- Africa since 1800. Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore (good book)
- The Leopard. Tomasi Di Lampedusa (an ok read)
- The Road to Kalamata: A Congo Mercenary's Personal Memoir. Mike Roar (not recommended)
- A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman. Lisa Shannon (painfully bad book. I'll write some remarks on this blog soon)
- Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson (review by Jarold Diamond here)
- Crime and Punishment. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (started this months ago, but am not getting through it. The first book I read by a Russian author...)
- Economic Gangsters. Raymond Fisman and Ted Miguel
- Winter’s Heart. Robert Jordan (book 9 of the The Wheel of Times-series. Be careful when starting: each book is 1,000+ pages and there are 26-something books in the series)
- Learn Swahili (I will speak Swahili one day)
- The Last Journal of David Livingstone. David Livingstone
- The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. James Scott (also started this ages ago and not finished yet)
- Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Robert Putnam
- Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand
- White Settlers in Tropical Africa. Lewis Gann Peter Duignan (bought in a small bookshop in Paris last week when I needed to read something on a terrace and didn't have my Kindle around)
- Madam Bovary. Gustave Flaubert
- Great Expectations. Charles Dickens (on my smartphone -- great in subways when my Kindle is not around. Am about 30% in: good fun.)
- The Good Earth. Pearl Buck.
- Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
What I'm reading over the summer.
This summer -- in addition to a pile of articles on migration, development, experiments and so on that have accumulated over the months -- I hope to read the following books. Quite the list, but mainly easy reading (the first four I already read):
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Also didn't like A Thousand Sisters at all. Economic Gangsters was interesting but there were too many generalisations near the end I felt.
ReplyDeleteJust been reading 'Blood River; journey down the Congo' - Tim Butcher, - a really good read, but a bit more of an adventure rather than political.
'In the footsteps of Mr Kurtz' - Michela Wrong was interesting but I didn't think it was particularly well-written.
'King Leopold's Ghost' - Adam Hochschild was an amazing read - absolutely gripping and so detailed.
Just finished Jason Stearns' 'Dancing in the Glory of Monsters' which was the best so far I think. An absolute authority. Although much flicking to the glossary required to keep up with the acronyms...
Now on to 'Africa's World War' - Gerard Prunier. Something of a tome and quite heavy going on the London underground during the morning commute...
What was 'Why nations fail' like? I've also got 'The undercover economist' on the list to tackle this summer.
Mary
Also didn't like A Thousand Sisters - not very well written.
ReplyDeleteEconomic Gangsters I thought was interesting but too many generalisations near the end I felt.
Blood River - Tim Butcher was a good read. Reads a bit more like and adventure rather than with very much political backdrop, but a good image of DRC in 05.
In the footsteps of Mr Kurtz - Michela Wrong has lots of good reviews but I wasn't hugely impressed. Interesting but not particularly well written.
King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild was brilliant. Beautifully written and detailed.
Just finished Dancing in the Glory of Monsters - Jason Stearns of the Congo Siasa blogspot. A completely amazing read, although much flicking to the glossary required to keep up with the many many acronyms.
On to Africa's World War - Gerard Prunier now. Rather a tome for the commute on the London underground!
I've got The Undercover Economist on my list to read this summer - know anything about it?
How was Why Nations Fail?
Any other recommendations?!
Mary