Category: Book of the Week

February 9, 2012

William K. Tabb on The Road Not Traveled—Nationalization

“The White House, whether under the management of Republicans or Democrats, was never ready for such a business-like approach. Ironically the abuse the administration would take for being ‘socialist’ would keep any chief executive from considering a protaxpayer, hardheaded business...

February 8, 2012

William K. Tabb on the Great Recession and the Lessons Learned and Not Learned

“What the decision-makers at the Fed and Treasury appear not to have learned is the most important lesson of all: that the financial sector has grown too large, too dangerous, and too parasitic.”—William K. Tabb In the concluding chapter to...

February 7, 2012

The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time

The following excerpt is from our featured book The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time, by William K. Tabb: Not long ago the near collapse of the financial system discredited the excessive financialization central to contemporary American capitalism. By the...

February 6, 2012

Book Giveaway!: The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time by William Tabb

This week our featured book is The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time, by William Tabb. Throughout the week we will highlight aspects of the book but we are also offering a free copy of the book to one lucky...

February 2, 2012

Bacon: The Slice of Life — The Kitchen as Laboratory

“Whether used as a breakfast meat, a cooking ingredient, or strictly for flavoring, bacon is one of the most universally enjoyed foods in the world. It is hard to deny that bacon is an important part of our most fundamental...

January 31, 2012

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars

We are happy to announce that The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines by Michael E. Mann is now available as a book and an e-book. Please note that two corrections will be made to...

January 31, 2012

The Kitchen as Laboratory Quiz

Sure you love a great grilled cheese sandwich but do you know the science behind what distinguishes a good from a bad sandwich? Test your knowledge of the science and psychology with this quiz based on The Kitchen as Laboratory:...

January 27, 2012

Michael R. Powers on Terrorism Forecasting

The following excerpt on terrorism forecasting is from Acts of God and Man: Ruminations on Risk and Insurance, by Michael R. Powers: In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. insurance industry confronted billions of dollars...

January 25, 2012

Michael R. Powers on Risk

In his book, Acts of God and Man: Ruminations on Risk and Insurance, Michael R. Powers discusses how risk impacts our lives, health, and possessions and proceeds to introduce the statistical techniques necessary for analyzing these uncertainties. In this excerpt...

January 24, 2012

Michael R. Powers, author of Acts of God and Man, Takes the Page 99 Test

Michael R. Powers, author of Acts of God and Man: Ruminations on Risk and Insurance, recently took The Page 99 Test. Powers discussed how page 99 from his book reflects some of the ideas in his book Acts of God...

January 20, 2012

Jonathan Lyons: A New Model for Understanding the World of Islam

“This model, then, calls for the compilation of a new, hidden history of Islam that fills in those areas declared off limits by the anti-Islam discourse. But, first, we must radically rephrase the West’s favorite polemical question—What’s wrong with Islam?—to...

January 19, 2012

Jonathan Lyons on Islam and Women

“The Bush administration adopted and perpetuated the established discourse of Islam and women for the benefit of specific Western interests—in this case, the military occupation and political and economic domination of Muslim societies…. Bush and his fellow social conservatives were...