(no subject)
I have given up hope on reaching 50 books, but that's ok. Chugging along, with more non-fiction. (The 50 book challenge, much as I love it, doesn't seem to be very nice to non-fiction. D: )
15/50 The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier
I highly recommend this book to laypeople who are vaguely interested in alleviating poverty. A lot of poverty alleviation advertising to resist the use of the word "propaganda" boils poverty down to the picture of a starving African child, while a lot of "expert" literature is very technical. The Bottom Billion is somewhere in between: easy to read, while trying to shed some light on the invisible aspects of poverty (such as the checks and balances of a democracy, which are often overshadowed by shiny elections). Collier tackles the bottom 1 billion of the 6 billion people on the planet, stating that these people are systematically stuck in poverty (of the other five billion, 1 billion live in fully developed countries, while the other 4 billion are "catching up" and showing that they are, at least, not stuck). Also a nice glimpse into how research works and what's inside the World Bank.
16/50 The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics by William Easterly
This one is a little more technical (by which I mean that it mentions a couple of economic models), but Easterly has a very easy going writing style. The main thesis of this book is that people respond to incentives and given the wrong incentives, they will do the wrong (ie, harmful, dangerous, bad) things. Easterly suggests that poor governments and aid agencies have the wrong incentives. (For instance, aid agencies are judged by how much money they give, not by the results of their aid giving.) Recommended particularly to those who have read Easterly's later book, The White Man's Burden.
Next: Queste by Angie Sage, a book by Muhammad Yunus, and the latest Percy Jackson book
Rest of the Reading List
15/50 The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier
I highly recommend this book to laypeople who are vaguely interested in alleviating poverty. A lot of poverty alleviation advertising to resist the use of the word "propaganda" boils poverty down to the picture of a starving African child, while a lot of "expert" literature is very technical. The Bottom Billion is somewhere in between: easy to read, while trying to shed some light on the invisible aspects of poverty (such as the checks and balances of a democracy, which are often overshadowed by shiny elections). Collier tackles the bottom 1 billion of the 6 billion people on the planet, stating that these people are systematically stuck in poverty (of the other five billion, 1 billion live in fully developed countries, while the other 4 billion are "catching up" and showing that they are, at least, not stuck). Also a nice glimpse into how research works and what's inside the World Bank.
16/50 The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics by William Easterly
This one is a little more technical (by which I mean that it mentions a couple of economic models), but Easterly has a very easy going writing style. The main thesis of this book is that people respond to incentives and given the wrong incentives, they will do the wrong (ie, harmful, dangerous, bad) things. Easterly suggests that poor governments and aid agencies have the wrong incentives. (For instance, aid agencies are judged by how much money they give, not by the results of their aid giving.) Recommended particularly to those who have read Easterly's later book, The White Man's Burden.
Next: Queste by Angie Sage, a book by Muhammad Yunus, and the latest Percy Jackson book
Rest of the Reading List