Getting Ready for Summer Reading --- What I have been reading

The term is almost over, time to get serious about reading.  I have been reading some very good books lately.  Charles Koch's The Science of Success is a very easy and absolutely wonderful read.  Koch is able to combine an argument for individual freedom and self-actualization (derived from Maslow as well as other thinkers) with an argument for system-level freedom (derived from the writings of Mises and Hayek) to build a case for freedom and responsibility within an organization (what he terms market-based management).  Koch's organizational philosophy can be described as one that creates a culture of excellence by structuring an environment in which creativity within discipline is encouraged and appropriately rewarded.  By doing this, he has built the most successful privately held firm in the world.  So I would start there with my summer reading.

The next book would be Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. I love this book, and I have to thank my colleagues Tyler Cowen (who actually gave me a copy) and Russ Roberts for alerting me to Taleb's works in general (I am going to start his work Fooled by Randomnesshere.

I read lots of professional books and papers in economics, political science, and philosophy (mainly social and political philosphy, but also some in epistemology).  But my relax time reading is taken up reading sports books. However, as an economist and teacher I always see in them lessons for economic life (sports represent a school of rules and as such can be a fitting subject for constitutional political economy and economics).  I am a fan of the works of Dick DeVenzio --- who was a fiesty point guard at Duke in the late 60s and early 70s and later on founded the Point Guard College.  Among basketball types he is best known for his book Stuff!  Good Players Should Know, but recently I have been reading several of his other works such as Running the Show: Basketball Leadership for Coaches and Players, and There's Only One Way to Win.  DeVenzio, who unforutnatley passed away at an early age, was not only a brilliant basketball mind, he was a very bold thinker who challenged the NCAA system and argued that players should be paid, see his Rip-Off U (he writes with the passion of an old-style union organizer so this might turn off some readers on this blog, but the basic argument he makes is worthy of serious debate).  You can find DeVenzio's books at Point Guard College.

I have also recently finished Michale Litos's Cinderella: A Season Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball.  Litos just happened to choose the CAA to follow, and his choice just happened to map with GMU's amazing run to the final four in 2006.  A great work analyzing how various NCAA rules changes have impacted the game of basketball (for good and bad from the youth/grassroots level to the major NCAA programs  and the NBA) is yet to be written. And Litos's book doesn't even really address those issues. But it is a good read (not great) about an amazing accomplishment.  Coach L from GMU is awesome and he comes off as awesome in the book.  GMU was 2 minutes from returning to the NCAA this year as they had the lead over VCU in the 2007 CAA Championship game, but VCU has some outstanding guards as the entire nation got to see during their NCAA tournament run.  I actually had VCU beating Duke in my bracket in March --- but I also had Arizona going far (didn't happen), and Florida losing in an upset early (didn't happen).  I did have Ohio State going to the finals (and winning --- didn't happen).  For all the analysis, there is a reason they play the game --- oh, and it relates to the Black Swan discussion in Taleb!

BTW, a new definitive edition of The Road to Serfdom is now available as Vol. 2 of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek edited by Bruce Caldwell and published by the University of Chicago Press.  As is always the case Caldwell's introduction is wonderful and the book is timeless. soon).  Russ did a podcast with Taleb recently that can be downloaded

Comments

[Pearl]

Taleb's book should be great, I'm still waiting for my copy. "The Myth of Rational Voter" is not on your "to read"-list or have you already read it?

[Peter Boettke]

Pearl,

Caplan's book is extremely insightful and a very important book to read. In fact, in many ways I appreciate the book all that much more after reading Tim Besley's Principaled Agents (Oxford 2006). Caplan cuts to the very core of the faith so many have in the democratic process to adequantely address social ills.

I obviously have many points of disagreement with Bryan Caplan on fine points of economic theory, but in general I find Bryan one of the most fascinating intellectuals I have ever met. Always insightful, if sometimes frustrating, and very tenacious, yet ultimately loveable. I highly recommend Caplan's book.

[Peter Boettke]

Pearl,

Caplan's book is extremely insightful and a very important book to read. In fact, in many ways I appreciate the book all that much more after reading Tim Besley's Principaled Agents (Oxford 2006). Caplan cuts to the very core of the faith so many have in the democratic process to adequantely address social ills.

I obviously have many points of disagreement with Bryan Caplan on fine points of economic theory, but in general I find Bryan one of the most fascinating intellectuals I have ever met. Always insightful, if sometimes frustrating, and very tenacious, yet ultimately loveable. I highly recommend Caplan's book.

[Rafe]

Hayek got a leg up when Serfdom was condensed by Readers Digest. (That is available on line.) If only they had done the same for Human Action. They could have named it The Structure of Human Action and picked up sales from careless students looking for the Parsons book of similar name.