"Painfully beautiful...At once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative, and a celebration of nature." New York Times Book Review
Delia Owen's first novel is a captivating page-turner. Yes, she does get into the biology of the marsh/swamp, but that is what makes the story more fascinating. The two timeline stories, the detailed nature descriptions, the poetry, the survival instinct, and the mystery make for an enjoyable read.
I do not want to give away any of the plot so I will leave it at that...I highly recommend this book!
Monday, September 16, 2019
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
What would the Great Economists do?
This book was like reading a master's thesis, very informative but kind of a slog.
The author picked 12 famous economists, 13 including Samuelson, and provided a summary of their beliefs, a recap of their lives, and how they might see today's economic situation. She started with the founder of economic studies in Adam Smith, the economic applications to foreign trade by David Ricardo, the option of socialism and communism from Karl Marx, the quantified studies and dangers of inequality by Alfred Marshall, the dangers of protectionism from Irving Fisher, the argument for government spending and fiscal manipulation in John Maynard Keynes, the study of innovation and obsolescence with Joseph Schumpeter, business cycle theory from Fredrich Hayek, imperfect competition with Joan Robinson, Libertarian limited government from Milton Friedman, and economic disparity and stagnation from Douglas North and Robert Solow. The epilogue chapter pulls in the comprehensive approach of Paul Samuelson and states how each would deal with today's challenges of Trumpism and Brexit.
The book does give the reader a sense of the complex nature of the study of economics. Although it can involve detailed analysis and models, economics has proven to be an inexact science due to irrational behavior caused by social, psychological, and political factors. We tend to look at factors such as the unemployment rate rather than the number underemployed or the true number of employable workers. Little attention has been given to the fact that that average wages for the working classes in the US and the UK have not increased in 40 years despite the overall growth in the economies. Inequality continues to be a major concern that none of the experts seem to have an answer for. ICT has not lead to much of an increase in worker productivity and there is a deep concern for stagnation in developed countries.
Recent US and UK policies sound a lot like the "secular stagnation" that happened leading up to the great depression consisting of closing frontiers and immigration. A healthy economy needs rule of law, strong institutions, fair and open trade, and strong social norms. Hopefully recent governmental policies are not leading us too much afield.
The author picked 12 famous economists, 13 including Samuelson, and provided a summary of their beliefs, a recap of their lives, and how they might see today's economic situation. She started with the founder of economic studies in Adam Smith, the economic applications to foreign trade by David Ricardo, the option of socialism and communism from Karl Marx, the quantified studies and dangers of inequality by Alfred Marshall, the dangers of protectionism from Irving Fisher, the argument for government spending and fiscal manipulation in John Maynard Keynes, the study of innovation and obsolescence with Joseph Schumpeter, business cycle theory from Fredrich Hayek, imperfect competition with Joan Robinson, Libertarian limited government from Milton Friedman, and economic disparity and stagnation from Douglas North and Robert Solow. The epilogue chapter pulls in the comprehensive approach of Paul Samuelson and states how each would deal with today's challenges of Trumpism and Brexit.
The book does give the reader a sense of the complex nature of the study of economics. Although it can involve detailed analysis and models, economics has proven to be an inexact science due to irrational behavior caused by social, psychological, and political factors. We tend to look at factors such as the unemployment rate rather than the number underemployed or the true number of employable workers. Little attention has been given to the fact that that average wages for the working classes in the US and the UK have not increased in 40 years despite the overall growth in the economies. Inequality continues to be a major concern that none of the experts seem to have an answer for. ICT has not lead to much of an increase in worker productivity and there is a deep concern for stagnation in developed countries.
Recent US and UK policies sound a lot like the "secular stagnation" that happened leading up to the great depression consisting of closing frontiers and immigration. A healthy economy needs rule of law, strong institutions, fair and open trade, and strong social norms. Hopefully recent governmental policies are not leading us too much afield.
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