Burton Folsom, New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR’s Legacy has Damaged America; this book has a good compendium of free market critiques of Roosevelt, although I would not look here for a balanced review of the evidence. Senselessness, by Horacio Castellanos Moya; this is now my favorite novel from either Honduras or El Salvador, depending how you classify the nationality of the author. Alex Beam, A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books. A fun inside history of the Chicago Great Books series. Lily Tuck, Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante; I liked this book very much, without even being a previous devotee of Morante. Gilles Kepel, Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: The Future of the Middle East. Both Kepel and Belknap Press are wonderful, but there’s not much here. Paul Krugman, The Return of Depression Economics, with a new section on the 2008 crisis. Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, a new edition. I wanted to read this again but in fact it is unreadable, I am sorry to report. After about forty pages I believe that 2666 is as good as the reviews, here is the latest survey of them.
“I wanted to read this again but in fact it is unreadable, I am sorry to report.”
Tyler, please expand on this. Why is it unreadable? Too outdated?
Anyone have recommendations on what book is an even-handed weighing of the evidence for and against the New Deal?
Tyler, I laughed hard at the comment on Capitalism Socialism and Democracy. You are so right: it is unreadable. The reason? To quote Solow, The man was all problems, and one very important idea. I am sure the GMU Austrians disagree.
I would not look here for a balanced review of the evidence.
Questions:
Why not? Do you have some reason to question the reliability of verity of Folsom’s work?
What are your criteria for a “balanced” review of the evidence?
Where would you look for a “balanced review” of the evidence?
Its taken 70+ years years but we’re finally peeling the insufferable veneer of expertise and
nobility off of FDR and finding him to be nothing but a noxious politician blindly pulling
levers and reassuring an economically ignorant public that prosperity was just around the
corner.
Unreadable ??!! No: one of the greatest books ever written in social science.
Tyler, you wrote:
“although I would not look here [in Folsom's book] for a balanced
review of the evidence.”
I wonder if you would be so kind as to provide a bit more detail on
the why you think that the evidence is significanlty imbalanced.
In what sense is the “review of evidence” imbalanced? A bit more
detail would help people decide whether you think Flosom is worth
reading or not. Your post makes it sound like only ideaologues need
bother buying Folsom’s book. Is this impression you wish to convey?
when i look so many books I’m headache
what are you thinking about these books?
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