Books I read last year and recommend
Explore the best books I read last year, from Thomas Sowell's economics and C.S. Lewis's philosophy to timeless fiction like The Count of Monte Cristo and Doctor Zhivago. A curated reading list of highly recommended titles across history, politics, and classic literature for your next great read.
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Basic Economics 2nd Ed
by Thomas Sowell
Outlines the principles behind each major type of economy including capitalist, socialist, and feudal, in terms of the incentives each creates.
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Applied Economics
by Thomas Sowell
A companion volume to Basic Economics discusses the application of economics to such world problems as medical care, discrimination, and the development of nations, examining economic policies in terms of their immediate and longer-term repercussions.
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The Road to Serfdom
by Friedrich August Hayek
Examines the relationship between individual liberty and government authority, and argues that granting government control of the economy leads to disaster
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The Fatal Shore
by Robert Hughes
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This incredible true history of the colonization of Australia explores how the convict transportation system created the country we know today. "One of the greatest non-fiction books I’ve ever read ... Hughes brings us an entire world." —Los Angeles Times Digging deep into the dark history of England's infamous efforts to move 160,000 men and women thousands of miles to the other side of the world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hughes has crafted a groundbreaking, definitive account of the settling of Australia. Tracing the European presence in Australia from early explorations through the rise and fall of the penal colonies, and featuring 16 pages of illustrations and 3 maps, The Fatal Shore brings to life the history of the country we thought we knew.
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The City of Joy
by Dominique Lapierre
Made into a movie starring Patrick Swayze, this is the inspiring story of an American doctor who experienced a spiritual rebirth in an impoverished section of Calcutta.
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Doctor Zhivago
by Boris Pasternak
In the grand tradition of the epic novel, Boris Pasternak’s masterpiece brings to life the drama and immensity of the Russian Revolution through the story of the gifted physician-poet, Zhivago; the revolutionary, Strelnikov; and Lara, the passionate woman they both love. Caught up in the great events of politics and war that eventually destroy him and millions of others, Zhivago clings to the private world of family life and love, embodied especially in the magical Lara. First published in Italy in 1957, Doctor Zhivago was not allowed to appear in the Soviet Union until 1987, twenty-seven years after the author’s death. Translated by Manya Harari and Max Hayward
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Mere Christianity
by C. S. Lewis
A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis's books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.
