What books I've been reading - 2022 (I)
Move, by Parag Khanna. Good and imaginative book on the future of migration. Plenty on how climate change will drive movements of people.
Banking. A Very Short Introduction, by John Goddard and John O.S. Wilson. Useful, clear introduction to finance.
An Economist Gets Lunch, by Tyler Cowen. I always love Tyler Cowen’s analysis of food through economics (supply and demand applied on how to find a good restaurant, how to buy in an Asian supermarket…).
The Koreans, by Michael Breen. Nice introduction to Korean history, although I would remove some sections.
How Asia Works, by Joe Studwell. Best book I’ve read on Asian economics. Why Japan, South Korea and Taiwan had succeeded and South East Asia has not. One of the best readings of the year, for sure.
The World of Yesterday, by Stefan Zweig. It should be required reading in European high schools, but I think it is an overrated book (Zweig have been super popular in Barcelona for decades, I don’t know why).
Good Economics for Hard Times, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo. Excellent summary of empirical economics on migration, growth, trade, poverty, inequality… Shows how powerful economics can be in understanding the world and how connected it can be to real-life problems.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, by Max Weber. A Classic, fun to read, learned a lot on different branches of Protestantism. It is easy to see the lasting effects of this spiritual revolution on many aspects of life today.
Black Wind, White Snow, by Charles Clover. One of the best books I’ve read for understanding present-day Russia and Russian nationalism (and very readable). Probably also one of the best books I will read in 2022.
Drink?, by David Nutt. Excellent introduction to the effects of alcohol: how it works in your body, underestimated dangerous effects on health and society, public policy to address it… Alcohol is the drug that is having the most negative impact overall on our societies (I am not abstemious), and should deserve health policy discussion and actions.