Maus by Art Spiegelman: Incredibly touching comic written by the son of an Auschwitz survivor about his father.
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond: A book that tries to analyze why particular parts of the world are poorer while others are richer using biology (e.g., which animals could be domesticated) and geography (e.g., what effect did erosion have on early agricultural societies).
Very interesting, although, in my opinion, sort of wrong with regard to the more modern times. I read it right before “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty” by Daron Acemoglu, which I also thought was really interesting, but wrong with regards to everything but modern times.
I remember thinking, how if we applied geographical determinism from “Guns, Germs, and Steel” to the pre 15th century times, and apply political determinism from “Why Nations Fail” to after 15th century, we get a perfect theory of origins of poverty and wealth.
Let me throw in two more books:
Very interesting, although, in my opinion, sort of wrong with regard to the more modern times. I read it right before “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty” by Daron Acemoglu, which I also thought was really interesting, but wrong with regards to everything but modern times.
I remember thinking, how if we applied geographical determinism from “Guns, Germs, and Steel” to the pre 15th century times, and apply political determinism from “Why Nations Fail” to after 15th century, we get a perfect theory of origins of poverty and wealth.
Very good point, and I agree regarding the explanatory power of “Guns, Germs, and Steel” which is only up to a certain point in history.
Also, thanks for the reminder to read “Why Nations Fail”.
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