restoring Our Great American Cities©  2006 Harry Wiland, Dale Bell,  Joseph D’Agnes285 pages I can hear Atlanta crying loud as she looks for hope and change / but we can’t count on … Continue reading →

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American Creation

Posted on June 29, 2013 by smellincoffee

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic© Joseph Ellis304 pages In Founding Brothers, Joseph Ellis used a series of nonfictional ‘stories’ about the founding fathers of the United States to illustrate how their personal relationships with … Continue reading →

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