Whatcha' readin'?

[Donegeal]

Hyperion

[Tuberski]

Just finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, before that Anansi's Boys by Neil Gaiman and currently American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

First books by either author that I have read.

ACK!

[Last Conformist]

Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth by Gitta Sereny

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by DaShi
How to Cook Zkribbler.

I certainly hope you accidentally omitted a comma after, "Cook."

[monolith94]

But seriously, right now I'm just reading a book about yoga. Also, I am rereading my favorite passages from Phil Dick's The Divine Invasions.

[Odin]

Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 by Tony Judt

The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hackett Fischer

[Zkribbler]

Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History

Sounds like an interesting premise. Have you read enough to give us a thumbnail synopsis?

[Odin]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
Sounds like an interesting premise. Have you read enough to give us a thumbnail synopsis?

Basically the premise is that there has been 4 great bursts of inflation, what the author calls price revolutions, in the Western World since the High Middle Ages: the mid 1200s to just after the Black Death, the late 1400s to the mid 1600s, from the mid 1700s to the Napoleonic Wars, and from 1890 to today. These price revolutions are triggered by an increase in the birth rate, increasing demand for "basic" goods like food, building materials, and fuel, causing prices of those things to go up. The increase in prices follows, in the long term, a logarithmic curve, starting slowly and then increasing faster and faster, and only stops after catastrophe strikes. In the latter phase of the price revolution an "inflation psychology" develops, that is, inflation becomes accepted as a normal part of life; Governments deficit spend like crazy and the gap between rich and poor widen. An interesting thing the graphs in the book showed was an extremely obvious correlation between spikes in the cost of living and spikes in crime and social dysfunction (alcoholism, drug abuse, births out of wedlock, etc.).

Here's a good review of the book on the Amazon.com link:

Americans seem to have a blind spot when it comes to history. We can't see the value of learning about the past, and applying its lessons to the present. We're arrogant enough with our vast wealth and power to believe that we invented everything first. Or we simply don't see the value of history, as a resource, as object lesson, as holding some answers to today's dilemmas.

Brandeis University professor David Hackett Fischer acknowledges this blind spot and takes the long view in "The Great Wave." Utilizing a very long telescope, one that sees back as far as the Dark Ages, Fischer investigates the history of price changes to expound on a fascinating theory that can possibly foretell nothing less than the future of the United States, whether we're headed for an era of greater prosperity, or a catastrophe like that of the Great Depression.

Fischer's long-view theme is similar to more popular and populist works that spring up like daffodils and last about as long: Toffler's "Fourth Wave" and "Future Shock" easily come to mind, and politicians have their favorite advocates of either the "future's so bright we got to wear shades" school of eternal optimism, or the "hunker down, boys, the Japanese / Germans / Latinos / big business / lower classes are coming over the walls" school.

The theory behind "The Great Wave," in contrast, is the real thing, backed by solid research, not the author's political leanings. By examining the prices people paid for goods throughout history, four "price revolutions" were identified, each followed by a long period when prices were relatively stable. The intensity and length of each revolution was different, lasting as short as 80 years, to as long as 180 years.

What provides the kick behind this notion is how this series of rising and fallings have had on the growth of society. In general, rising prices placed severe stresses on society at large. During the first three upticks (during the Medieval, 16th century and 18th century periods), bad weather added to the troubles by destroying harvests, leading to widespread starvation. The lower classes, squeezed between prices for basic foods they could no longer pay, as well as laws passed by the wealthy classes who wished to protect their investments, lead to catastrophes such as social revolution or a population-reducing plague. That would restabilize prices and, in general, give everybody a chance to catch their breath.

Once the shocks of the collapse have passed, the society finds that prices have stabilized, and the population at large begins to recover. When times are good, the population tends to increase. This places stresses on food and fuel, triggering inflation. Continued prosperity increases the cycle of growth and demand, and added to the troubles are the occasional wars, when ambitious people felt comfortable enough with the status quo to demand more of it.

This is a simplistic rendering in a review of what is actually a rather simple theory to understand in practice. Fischer tells the story of each wave, and the cause-and-effect patterns are so clear that it seems like one is reading the same story four times, with only the names of the players changed.

Fischer's book looks intimidating at first. Its 536 pages is studded with charts showing the fluctuation of prices throughout history. But Fischer devotes only 258 pages to an analysis of prices waves; the rest of the book is taken up with appendices and essays on side issues. And the 258 pages contains 105 charts, further reducing the amount of reading needed to grasp the main points.

Economics has been called the dismal science, but Fischer's work offers a cautionary story that is readily understandable and surprisingly compelling to the general reader. Where Fischer says we are on the next wave, I'll leave to those willing to make the effort. "The Great Wave" is well worth the journey.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Tuberski
Just finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, before that Anansi's Boys by Neil Gaiman and currently American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

First books by either author that I have read.

ACK!

My favorite by Neil Gaiman are Stardust and Neverwhere.

JM

[General Ludd]

The Gormenghast trilogy.

I've jsut started the third book now. I liked the first the best so far - the macabre atmosphere of decay and solitude that it had was great. The second book kind of ruined that by introducing so many new characters to the life of the castle. It was particularily the school and professors which destroyed the atmosphere for me. (by introducing a sense of "future" to the castle aswell as creating something of a social life in the castle)

[Jon Miller]

I have thgouht about picking that one up several times.

JM

[LordShiva]

Re: Whatcha' readin'?

'Poly

[Krill]

Stop reading that trash LS. It'll rot your mind.

I'm reading Chickenhawk by Robert Mason, about his experiences about Vietnam, where he served as a chopper pilot. Just finished Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein for the umpteenth time. Still thihnk it is one of the best books I've ever read...

[Mrs. Tuberski]

Im intot he series of james pattersons womans club. Currently on the fourth of july just finished the 3rd degree. Pretty good writer if ur into murder mysteries

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Jon Miller


My favorite by Neil Gaiman are Stardust and Neverwhere.

JM

Neverwhere is next on the list.

ACK!