It only takes a few minutes of watching the national news before you will see a crime story with police dressed in battle gear. In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Radley Balko traces the history of US law enforcement to see how we got to this. Mr. Balko thinks the founding fathers, distrustful of a standing…
Category: Book reviews
How To Pay A Bribe
A thick envelope arrived in the mail from Trace International, the firm of anti-bribery compliance experts. The title caught me off guard: How to Pay a Bribe. I would have thought Trace would be focused on how to stop bribes. Then, of course, I read the subtitle: Thinking Like a Criminal to Thwart Bribery Schemes. It’s…
Weekend Reading: Bluff
The mystery of the Federal Reserve leaves people wondering if it’s controlled by the mysterious Illuminati, corrupt politicians, or fat cat bankers. And it leaves people wondering what exactly it does, or not care and demand an audit. If you believe any of the foregoing then Bluff by Anjum Hoda is not the book for you….
Weekend Reading: The Fever of 1721
We are all familiar with the Founding Fathers and the events that lead to the American Revolution. Stephen Coss points to events in 1721 as the seeds of that revolution two generations later in his new book: The Fever of 1721. The Boston of 1721 was already full of conflicts between American colonists and the British…
Weekend Reading: Little Pink House
In 2005, the US Supreme Court was faced with a challenge on the “public use” provision of the Constitution’s eminent domain protection. We know the government can’t take private property without just compensation. The challenge was on the boundaries of the government’s intended use of that property. Kelo v. City of New London gave the government…
We The People
In We The People, Juan Williams tackles the history of the 20th century through the lens of some keys figures and tries to pin those societal changes back to the original thoughts of the founding fathers. At first glance, it looks like Mr. Williams might use the ‘great man theory‘ of history. The people he picks are…
The Only Game In Town
I’m getting caught up on reading while on April vacation. I just finished The Only Game in Town by Mohamed A. El-Erian. The book is an exploration of central banks in the economy. The brilliant Mr. El-Erian sees a coming crisis. One that can be avoided, but we must take action to avoid it. He…
Weekend Reading: Lights Out
Should we worry about an attack on the Untied States’ electrical infrastructure? Ted Koppel says “very much so” in his book: Lights Out. You probably better know Mr. Koppel as the longtime anchorman on ABC News and Nightline. In Lights Out he puts on his old school journalist hat and puts together an in depth…
Weekend Reading: Rain
Rain rain go away, Come again another day. A simple nursery rhyme for a rainy day. It also happens to be a central theme to Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett. We need rain to survive. Too much, too little and either at the wrong time can be devastating. Ms. Barnett starts…
Weekend Reading: In The Kingdom of Ice
It’s amazing to me that we have gone from having unexplored areas on Earth to sending a spaceship to Pluto in less than 150 years. Hampton Sides’ In The Kingdom of Ice tells the story of terrible journey to find the North Pole. (If you’re interested in Pluto, New Horizons is approaching the dwarf planet…