I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. Good stuff! I don't entirely understand why (view spoiler)[the 3rd team was trying to kill the firsI couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. Good stuff! I don't entirely understand why (view spoiler)[the 3rd team was trying to kill the first two (hide spoiler)], but ultimately that was just a plot coupon and that's OK. The point of this book was to write from the perspective of a socially-anxious murderbot, and it succeeds very well at that....more
Reading the 2nd edition, which just came out in March 2025. (I thought I'd add it here myself, but it seems 欧宝娱乐 doesn't allow readers to add updReading the 2nd edition, which just came out in March 2025. (I thought I'd add it here myself, but it seems 欧宝娱乐 doesn't allow readers to add updated editions anymore, alas...)
Haven't finished reading every page yet, but my kids and I are already enjoying a little cave crawl adventure based on this!...more
So, this is sort of a history of economics as told by & about Australians :-) but I didn't realize that at first! The process of reading this has beenSo, this is sort of a history of economics as told by & about Australians :-) but I didn't realize that at first! The process of reading this has been like...
* p.55: "Hundreds of Luddites were transported to Australia for their crimes." Huh, I knew of Luddites, but I had no idea they went to Australia. Maybe that's why Australians seem to have better work-life balance.
* p.64: "...the Tolpuddle Martyrs, were transported to Australia as punishment for forming a union." Wow, I didn't know Australia played such a big role in the history of economics, haha!
* p.68: "After a strike in 1855, Sydney stonemasons were among the first workers in the world to win the right to an eight-hour day [...] and the Australian labor movement came to play an influential role in politics. In the coming decades, Australia would be among the world's first countries to allow women to vote and stand for office, set a national minimum wage and hold elections on a Saturday (to maximise voter turnout)." Ok now, that's a lot of Australia references... Hold on a second... [flips to author's bio] "Andrew Leigh... was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. Since 2010, he has served in the Australia House of Representatives." Ah, that checks out.
Seriously though, it's quite good overall. The author is pro-capitalism, but acknowledges its weak spots, and actively promotes the need for government intervention:
* p.191: "This book has told both sides of the story -- how open markets have brought millions out of poverty, and why it is essential to address market failures for economies to prosper. Capitalism doesn't guarantee the wellbeing of those who lack capital."
It is a *very* short overview of economic history, and most of the stories/examples are ones I've seen before -- but not all of them, and not all collected coherently as they are here.
Other good quotes:
p.95:
The way that official statistics are handled by autocracies is a reminder that we should not take the role of statisticians for granted. In 1937, Joseph Stalin announced that the Soviet Union would conduct a census -- the first for more than a decade. Stalin had been boasting that under his policies the population was growing rapidly -- adding more people each year than the entire population of Finland. It was a lie. His policies had caused famine and mass emigration, and the census results showed a population that was at least 10 million people smaller than Stalin had claimed. The 1937 census also showed that most of the population were religious, a result at odds with the anti-religious views of the leadership. Stalin ordered that the results not be published. The chief of the census bureau, Olimpiy Kvitkin, was executed.
I recently learned that ... and that she lives right here in Waterville, Maine! At one time she had a dayI recently learned that ... and that she lives right here in Waterville, Maine! At one time she had a day job doing admin work for Colby's Department of History and several others, while working tirelessly after hours to keep writing more books. I hadn't read any of her work before, but now I've just picked up this one and I'm enjoying the first few chapters so far.
---
Update: This has been rollicking good fun! Adventure, and witty banter, and nerdy linguistics, and the everlasting search for a good cup of coffee...
Plus, the Clutch space turtles are just such delightful characters (no relation to Le Guin's space turtles in The Lathe of Heaven who are also charming in their own way).
One of my favorite segments is on p.296, when the turtles shift from serene-sage mode to ominous-threat mode:
"The Juntavas," Hostro snapped, "is a might Clan. We take what we will, as we see fit. Including the knives of the kin of the Spearmaker's Den."
Majestically, Edger rose from the chair. Watcher dropped his hand to his blade.
But the T'carais inexplicably stayed his hand. "You are of the Clans of Men," he boomed, "and thus hasty. Hear me further: In our history was there a Clan that meted judgment to a member of the Spearmaker's Den, against all tradition and without justice. Two persons from our clan were thus dispatched to construct balance with this renegade family." He paused, taking the half-step that put him at the edge of Hostro's desk.
"The name of that Clan is not now written in the Book of Clans," he said slowly. "Nor is that combination of traits any longer available to the gene pool. Think, Justin Hostro, before you take the knives of any of the Spearmaker's Den."
Loading...
