Barry Eichengreen sends us to Bloomberg’s interesting compilation of 2012 book recommendations from CEO, policy makers, investors, economists, academics and authors.
The most popular picks were Robert A. Caro’s “The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” “Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence” by William L. Silber, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty” by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson and “The Signal and the Noise” by Nate Silver.
I’d add “The New Geography of Jobs” by Enrico Moretti and “The Cost Disease” by William Baumol et al.
Finally, I liked Lael Brainard’s suggestions (both of which are near the top of my pile for the holidays):
“Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow. It’s humbling and inspiring to recall the contributions of the key architect of our nation’s monetary and fiscal institutions.
“Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World” by Liaquat Ahamed. It’s haunting and instructive to recall the misguided policies that contributed to the misery of so many American families at one of the darkest moments for our nation.
