If only we had time for all the books we'd like to read... In this section I've listed some of my favorite books and writers. The lists are constantly evolving, of course. See if there's something here that interests you, or a favorite we share. E-mail me if you have a recommendation for me.

Favorite Books

Favorite Writers

What I'm Reading These Days

The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami
This massive epic of life in Syria in the first two thirds of the twentieth century was published in German in 2004. Centering on a doomed Romeo-and-Juliet style love affair, It follows two rival Christian families as they feud in Damascus and the mountain village where they originated. The style is sometimes reminiscent of Garcia Marquez; the substance is the tormented politics and society of the modern Arab world.

Simple Rules for a Complex World by Richard A. Epstein
When the proposed House health care bill runs to nearly two thousand pages, it's time to revisit this 1995 classic. Epstein, a University of Chicago legal scholar, argues against the idea that the complexity of modern life requires ever more legislation and expanding armies of lawyers. He shows how a renewed emphasis on a few key time-tested principles (property rights, contracts, torts, etc.) could cut through the thicket of rules that imposes enormous administrative costs on society and benefits only lawyers.