Sally Pipes – Doctor Sally by P.G. Wodehouse
While not a policy book, my favorite this year and one that I read recently is Doctor Sally by my favorite author, P.G. Wodehouse. After a long and grueling election campaign, this book is a tonic and breath of fresh air for all who enjoy light, romantic books, particularly those by Wodehouse.
I instantly identified with Dr. Sally Smith, a medical doctor from N.J. who is in England to play golf and do some locums at London hospitals. While I am an economist and not a M.D., I specialize in health policy. While not a golfer, I am a tennis player. And we both love to work!
Dr. Sally meets Bill Bannister, an English aristocrat, who falls in love with her at first sight. But, he had to feign illness in order to get her attention. Having invited her to his large, ancestral home in the country, he used illness as an excuse, his goal was to have her fall in love with him. She would have none of it until she discovers that he is not a “lie about” but a hard-working farmer. At which point Bill Bannister then says to Dr. Sally “I’m not ill. I’m in love. Yes, says Dr. Sally that is what I diagnose, acute love!” They fall in love and live happily ever after. You will not be disappointed.”
Nikhil Agarwal – Liberty in Peril by Randall G. Holcombe
The book I’ll recommend is Liberty in Peril, by Randall G. Holcombe, in which Holcombe provides a detailed and fascinating analysis of how constitutional design, war, and societal conditions have fundamentally altered the relationship between the people and the federal government. Holcombe masterfully explains how our government, designed initially to protect individual liberty, has over the course of the last two centuries become an all-encompassing Leviathan, one which uses its power to dispense economic benefits according to the ‘will of the people.’ A must-read for free-marketers who want to understand why young people are increasingly sympathetic towards heavy-handed government intervention.
Tim Anaya – Communicating Under Fire: The Mindset to Survive Any Crisis and Emerge Stronger by Dallas Lawrence
2024 has been a banner year for the Class of 1994 at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara. First we celebrated our 30th class reunion earlier this summer. Then there was the release of The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, authored by yours truly, which chronicles how what Gavin Newsom calls “the California way” would lead to higher costs and less freedom for all Americans. Finally, there was the release of a terrific book by my friend Dallas Lawrence, Communicating Under Fire. Dallas has served in top communications roles in the highest levels of government, the military, and corporate America. Whether you own a small business, are a c-suite executive, or are the president of the PTA, we’re all going to face the scenarios that Dallas presents in his book. He gives you dozens of practical tips and lessons, illustrated by numerous real life examples and experiences from his own career. This is a must-read book for the novice communicator or the PR pro.
Dana Beigel – Permission to Fail: The Decline of School Standards and the Threat to Our Country by Adam Abolfazli
I’d be a bad mom if I didn’t recommend my son, Adam Abolfazli’s newly released book, Permission to Fail: The Decline of School Standards and the Threat to Our Country, where he gives a firsthand account of his experience in California’s public schools. He outlines his everyday experience in the classroom, his disappointment in the system and gives recommendations for what improvements can be made.
Bartlett Cleland – Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet by Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley
For years we have heard that resources of various sorts are running out, that the next generation will not know the wealth or opportunities that we have enjoyed. That narrative has been peddled by politicians as a means to place government in control of allocating limited resources to satisfy citizens’ needs. But those who would peddle this narrative to grow government fail to measure supply or various commodities by any fixed measure. Tupy and Pooley fix this obvious problem by using “time prices,” that is, how many hours of work it takes to purchase a given good or service at different points in time. The net result, start where you will on the timeline, but commodities have gotten “cheaper” in time-price terms, in other words, more abundant. This book is the economic equivalent of the Ghost of Christmas Past!
Matt Fleming – Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up by Abigail Shrier
As a father of two young kids, and as someone born in the 70’s, I find myself increasingly confused by younger generations and terrified of the kind of influences my kids will have. This book was extremely helpful in at least preparing me for what to expect and who and what to avoid.
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
Though it didn’t have the amazing Alec Baldwin rant about coffee being for closers, Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet was a great read. It flows well, has quick, witty dialogue and has wonderfully terrible characters. Honorable mention goes to Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, which is about the eternal struggle between doing the right thing and doing what feels good.
Rowena Itchon – Difficult Men by Brett Martin
In the 1980s and 1990s, television was dead to me. The shows were boring, shallow, insipid. Then in the 2000s, serious people I know began talking about shows like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men. I checked out one episode of Breaking Bad and was stunned. I had never seen TV like this – complex characters, scenes that were astonishingly creative, stories artfully written, even gripping — some scenes seared into my memory. Difficult Men (reprinted in 2023 with a new prologue from the author) is the story of the Golden Age of television which continues to transform American culture today. I say culture because there is an underlying theme of many of these male characters – a sense that life had passed them by. President Trump’s clear re-election victory was made possible by male voters of all stripes. He intuitively tapped into a certain discontent, in plain site on the small screen, a decade earlier.
Kerry Jackson – Sleeping Bear by Connor Sullivan
For reading pleasure, not to read to learn or gain information, try “Sleeping Bear” by Connor Sullivan. It’s a thriller by genre and a thriller in substance. The characters are vividly developed and the tension builds throughout. It weaves Cold War memories into the present and does not disappoint. It’s a great escape from the daily pressures of life.
Pam Lewison – The Three Languages of Politics by Arnold Kling
Most of us work in spaces where we need to persuade the “other side” our ideas are reasonable. Kling explores the tribal language of Progressives, Conservatives, and Libertarians in this short read with clear, concise examples that help us all learn someone else’s vernacular. Or, at least, try to.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Call me old fashioned but I enjoy tucking into this classic between Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. The beautifully described people and places, the ability to change, and the transformation of Scrooge from greedy miser into generous businessman. My much-loved edition has a leather cover and gold embossing but there’s no need to get fancy unless you’ve a literature lover on your list. Dickens originally published the story as a serial after all.
Steve Smith – A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
This Christmas, I recommend to our readers the author Bill Bryson. If you haven’t read anything by him, perhaps you have seen the movie A Walk in the Woods. Like most movies, it isn’t nearly as good as the book, which I have given as a gift to numerous friends. I tell them I wouldn’t waste your time giving you a bad book, and none have been disappointed. A Walk in the Woods tells the story of Bryson and his friend Stephen Katz and their hilarious and failed attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. But it’s more than that. It’s a love letter to America and her wilderness. It’s far from his only book, all of which are rich in facts, humor, friendship, and a deep love of America. Merry Christmas to you all and enjoy the read.
Ben Smithwick – Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women by Batya Ungar-Sargon
In May, PRI hosted an event with journalist and author Batya Ungar-Sargon for the release of her second book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women. Based on the author’s interviews with working class Americans, Second Class gives voice to the concerns and fears of American workers who believe the American Dream is slipping away from them. Perhaps the most promising takeaway from the book is that working class Americans are not as polarized as the media would have us believe. This book would make a great gift for friends and family – even those who do not have a natural interest in public policy.
