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Title
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Author
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Comment
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The Years of Lyndon
Johnson: Means of Ascent
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Robert Caro
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Fantastic political
biography. Caro doesn't like LBJ and loves Coke Stevenson, the man LBJ
"beat" in the 1948 Senate race. Stevenson was a real cowboy who
built his own ranch and stubbornly refused to campaign any other way than
driving small town to small town and -- unannounced -- talking to the folks
he would find there. LBJ was a
bit of a socio-path, able to turn on intense charm, but very brutal and
conniving. Also, was out of
control; best line: "and [Johnson's] nudity was inappropriate"
with regard to his behavior in small town motels where he would go about
his personal business even with visitors. My favorite character: W. Lee O’Daniel (“Pass-the-Biscuits-Pappy”)
ran for Governor in 1938. Had
sung “Beautiful, Beautiful Texas.” Ran w/o any previous political
experience – toured state in red circus wagon with his famous
Hillbilly Boys and his beautiful daughter Molly and his fiddler son Patty
Boy.
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Under the Banner of
Heaven
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Jon Krakauer
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Really interesting
account of two things - religious extremism and Mormonism. As a modern American religion,
Mormonism is fascinating mix of familiar and unfamiliar to me.
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The Numbers Game:
Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics
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Alan Schwartz
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Catnip for stats-geek
baseball fans.
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Why Not Me? The Inside Story of the Making and
Unmaking of the Franken Presidency
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Al Franken
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This book is wildly funny
to begin with and the funny-multiplier given that he is actually a U.S.
Senator is much higher than 1.
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How Judges Think
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Richard Posner
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A pragmatic look at what
judges do. A practitioner who
reads the academic literature.
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America's Constitution: A Biography
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Akhil Reed Amar
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The constitution clause by clause – much more in each line than
meets the eye. Often result of
slavery politics.
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What Hath God Wrought
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Daniel Walker Howe
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It started a little
pedantic and I thought 'how many pages is this?' but by the end I was truly
disappointed it wasn't longer (I would have loved it if it went to the
election of Lincoln). It's about 1815-1848 which is an
extremely interesting time in U.S.
history - the roots of so much cultural, political and economic factors
(when Lowell, MA was the manufacturing hub; deepening
of religion).
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American Dream
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Jason DeParle
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Fantastic book. Both readable and incisive about
personal and policy aspects of welfare. Great for class.
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You Gotta
Have Wa
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Robert Whiting
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If you want to know about
Japan,
this is probably one of the best (and funniest) books you could read.
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A Random Walk Down Wall Street
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Burton Malkiel
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The only finance book
I'll ever need.
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Poor Support
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David Ellwood
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A policy classic.
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The Selfish Gene
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Richard Dawkins
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Now it all makes sense.
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Godel, Escher and Bach
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Douglas Hofstadter
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Math geek catnip.
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Witness
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Whittaker Chambers
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(Read together with
Blinded by the Right for an interesting comparison)
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Life of Thomas More
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Peter Akroyd
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Wonderful book. More is a complicated, but
significant figure. Definitely
lived life. Was responsible for
burning some Protestants at the stake.
Did stick to his guns with King Henry VIII.
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In an Uncertain World
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Robert Rubin
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He's got it figured out -
we don't have it figured it out, so be careful.
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Guns, Germs and Steel
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Jared Diamond
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This man is really,
really smart.
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Ends of the Earth
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Robert Kaplan
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There are lots of messed
up places in the world and he goes there so you don't have to.
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Metamagical Themas
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Douglas Hofstadter
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More math geek catnip.
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The Chrysanthemum and the
Sword
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Ruth Benedict
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Another great book on Japan -
it's amazing how much punch this old book packs.
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The Examined Life
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Robert Nozick
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I went to Florida with 20 guys
for spring break in my senior year in college. This is what I read. I suspect I may have missed the
point of spring break. But it's
a nice journey through all aspects of life.
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The Gathering Storm
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Winston Churchill
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Read the unfolding of
World War II in a blow-by-blow fashion. It's fascinating to get a sense of
how things looked like to the people making the decisions - what the tough
calls were, what occupied their time and so forth. And, as a bonus, a dose of Churchill
does everyone some good (and is entertaining - in vol. 2, he is informed of
Pearl Harbor by his butler, Graves.)
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