Readings

Reading

An incom­plete list, in no par­tic­u­lar order, of books that have shaped my mind over the years.

Administrative Behavior

Admin­is­tra­tive Behavior

Her­bert A. Simon

Models of My Life

Mod­els of My Life

Her­bert A. Simon

View with a Grain of Sand

View with a Grain of Sand

Wis­lawa Szymborska

Under the Glacier

Under the Glacier

Hall­dor Laxness

A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hem­ing­way

A Mencken Chrestomathy

A Menck­en Chrestomathy

H. L. Mencken

Development Projects Observed

Devel­op­ment Projects Observed

Albert O. Hirschman

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Albert O. Hirschman

The Anxiety of Influence

The Anx­i­ety of Influence

Harold Bloom

Stories of Your Life and Others

Sto­ries of Your Life and Others

Ted Chi­ang

If I feel phys­i­cal­ly as if the top of my head were tak­en off, I know that is poetry.


Emi­ly Dickinson

Eichmann in Jerusalem

Eich­mann in Jerusalem

Han­nah Arendt

Passion and Craft

Pas­sion and Craft

Michael Szen­berg (Ed.)

The Selected Letters of Tennessee Williams

The Select­ed Let­ters of Ten­nessee Williams

Ten­nessee Williams

On Chinese Gardens

On Chi­nese Gardens

Chen Con­gzhou

Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching

Lao Tsu

The Conquest of Happiness

The Con­quest of Happiness

Bertrand Rus­sell

River Town

Riv­er Town

Peter Hessler

Proper Doctoring

Prop­er Doctoring

David Mendel

Escape from Freedom

Escape from Freedom

Erich Fromm

Three pas­sions, sim­ple but over­whelm­ing­ly strong, have gov­erned my life: the long­ing for love, the search for knowl­edge, and unbear­able pity for the suf­fer­ing of mankind.


Bertrand Rus­sell

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

Jean­nette Walls

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Impor­tance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde

Democracy in America

Democ­ra­cy in America

Alex­is de Tocqueville

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catch­er in the Rye

J. D. Salinger

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nine­teen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Sonnets from the Portuguese

Son­nets from the Portuguese

Eliz­a­beth Bar­rett Browning

The Economic Consequences of the Peace

The Eco­nom­ic Con­se­quences of the Peace

John May­nard Keynes

Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy

Cap­i­tal­ism, Social­ism, and Democracy

Joseph A. Schumpeter

Extraordinary Popular Delusions

Extra­or­di­nary Pop­u­lar Delusions

Charles MacK­ay

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

The Death and Life of Great Amer­i­can Cities

Jane Jacobs

The dif­fi­cul­ty lies not so much in devel­op­ing new ideas as in escap­ing from old ones.


John May­nard Keynes

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Susan­na Clarke

The Reckoning

The Reck­on­ing

David Hal­ber­stam

The Plague

The Plague

Albert Camus

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

Sure­ly You’re Jok­ing, Mr. Feynman

Richard Feyn­man

Pioneer

Pio­neer

Hugh Hawkins

The Making of Modern Medicine

The Mak­ing of Mod­ern Medicine

Michael Bliss

William Osler: A Life in Medicine

William Osler: A Life in Medicine

Michael Bliss

Love Poems

Love Poems

Pablo Neru­da

The Sirens' Song

The Sirens’ Song

Mau­rice Blanchot

Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941

Stal­in: Wait­ing for Hitler, 1929–1941

Stephen Kotkin

The Beginning of Infinity

The Begin­ning of Infinity

David Deutsch

I would rather be ash­es than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a bril­liant blaze than it should be sti­fled by dry-rot.


Jack Lon­don

This list grows slow­ly, as all good libraries do.