Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Current Affairs

Bestsellers and Then Some...
Here's a few among the latest crop of books offering analysis and review of American and international affairs : financial, political, and in between.  Pick and choose.

TV pundit and Newsweek editor, Fareed Zakaria, updates his 2008 international bestseller with a '2.0' edition, released last week.

High on national and local reading lists is Wizard of Lies : Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques.  The author tells the 'inside' story of Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Jonathan Kay's Among the Truthers takes a look at conspiracy theories, from both the left and right perspective.  The author profiles 'ten brands of modern conspiracists' and their impact on public discourse.

In Reckless Endangerment, Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT business journalist Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner, a financial and policy analyst, trace the origins and dissect the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.  Whodunit?

Former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, offers On China, an analysis of the country's place on the international stage from the Korean War to the present.  Heavy stuff but touted as essential reading for anyone interested in international relations.

Money and Power by William D. Cohan (House of Cards) adds to the list of recent books about a dominant and controversial investment bank, Goldman Sachs.