So, what are you reading now?

[merrylander]

Ah my book came so I will give Tillich a rest for a bit.

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis ISBN 0-15=632930-1

The Greeks were smart, they have four words for love.

I must run up the road to "Books with a past" and get more of his work as it would appear that my ex got a lot of my books. At least I did keep those I inherited from Dad, a set of complete works of Longfellow, Scott, Shelly, Shakespeare and Wordsworth.

[barbara]

Anyone hear of
"Holy Bible-best god damned version" by Steve Ebling?

I just downloaded it but haven't started to read it yet.

[ebacon]

Has anyone read "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty? It's supposed to be the latest big-thinker book. I was thinking about reading it but am still trying to get my head unscrambled after my several year binge of heady books.

http://www.amazon.com/Capital-Twenty...rds=capitalism

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by ebacon

Has anyone read "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty? It's supposed to be the latest big-thinker book. I was thinking about reading it but am still trying to get my head unscrambled after my several year binge of heady books.

http://www.amazon.com/Capital-Twenty...rds=capitalism

It's only for the "Big Thinkers" if they make the same assumptions that Piketty does. For those unfamiliar with his general position:

For example, if the top thousandth enjoy a 6 percent rate of return on their wealth, while global wealth grows only at 2 percent a year, then after thirty years the top thousandth’s share of global capital will have more than tripled. The top thousandth would then own 60 percent of global wealth, which is hard to imagine in the framework of existing political institutions unless there is a particularly effective system of repression or an extremely powerful apparatus of persuasion, or perhaps both. Even if the top thousandth’s capital returned only 4 percent a year, their share would still practically double in thirty years to nearly 40 percent. Once again, the force for divergence at the top of the wealth hierarchy would win out over the global forces of catch-up and convergence, so that the shares of the top decile and centile would increase significantly, with a large upward redistribution from the middle and upper-middle classes to the very rich. Such an impoverishment of the middle class would very likely trigger a violent political reaction. It is of course impossible at this stage to be certain that such a scenario is about to unfold. But it is important to realize that the inequality r > g, amplified by inequality in the return on capital as a function of initial portfolio size, can potentially give rise to a global dynamic of accumulation and distribution of wealth characterized by explosive trajectories and uncontrolled inegalitarian spirals. As we will see, only a progressive tax on capital can effectively impede such a dynamic.

The big problem for Piketty is that capitalism, and only capitalism, has vastly increased the living standards of humans more than any other system. That is of greater concern and is more important to most people's lives than the difference between relative wealth that is popular with leftist politicians seeking power. Picketty is really not saying anything all that different from those that used to argue for a so-called post-capitalist society. IMHO, just another form of tinkerers thinking they know the trajectory of markets better than the market itself and by implication what's better for individuals.

For those interested in the opposing view:
http://cafehayek.com/

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by bhunter

It's only for the "Big Thinkers" if they make the same assumptions that Piketty does. For those unfamiliar with his general position:



The big problem for Piketty is that capitalism, and only capitalism, has vastly increased the living standards of humans more than any other system. That is of greater concern and is more important to most people's lives than the difference between relative wealth that is popular with leftist politicians seeking power. Picketty is really not saying anything all that different from those that used to argue for a so-called post-capitalist society. IMHO, just another form of tinkerers thinking they know the trajectory of markets better than the market itself and by implication what's better for individuals.

For those interested in the opposing view:
http://cafehayek.com/

Thanks.

I think I will skip the book and focus on getting outdoors instead.

Here is an interesting review on Amazon. It appears to be written by a law professor.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/067443000X/..._new_dp_review

According to the review a shortcoming of the book is that Piketty ignores environmental effects of growth. It seems to be more of an analytic tome for economists. At this stage of my life I am more interested in answers to the question of "grow what?" The book does not appear to delve into that issue.

There are some other books on urban planning that have interested me. One in particular discusses ways to phase suburban asphalt jungles into walkable communities. Books like that might be more my speed when I am ready to read again.

[bobabode]

Last Lion - The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by ebacon

There are some other books on urban planning that have interested me. One in particular discusses ways to phase suburban asphalt jungles into walkable communities. Books like that might be more my speed when I am ready to read again.

Can you name them.

I have an interest in urban planning.
How can we make cities Senior friendly, pedestrian friendly etc.

Two cities which have tried seriously to address urban issues
innovatively are Bogota, Colombia and Berlin, Germany.

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

Can you name them.

I have an interest in urban planning.
How can we make cities Senior friendly, pedestrian friendly etc.

Two cities which have taken tried seriously to address urban issues
innovatively are Bogota, Colombia and Berlin, Germany.

Dondilion,

The book that caught my eye is titled "Sprawl Repair Manual" by Galina Tachieva. Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Sprawl-Repair-...+repair+manual

Amazon has several other books on the topic of urban planning. They appear to look at the issue from several angles such as historical, working with nature, etc.

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by ebacon

Dondilion,

The book that caught my eye is titled "Sprawl Repair Manual" by Galina Tachieva. Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Sprawl-Repair-...+repair+manual

Amazon has several other books on the topic of urban planning. They appear to look at the issue from several angles such as historical, working with nature, etc.

Thanks!

Here are some links to urban issues.
http://thecityfix.com/blog/film-reve...ransformation/

[Dondilion]

A Country Of Cities A manifesto for an urban America

Vishaan Chakrabarti

I picked up this the book from the seller on my corner for a dollar. I was
surprised by the good condition of the book.

It had strong arguments for city living. The author buttressed his beliefs for controlled density with beautiful pictures and graphs.

However I am not convinced. I maintain that high density living creates more
social problems than it solves.

A provocative read.