What I’ve been reading

Ahmet T. Kuru, Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison is one of the best books on why Islam fell behind Western Europe.  I don’t think it solves the puzzle, but has plenty of good arguments in the “rent-seeking” direction.

Newly published is Daniel B. Klein, Smithian Morals, Amazon link here, some of the essays are with co-authors.  Free,  open access version is here.

Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein, Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company, is an interesting defense of corporate hierarchy, based on economic reasoning and also a dash of Hayek.

Jamieson Webster, Disorganisation & Sex.  Lacanian, yet readable.  Recommend to those who think they might care, but it will not convince the unconverted.

There is the interesting Plato Goes to China: The Greek Classics and Chinese Nationalism, by Shadi Bartsch.  Here is my very good CWT with her, in which we discuss the topics of the book a bit.

Pretty good is Jon K. Lauck, The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900.

There is Owen Ullmann, Empathy Economics: Janet Yellen’s Remarkable Rise to Power and Her Drive to Spread Prosperity to All.

And a new libertarian memoir, Murray Sabrin, From Immigrant to Public Intellectual: An American Story.

Dalibor Rohac, Governing the EU in an Age of Division is a classical liberal take on its topic.