1. The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum, by Lawrence Rothfield. The definitive book on its topic.
2. Edward Skidelsky, Ernst Cassirer: The Last Philosopher of Culture. A very clear and readable book on a still underrated thinker.
3. The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency, by David Marsh. I can't say this book is fun to read, but it is the new go-to source on an increasingly up-for-grabs topic. It's at least as much about the EMS as about the Euro.
4. Richard Dowden, Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. Another mega-book on Africa, with mixed results. At least half of it is worth reading, and I learned a great deal (or at least I think I did) from the analysis of how Somalia is a relatively ethnically unified nation, by African standards at least.
5. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding. Does our cooperative nature come from our love of babies? Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found her earlier book more revelatory.
The ironic thing about Somalia is that despite the relative ethnic homogeneity of Somalia (as you’ve no doubt learned, the Somalis of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti share a language, legal system, culture, and religious style that is very much distinct from those around them), the clan system and the incredibly individualistic nature of Somalia law make an effective state virtually impossible. A shameless plug (as the article was written by myself), but here is a good overview of why Somalia is the way it is today. (Hint: It’s got nothing to do with the “international community” ignoring the place.)
You seem to post one of these “what I’ve been reading posts” about once a week, and they always contain about five books. Do you really read five books a week? If so, do you have any secrets to share on how to read that fast? Or do you just have a lot of free time?
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