Sunday, January 2, 2011

Best Books 2010

Here are my favorite reads and listens for 2010. I will save the favorite in both fiction and non-fiction to the end. Some of these I’ve not posted before (been a bit inattentive of late), but many I’ve posted on before, so I’ll link those to my earlier notes. Besides the last two, I’ll go from the beginning of the year forward. I will include only published books or recorded books . I know the list is long, but I don’t read dogs (or I don’t finish them, although I don’t finish a lot of books that are quite good, but I get distracted to a different topic.) Anyway, enjoy:

If I can get this figured out, I'll re-post with the links that I have with the original reviews. Sorry, but having technical difficulties.

Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750. (See the second entry on the blog this date.)

Atul Gawande: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. (See the second entry on the blog this date.)

Pierre Hadot, The Present Alone is Our Happiness: Conversations with Jean Carlier and Arnold Davidson.

John Cassidy, How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Catastrophes.

Geoff Colvin, Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. (Second entry.)

Garry Wills, Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State.

Thomas Cahill, The Mysterious Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern World. (2nd entry.)

Peter Clarke, Keynes: the rise, fall, and return of the 20th century's most influential economist

Robert Skidelksy, Keynes: The return of the master

Mark Johnston, Saving God: Religion After Idolatry (2nd entry).

Daniel Pink, Drive.

David Shenk, The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything that You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ is Wrong.

Jack Matlock, Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray—And How to Return to Reality.

Peter Beinart, The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris

Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

Dave R. Loy, A Buddhist History of the West: Studies in Lack

Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon

Johan Lukacs, George Kennan: A Study in Character (2nd & 4th entries)

David R. Loy, Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution (2nd entry)

John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past

Ian Rankin, The Naming of the Dead

Clotaire Rapaille, The Culture Code

John Lukas & George Kennan, Through the History of the Cold War: The Correspondence of George F. Kennan & John Lukacs

Richard Evans In Defense of History

Garry Wills, Outside Looking In: Adventures of an Outsider

David Loy, The World is Made of Stories

Ganga White, Yoga Beyond Belief

John LeCarre, A Most Wanted Man (2nd entry)

Tim Ferriss, The Four-Hour Body

Art DeVany, The New Evolution Diet

Fiction work of the year: Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.

Non-fiction work of the year: Max Hastings, Winston’s War: Churchill 1940 to 1945 (2nd entry)

And here is hoping for lots of good books for all in 2011!

2 comments:

homebase said...

Did you read the biography of Daniel Patrick Moynihan? I saw it at the bookstore today and it looked good? I could have missed it on here, haven't been on blogs too much over the holiday.s Thanks.

Stephen N. Greenleaf said...

Homebase,
I have not read the DPM book; however, I'm in luck because 1HP gave me a copy for Christmas! (Along with a new, highly regarded biography of Montaigne). So while I have not yet read it, it is "on deck". It has received some very favorable reviews.
And when, may I ask, may we expect your list?