History – Page 5

Developing nuclear physics required a lot tinkering and failing

Refreshing view on history of nuclear physics with emphasis on ‘failures’ like cold fusion and nuclear rocket engines in this often counter-intuitive branche of science.

Jesus of Nazareth was ‘just another sect leader crucified for high treason against Rome’ (which is down-played in the gospels to make Christianity more socially acceptable)

Reza Aslan – Zealot

Convincing and elegantly developed argument, building on limited historical evidence and close reading of biblical texts in historical context.

J.D. Vance – Hilbilly elegy

White trash Hilbilly gets his life under control thanks to the Marine Corps, while his relatives relive the same hopeless life generation after generation.

Compassionately written, but downplaying that uneducated, scared anti-intellectuals are often ruthlessly mean towards anyone who is not part of their clan.

Deborah Blum – The poisoner’s handbook

Following development in chemistry and society, forensic toxicology experienced fascinating progress in the early 20th century.

Treasure trove of slightly lugubrious annecdotes on crimes, accidents and government schemes.

Richard Evans – The pursuit of power

The 19th century saw the birth of many aspects that still define our world today; from the end of feudalism to the birth of modern democracy and from the death of god to the emergance of Medicine as a scientific discipline.

Masterful balance between major developments and impact on human scale.

Robert Gordon – The rise and fall of American growth

High growth is a thing of the past: all great major inventions have been made and can only be made once.

OK… exponential decrease of discomfort may imply decreasing marginal gains, but that does not imply that the future will not see consumer surplus stemming from future inventions.

Thomas Piketty – Capital in the 21st century

Income from capital is a far more important determinant for wealth than income from labour – and therefore capital should be taxed more heavily.

The best part is the comparative historical analysis of sources of wealth in different countries, all the way back to the 1800s.