OK, I’ll play “The One Book Meme Game? as George Leef suggested earlier.
1. One book that changed my life: Thomas Sowell?s Knowledge & Decisions. I read other econ books, before and since, but this one sunk its talons deep into my flesh and never let go. Critically, he explained the pivotal role of time in economic analysis.
2. One book I’ve read more than once: A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1911. I have read this classic work of swords-and-science fantasy many, many times. I have wargamed it. I have the comic books. I have the action figures. When the movie finally comes out, it will credit me (OK, well, I am not absolutely sure about that).
3. One book I’d want on a desert island: Dune by Frank Herbert. Every time I read it, I pick up another bit of characterization or allusion. A possible substitute would be Robert Payne?s History of Islam. The two are related, as anyone who has read both (or at least read Dune and studied Islamic history) can attest.
4. One book that made me laugh: P.J. O?Rourke?s Give War a Chance. If you don?t laugh hard at pretty much anything P.J. writes, you are not a homo sapien.
5. One book that made me cry: I am a reserved, sober, rather Scottish fellow. Don’t cry much. I must admit, however, that I got a little moist-eyed years ago when reading The Diary of H.L. Mencken. He was a brilliant writer and insightful critic who nevertheless harbored debilitating prejudices, lived a depressing personal life, and died in a pathetic state.
6. One book that I wish had been written: A truly glorious sequel to Lord of the Rings, by John Hood. I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody.
7. One book I wish had not been written: I cannot do better than George’s entry in this category, John Maynard Keynes’ General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money It is preposterous if you actually read it carefully and think about the assertions he is making. But few did, or do.
8. One book I’m currently reading: The Afghan Campaign, by Steven Pressfield. It is a novel set in the time of Alexander?s bloody, difficult conquest of Afghanistan on the way to his invasion of India. A soldier’s-eye look at the Macedonian host and how Afghan tribes fought them (which is pretty much the way Afghan tribes fought everyone, and still do).
9. One book I’ve been meaning to read: The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians, and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, by Ryan Sager. This new book sounds an awful lot like the book I was thinking about writing, about fusionism, albeit with a more partisan tinge.
Now I must nominate folks to keep this game going, so I’ll keep expand the JLF playing field: Jon Ham, Kory Swanson, Daren Bakst, Chad Adams, and Paul Messino.
