I’m putting together my annual list of books to read. I rarely, if ever, actually stick to these lists; I get sidetracked like a dog smelling flowers by the side of the road. But it’s still a worthwhile exercise. I’m usually pretty good at the beginning of the year, at least. Anyway, I’d like to get recommendations: is there some book you particularly enjoyed, or thought I would enjoy, or hope will change my mind—or whatever it might be? Please email, comment, tweet, etc.
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I never tire of recommending the following two books:
"...the Heavens and the Earth: a Political History of the Space Age" by Walter McDougall. Pultizer Prize, History, 1985. A terrifically thoughtful book about the policy issues of the space age with a backbone discussing the limits of technocratic administration of anything, and the temptations that come with the belief that humans really can know enough to run anything on behalf of others.
"Strange Victory" by Ernst May. This completely changed my view of the Battle of France. It made me realize that the French soldier fought bravely and well, but had been left to fail because of the maddening, willful blindness of the French and Belgian governments.
Posted by: Andrew Lloyd | December 18, 2014 at 10:08 AM
Cool, thanks!
Posted by: Timothy Sandefur | December 18, 2014 at 01:00 PM
"The Tyranny of the experts" by jethro k. lieberman. A good criticism of occupational licensing laws.
"The New Jim Crow" by michelle alexander and "drug warriors and their prey" by richard lawrence miller
And, most importantly, anti-sprawl and anti-zoning books. Libertarians tend to defend suburban sprawl as a product of the free market, but suburban growth is a product of zoning laws that segregate land uses and ban certain types of building, the home mortgage interest deduction, highways, and government subsidies to home ownership.
"Zoned Out" by Jonathan Levine
"The High Cost of Free Parking" by Donald Shoup
"City Rules" by Emily Talen
"Last Exit" by Cliff Winston.
"Perverse Cities" by Pamela Blais
"The Housing Bias" by Paul Boudreax
"plowshares and pork barrels" by ec pasour (not about sprawl or zoning)
"Science, Sex, and Profits" by Terence Kealey
"The Economic Laws of Scientific Research" by Terence Kealey
"Science Funding" by Joseph Martino
Posted by: Bob Johnson | December 18, 2014 at 04:17 PM