sonicskat Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Hi Everyone, First off, good luck to all of those taking there prelims/core exams over the course of the summer. Mine are next week, and I am nervous and anxious all at once. Anyways, with summer nearing, I was curious if anybody knew of any good economics related books. Here's a couple that I've read over the past: Knowledge and the wealth of nations-- Well written story behind endogenous growth theory. Written by a journalist, the writing keep you into the material, while the author's deep knowledge of economic theory provided a nice level of expertise Making an economist, Redux-- Good book for those thinking about econ grad school. Consists of interviews and surveys from top grad programs. Provides some interesting information about the attitudes of top students and departments Inside the Economist's Mind-- Book of collected interviews with reknowned, older, economists. Includes interviews with Leontif, Sargent, Cass, and many others. Is ok for a quick does of inspiratoin, but I was rather disappointed by how much insight there is on how they preform their research. You can probably look most of the interviews up from the journals they were pulled from.Feel free to drop any good reads you guys have found, I would enjoy finding some good books to read over the summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desimba Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I have had the time to read some good books this summer. Some of them are probably not as intimately tied to economics as the books that you mention but nevertheless ought to be of interest to would-be economists: 1) The Road to Serfdom: Fredrich Von Hayek - a book on political economy and how socialism and totalitarianism share inherently similar characteristics 2) Guns, Germs & Steel: Jared Diamond- All time classic; truly expansive in scope; tries to explain why some civilizations ended up succeeding and colonizing over the others; explains the curious interplay of luck and geography in shaping the evolution of the human civilizations. 3) The Mystery of Capital: Hernando de Soto: A book emphasizing the importance of property rights and attempting to explain why the poverty of the masses in the Third World can be directly linked to the lack of property rights and associated institutions. 4) (Most recent read) The Elusive Quest for Growth: Bill Easterly- Attempts of a World Bank economist trying to explain why the several solutions that have been attempted by donor governments, the World Bank and IMF to reduce poverty in the Third World has failed so miserably. Has a great theme that keeps coming up again and again (and which I am sure readers of this forum will agree with) "Incentives matter; the rest is commentary." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asianeconomist Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Mankiw has a list of books that one might find useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphilomath Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 The Prophet of Innovation : Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction Nice biography about the man and his ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pevdoki1 Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Right now, I'm reading: Rainer Maria Rilke - Duino Elegies and the Sonnets of Orpheus JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojangles42124 Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 this is what I've been working on...Development as Freedom - by Amartya Sen The Geography of Bliss - by Eric Weiner (Hilarious, thought provoking) $urplus: Spinoza, Lacan - by A. Kiarina Kordelia (this one's for pevdoki1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C152dude Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy - Daron Acemoglu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooMooCow Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I would recommend that you read Acemoglu with a grain of salt. It is an impressive book. However, unless you are well read in political economy, you will not understand how little that book has to do with reality and how much it borrows from other people's work. In many ways, its a formalization of Marx in game theoretic language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semischolastic Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I second The Making of an Economist, Redux, and The Road to Serfdom. I would also recommend Krugman's The Accidental Theorist, from back when he was at least making a pretense at writing economics instead of writing politics. Then, obviously Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom. Naked Economics is a good book to give people if you want them to have some idea what your life is about. My reading plan for the summer, however, contains no economics: The Autobiography of Malcolm X Jacques Ellul - The Meaning of the City Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov William Faulkner - Absalom, Absalom! Richard Wright - Native Son 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayern Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 For people interested in real world economic development, this is an excellent book: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time - by Jeffrey D. Sachs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubikford Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 It's not really an economics book, but it sure is interesting. How I Became A Quant - Emmanuel Derman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungEconomist Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 It's not really an economics book, but it sure is interesting. How I Became A Quant - Emmanuel Derman Which book are you referring to? This or this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phdphd Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 It's not really an economics book, but it sure is interesting. How I Became A Quant - Emmanuel Derman Along the same lines I would recommend the biography of Fisher Black. I haven't read but it seems to be quite interesting. There's also Market Wizards, a collection of interviews with top traders. And on the side, I really recommend Bukowski, Ham on Rye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C152dude Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 For people interested in real world economic development, this is an excellent book: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time - by Jeffrey D. Sachs From my own experience, and having a few fruitful conversations with faculty, I would recommend Stiglitz and Easterly over Sachs for the "best-seller development" genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elcapitano Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 From my own experience, and having a few fruitful conversations with faculty, I would recommend Stiglitz and Easterly over Sachs for the "best-seller development" genre. Or Collier's 'The Bottom Billion'. Short, interesting, lucidly written and, in my opinion, more balanced than Easterly or Sachs - it was the most enjoyable economics book I read last year. I haven't read any of Stiglitz's books. I shall be reading a lot of fiction while I have the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C152dude Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I shall be reading a lot of fiction while I have the time. Absolutely. [clap] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenizaro Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Which book are you referring to? This or this I read the second one and it was great. It really is a wounderful book and quite relevant for people about to start a PhD because Derman begins his story talking about his days as an international physics grad student in Columbia. The first part of the book is a warning about how dangerous academics can be to your ego. Realizing our own limitations can be a devastating blow. So be prepared ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungEconomist Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 The first part of the book is a warning about how dangerous academics can be to your ego. Realizing our own limitations can be a devastating blow. It seems that the same can possibly be said about high level finance and quant jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubikford Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Which book are you referring to? This or this I was referring to the second one. I think I mixed up the title with this other book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decide_aposteriori Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 semi - I finished reading the brothers karamazov a couple of months ago. What a great book! Summer reading: Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hofstadter (I'm on part II) Behavioral Game Theory - Colin Camerer Walden - Henry Thoreau Children's stories in spanish - various people (trying to improve my spanish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGkhan23 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I'm rereading all the Harry Potter books. I do it every summer. I'm also reading Godel, Escher, Bach, and Walter Isaacson's biography of Einstein. Both are very good, though there are parts in GEB that I have to read a couple of times before I understand completely...:) If you're looking for a laugh, definitely check out America (The Book), and Apathy and Other Small Victories. The latter is without question the funniest book I have ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asianeconomist Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I'm rereading all the Harry Potter books. I do it every summer. I'm also reading Godel, Escher, Bach, and Walter Isaacson's biography of Einstein. Both are very good, though there are parts in GEB that I have to read a couple of times before I understand completely...:) If you're looking for a laugh, definitely check out America (The Book), and Apathy and Other Small Victories. The latter is without question the funniest book I have ever read. Michio Kaku's "Beyond Einstein" is a great book on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeves0923 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Just finished "Breakfast of Champions" by Vonnegut working on "I am America... and So Can You!" by Stephen Colbert I like to keep my summers light hearted as much as possible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C152dude Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I strongly suggest giving A Problem From Hell by Samantha Power a try. It's about genocides of the past century -- it is powerful... and, very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commodore Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I'm reading the inspirational "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickam. After that I'll turn to Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." I still haven't ready Harry Potter 7, so I guess that's on tap at some point. I just passed my comps, so that means no economics for me till September! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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