Recent Reading - Spring 2022

Some notes on recent reading.   Recommendations always welcome.

Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations -  great history of economic thinking from Adam Smith through Paul Romer.  I read this to better wrestle with the implications of a globally connected world, which I think is still wildly underappreciated.  Tracing New Growth Theory back to the start helps frame challenges and opportunities today of globalization of ideas and labor markets.

World After Capital -  This book directly followed Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations.  As the economy moves more digital, what are the questions to consider for human welfare, economic growth and society organization?   I wrote a full post on the book here.  

Restarting the Future  -  found from a Tyler Cowen recommendation.  Continues on my exploration of the implications of more digital work on the world.  This book goes into that, with compelling data on benefits of cities, intellectual property rights and other areas of policy making.

Stubborn Attachments - I've long been wrestling with the question of when and how to constrain profit focused markets in favor of other social goods, such as reducing inequality and negative externalities.  (This book pairs well with Donut Economics, for another perspective on similar questions).  Highly recommend this book to engage on those ideas.

Capitalism & Freedom - my most surprising read. I've long opposed Friedman's position on shareholder maximization theory.  Reading his arguments helped me shape my own views, and find a lot more sympathy for his position.  This book should be read by stakeholder capitalism advocates - there is a lot more to build on than dismiss, and Friedman's writing is still relevant and accessible.

Skin in the Game -  this book actually just stays in my Audible account. I re-listen whenever I am bored with another book.  I've probably gone through the book four or five times now. I was initially dismissive of many of the insights - thinking they were either obvious or unsubstantiated - but the more I listen to more I appreciate the way logic is employed to help improve decision making.

Nonzero - over twenty years old and still very compelling narrative for a positive sum world.  More on reading this book in the post-9/11 world here.  Helps me zoom out to long term trends around human growth.  (Fits with the more recent Humankind by Rutger Bregman which I enjoyed as well)

Competing Against Luck - terrific how-to guide for adopting the Jobs to Be Done framework.  I read the full book for the first time this spring, and now keep close by as a reference manual when looking for quick inspiration on solving a business problem.

Alchemy - terrifically enjoyable read. I listened to the book after hearing the author in an interview.  Compelling argument that we are over-indexed to rational arguments and solutions today, and the world would be better off with more irrational experimentation to find unconventional, but effective ideas.  

Better Business -  summary of the B Corp movement. I'm still in the middle of this one, but helpful to have a single source material on the now global movement to move us past the Friedman doctrine to a useable version of stakeholder capitalism.  

Fiction

• Kafka on the Shore - I read after Wind Up Bird Chronicle and loved the story.  The surrealism provides a wonderful backdrop for exploring the very human goals and desires of Kafka and Nakata.  Fund read
• Sea of Tranquility -  I loved her two other novels so downloaded this as soon as it came out, and didn't disappoint.  Similar to Kafka, the unfamiliar physical backdrop helps draw out beautifully written characters and settings.  
• The Things They Carried - I'm not sure if this should count as fiction or non-fiction, but either way it is an incredibly moving story of humanity.  A powerful first person account of war that deserves to be heard by any voter, and the audio book with Bryan Cranston makes it almost overwhelming at times.