Mini Reviews

1.
Once More Around the Block/Joseph Epstein

If you haven’t read a collection of Joseph Epstein essays, you’re unenlightened or you’ve been deprived or you have a life outside of literary pursuits. Hopefully, the latter, but if you fear it’s because you fall into either of the first two categories, buy a collection of essays now. I have seven such books, and I like them all. Once More Around the Block is my favorite, but I also highly recommend The Middle of My Tether and Familiar Territory. Epstein is erudite, humorous, and a top-flight writer. Anecdotes fly out of his pen faster than insults from Don Rickles.

Quick example: In an essay (link to part of essay) about NYC, he notes that Jan Morris of Rolling Stone wrote in the late 1970s/early 1980s that people think New York reached its zenith during the 1930s and 1940s and was decrepit now, but Epstein then rattles off four other writers who thought New York had peaked decades earlier (when the writers were young) but was now finished (when the writers were older): Edith Wharton (NYC special in 1880s, but finished by 1906), Theodore Dreiser (good in 1920s but not later), F. Scott Fitzgerald (good in 1920s; finished by 1932), Saul Bellow (good in 1940s, bad by 1970s).

I guess there’s a chance Epstein found all five of those examples in one spot, but I doubt it. Having read well over a thousand pages of his prose, I’m confident he culled those from his literary memory and reading notes. A very impressive individual, yes.

Total Pages of Text: 308. My Progress: Finished. Rating: 10. Index, Bibliography, Footnotes: None.

2. Meltdown/Thomas E. Woods

This is a primer, and a much-needed one. If you think government public works can get us out of our economic problems, read this book. If you think the greed of the free market (as opposed to the greed of the government-subsidized financial sector) got us into this problem, read this book. If you don’t understand why the Panic of ‘29 turned into The Great Depression, read this book. If you want to understand that (today, overlooked) school of economic thought known as “Austrian,” the only school to see this coming, read this book. If you have friends that think Obama can fix this mess, or even friends who think it’s his fault, buy them copies of this book. Highly recommended for someone just wading into these waters.

Total Pages of Text: 163. My Progress: 110. Rating: 8. Index: A. Bibliography: None, but plenty of reference materials in the footnotes.

3. The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression/Amity Shlaes

Shows how the prideful Hoover bungled the Panic of 1929, not by doing nothing, but by doing something. Also shows the leftist beginnings of The New Deal and how it prolonged The Great Depression. My hunch: “must reading” as another progressive administration prepares to wrestle with a big economic downturn.

Total Pages of Text: 383. My Progress: Page 223. My Current Rating: 8. Index: A-. Bibliography: Excellent. Footnotes: None.

4. Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government/Robert Higgs

War is a capitalist tool, said the Marxists. War is a big government tool, says Higgs. I think they’re both right to a degree, but Higgs ultimately wins the debate. From “crisis” working conditions at the turn of the century (think Sinclair’s Jungle) to poverty in the 1960s, Higgs shows how the Beltway has emphasized emergency and urgency in hopes of expanding Washington’s reach. Thick book, packed with facts and notes; it wasn’t issued by Oxford University Press because it’s light reading.

Total Pages of Text: 262. My Progress: Finished. Final Rating: 10. Index: B+. Bibliography: Excellent. Footnotes: Excellent (end of book).

*I might continue these mini-reviews as a feature for the blog; for now, I am undecided about how often updates might be. I also think it is more helpful than simply posting a reading list.

“Total Pages of Text” refers to the book’s total pages, less footnotes, bibliography, appendix, and index. “My Progress” refers to the number of pages read so far. “My Current Rating” is based on a scale of 1 to 10; after I finish the book, I will give it a “Final Rating.” The “Index” rates the book’s index on a grading scale: A to F. I assume the “Bibliography” and “Footnotes” references are self-explanatory.