More books

I have not written lately about the books I have been working through, and I finally got around to it. Here they are:

National party no more-Zel Miller

Written by the former governor of Georgia. He is a democrat, and he basically just writes about how the democrats are getting too liberal. A good read.

How to get rich-Donald Trump

I already did not like Donald Trump, and I like him even less now. The unfortunate thing is, when I taught at UVU, I would have people in class reference ideas from books like these, and if I have heard the stupid ideas beforehand, it makes it easier to shoot them down as they come. The problem with these books is that in writing the book Donald Trump (or whoever he paid to write the book) has no incentive to actually make you rich, but rather, to make you buy the book, or feel good about buying it ex-post facto. So, the book is not about how one becomes rich, but rather, it just makes you feel like you have received valuable insights from Donald which legitimatize your having blown money on the silly book.

How to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime-Larry King

Very short, and pretty good. Basically all the stuff you hear in any kind of presentation class or seminar, but, with interesting stories from someone who has lived a very interesting life.

The funny thing is-Ellen DeGeneres

When we walked out of the library, Stacey asked me why I checked out this book. I told her I liked to read things from people I don’t like (like I read Clinton's autobiography, many books by Carter, the Trump book, and so on). And, it was true. I really liked this book. I have no laughed as hard in some time. Although I don’t like many of the stances she takes, there is no arguing that Ellen is a very, very funny person. There were very few parts that were not wholsome, and they were easily avoided. They are basically just stand up routines, and the ones that start something like, “I was standing naked in front of the mirror the other day, and thought…”, you just skip. I guess you could also just skip the whole book altogether, as well. But, it was funny.

The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World--Tim Harford

A Freakonomics-like book where academic economics literature is watered down for the unwashed masses. This focuses especially on rationality, and how economists assume people act rationally. Some of the examples in the book are scandalous, but, are very good situations in which to test rationality. It was interesting to hear the watered-down version of things I was learning about in PhD level economics classes. An interesting book.

The Wal-Mart Effect-Charles Fishman

Basically how Wal-Mart is the most powerful corporation that ever existed, and how this has changed at a very deep level the world we live in. I will never think the same as I used to when I shop in a Wal-Mart, but I will still continue to shop there.

The California gold rush and the coming of the civil war-Leonard Richards

Started out interestingly, but then got kind of boring. I didn’t even finish it.

Against all Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror-Richard Clarke

Written by one of the folks in charge of national security before and just after September 11. I really like these kinds of books from the perspective of someone who is seeing things at a very high level. A very interesting book, although one not too friendly to the administration we had just previous to our current ruler.

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family--Thomas Maier

A good book. I thought it was going to be mainly about JFK, but, it was not. It really was about five generations of Kennedys. It was very interesting to see how much corruption there was, how powerful these people were, and how much they were able to manipulate public sentiment. Kind of scary to see the kinds of things money can buy. As some of us know, it can buy anything. You get the same dark impression as during that statement when you hear about many of these dark Kennedy dealings. Don’t get me wrong, the book is by no means some sort of tell all book. It just says what happened, and corruption and money were a very large part of the Kennedy story.

Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Post-War America-Christopher Matthews

An amazing book. When I first heard the title, I thought it was going to be just about JFK and Nixon, but, it was not. JFK dies mid book, and it continues to talk about the bitter rivalry between Nixon and Ted, and so on. It is amazing how skewed our views are on these two characters. In all reality, it is likely that the only way JFK won against Nixon is through voter fraud. Nixon won his second election by one of the largest margins in history, capturing 49 states. And yet, no one thinks highly of Nixon, and most worship Kennedy. I was talking to my mom about this, who did not believe people thought so much of JFK, as she was around and didn’t like him back then. Unfortunately, the people who write history often are left-leaning, and people that were not at all universally liked in their day are written in the history books as saints. More on this in a later post. Again, an amazing book that I could just talk on and on about, but, I am about to my time limit for typing this post.

The five people you meet in heaven-Mitch Albom

Stacey had me listen to this book, and I am glad I did. It was pretty good. Some things in life are not always as we perceive them, and one can learn much from reading this book (or listening to it, whichever the case may be.)