Lists of Bests: marcalex's "Books to understand the modern world" http://www.listsofbests.com/list/29158 This is a list of the books I found most useful in understanding contemporary subjects in politics and economy. A brief abstract for most can be found under http://winter.sg. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:39:21 GMT en-us 0 50 11 0 0 In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1609295 <div id="position">1</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1609295"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0385514743.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Edward Luce</div> Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/43255 <div id="position">2</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/43255"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0393061310.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jared Diamond</div> Making Globalization Work http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1170473 <div id="position">3</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1170473"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0393061221.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Joseph E. Stiglitz</div> Why Globalization Works (Yale Nota Bene) http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1061444 <div id="position">4</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1061444"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0300107773.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Martin Wolf</div> The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/2312778 <div id="position">5</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/2312778"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000H1MRHQ.01-A3APK4KXXA45U7._SCTHUMBZZZ_V44376100_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Paul Kennedy</div> State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/23934 <div id="position">6</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/23934"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0801442923.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1077573198_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Francis Fukuyama</div> The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies) http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/349352 <div id="position">7</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/349352"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0198293763.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by John Roberts</div> Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1272452 <div id="position">8</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1272452"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0061234001.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Steven D. Levitt</div> The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/76292 <div id="position">9</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/76292"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0195189779.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Tim Harford</div> The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/584324 <div id="position">10</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/584324"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0374292795.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Thomas L. Friedman</div> Sicherung von Property Rights http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/2764809 <div id="position">11</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Sven C. Hallscheidt</div>