China’s Brand
In advance of Beijing hosting the Olympic Games this summer, a lot of people are working to capture how China's brand will be changing. A new book from Harvard University Press, Brand New China quotes one of my early articles at Asia Times. The book looks to emphasize brand development within China, which given the increasingly complicated and difficult trade relationship the country is likely to experience with its existing trade partners in the mid-term, is an important realignment. An interesting review of the book can be read here.Q3 2007 Bookshelf
Getting my Q3 reading list up has not been a priority, but with some time this morning I pulled it together. Highlights are definitely Thomas Barnett and a couple of biographies (one on Einstein and another on Oppenheimer).Q2 2007 Bookshelf
Apologies for lack of posting here recently - since getting back from Turkey we have been wrestling with a very busy work schedule and our girl German Shepherd Porsche who had emergency back surgery on the day we were originally to leave for Turkey. It's been a bit hectic on all fronts; none-the-less, my Q2 2007 Bookshelf was rewarding. Favorites included About Face by James Mann, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens (grouchy, at times absurd, but always challenging), In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos by Richard Lloyd Parry and Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut.Q1 2007 Bookshelf
Posting a monthly book list is a PITA. I'm doing it on a quarterly basis instead, which is a bit easier. Some really good stuff on China, but the stellar books are Sagan's The Varieties of Scientific Experience, Julia Scheeres Jesus Land, Chen Guidi's Will the Boat Sink the Water? and two troubling books on Christian nationalism, Kingdom Coming by Michelle Goldberg and American Fascists by Chris Hedges.Top 10 Books of 2006
2006 may have marked my favorite year in terms of reading selections. It has been a pleasure to explore more philosophy, although I was not able to make the effort to access all of the masters' work first-hand as much as I had hoped at the beginning of the year. A number of books were left out that deserved to be mentioned including Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, some great books on contemporary politics (Cobra II, Fiasco, Conservatives Without Conscience, and The One Percent Doctrine), and some really great biographies (Mao: the Unknown Story, Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueld His Greatness, Team of Rivals: the ...Updated 2006 Bookshelf
An updated bookshelf since my last posting can be found here. Some really great reads, although many are deeply troubling as to the state of American politics and religion. This bookshelf post has slightly shorter analysis than usual due to the length of time it has been since I updated my site.February 2006 Bookshelf
I have been too busy to write as frequently on this site as I would like (law school and professional obligations have kept me swamped); however, February did bring a good book on the synthesis between Christianity and science as well as a superb book by Harvard economist Jeffery Sachs. Daniel Dennett's new Breaking the Spell is as thorough and profoundly insightful a review of religion as I have yet encountered. I have not resonated with a book this much for some time. More essays and book reviews on Dennett and Sachs' books coming soon.January 2006 Bookshelf
January has been incredibly busy and my apologies for the lack of posting activity. I also had a complete computer crash, but am now up and running with a new Dell Inspiron 9300; much happier now that my on-line life is coming back into a sense of stability. As I anticipated, my reading schedule slowed down due to pressing scholastic and professional obligations. Even with this in mind, I was able to finish a very well balanced book on China as well as a an interesting book on the Japanese automotive industry and a biography of the great Barcelona architect Gaudi.Top 10 Books of 2005
This was the most formative year of my life in terms of pure intellectual development and giving voice to my questions, suspicions and ultimately allowing what I do not believe to become less central in my life's pursuit of truth. My top picks of the year include two from Ken Wilber, a biography of Thomas Jefferson, and some compelling works on the role of doubt and the proper role of reason in life.November 2005 Bookshelf
In November I returned to my favorite Karen Armstrong book, a wonderful Philip Roth novel, and two great books on foreign policy - one by the world's leading pragmatist - Robert Kaplan, and another by a travel writer whose willingness to take risks and travel into unhospitable countries allows us more risk averse readers to learn about people and cultures we otherwise would never hear about. This post will probably be one of my last until mid-December due to other law school obligations. Merry Christmas to you all! « Previous EntriesAbout MysteriousFaith
“If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance which does harm.”
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