Search for books, people and lists
Read This Twice
HomePeopleBooksSonaLibrariesSign in

Stephen Kinsella

Recommended Books

Stephen Kinsella is an Irish economist. He is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Limerick's Kemmy Business School in Ireland and a columnist with Ireland's Sunday Business Post. He has written a number of books about the Irish economy.
21 books on the list
Sort by
Latest Recommendations First
Layout
When We Cease to Understand the World book cover
When We Cease to Understand the World
Benjamín Labatut - 2022-08-01 (first published in 2019)
Goodreads Rating
This mind-bending work explores scientific discovery, ethics, and the blurred line between genius and madness. Follow the stories of Albert Einstein, Alexander Grothendieck, Erwin Schrödinger, and Werner Heisenberg as they navigate groundbreaking discoveries and the potential consequences of their work. Through a mix of fact and fiction, this book reveals the strange and exhilarating world of science.
Stephen Kinsella
2023-02-25T09:33:17.000Z
Just finished this amazing book, thanks to ⁦@ipkehoe⁩ for the recommendation.      source
Faith, Hope and Carnage book cover
Faith, Hope and Carnage
Nick Cave, Seán O'Hagan - 2022-09-20
Goodreads Rating
Explore the inner thoughts of a creative visionary in Faith, Hope and Carnage. This profound book shares Nick Cave's own words and candidly examines themes of faith, art, music, freedom, grief, and love. Through over forty hours of intimate conversations with Sean O'Hagan, Cave's life from childhood to present day is explored - including his loves, work ethic, and recent transformation. Gain inspiration and hope from a truly thoughtful and creative mind.
Stephen Kinsella
2023-01-08T13:54:26.000Z
This book is just superb. It is very, very dark as it deals with issues around loss, depression, drug addiction, and much more, but it also deals with creativity, hope, and being a brilliant artist. It's a great format not unlike @angrynomics or other dialogue type-books.      source
Jerusalem book cover
Jerusalem
The Biography
Simon Sebag Montefiore - 2011-01-27
Goodreads Rating
Discover the epic history of Jerusalem, the universal city that's the capital of two peoples and the shrine of three faiths. From King David to the present-day Israel-Palestine conflict, this masterful narrative explores three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism, and coexistence. Author Simon Sebag Montefiore brings this holy city to life through the people who created and destroyed it, drawing from the latest scholarship, his personal history, and a lifetime of study. This isn't just the story of Jerusalem, but the story of the world.
Stephen Kinsella
2022-11-20T20:20:22.000Z
Finished @simonmontefiore's Jerusalem: The Biography. Masterwork. The epilogue should be read by everyone. Very much enjoyed the book and would highly recommend.      source
Where Is My Flying Car? book cover
Where Is My Flying Car?
J. Storrs Hall - 2018-07-01
Goodreads Rating
This eye-opening exploration delves deep into the limitations of flying car technology and the global economic stagnation since the 1970s. The author walks us through missed opportunities with nuclear energy, cold fusion, and nanotechnology, and how the counterculture movement stunted progress. But J. Storrs Hall also outlines a hopeful path for the future, where exponential progress leads to a world filled with abundance and infinite possibilities.
Stephen Kinsella
2022-03-21T21:06:31.000Z
Have been reading the excellent Where is my flying car? ( Once you become sensitised to them, you see predictions of the future everywhere. The impact on economics has been profound. Here's Aldous Huxley predicting 2000 in 1950:      source
Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference book cover
Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference
Innovation, Learning and Sense of Place in a Globalising Ireland
Finbarr Bradley, James J. Kennelly - 2009-02-23 (first published in 2008)
Goodreads Rating
Using Ireland as a case study, this book explores the important link between a country's cultural identity and its economic success. The authors argue that by leveraging its unique cultural heritage and building a renewed sense of national identity, a country can create a sustainable competitive advantage for itself. A must-read for those interested in the intersection of business and culture.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-07-20T12:59:22.000Z
Just came across this classic book while looking for something else. Highly recommended to any ⁦@thecurrency⁩ readers interested in what a world post-corporate tax reform *could* look like, if we thought in a different way.      source
Uncanny Valley book cover
Uncanny Valley
Anna Wiener - 2020-01-14
Goodreads Rating
This memoir offers a first-hand glimpse into the high-flying and reckless startup culture of Silicon Valley during a time of unchecked ambition, unregulated surveillance, wild fortune, and political power. The author, Anna Wiener, left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy in San Francisco. She landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble, where she witnessed a new Silicon Valley emerge; one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building. A coming-of-age-story and a portrait of a bygone era, Uncanny Valley is a rare and personal narrative that charts the tech industry's shift from world savior to democracy-endangering liability.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-06-18T15:25:22.000Z
@zoebchance Books: I've been re-reading Robert Caro, starting with the Power Broker, 1 chapter a day. Salvador Dali's 50 secrets of craftsmanship is bonkers, Anna Wiener's Uncanny Valley is eye-opening. Tufte's Seeing with Fresh Eyes similarly great. Movies: Crazy, Stupid Love has held up.      source
Democracy For Sale book cover
Democracy For Sale
Dark Money and Dirty Politics
Peter Geoghegan - 2020-05-14
Goodreads Rating
This book provides a thorough investigation into the crisis facing democracy, with unaccountable flows of money helping to destroy it. Politicians are lying and making wild claims that are being shared instantly with millions on social media. Peter Geoghegan guides readers through this shadowy world, from Westminster to Washington. He investigates how antiquated electoral laws are being broken with impunity and how Silicon Valley tech giants have colluded in selling out democracy. This is a powerful account of what must be done to stop this erosion of trust in democracy.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-02-27T19:53:35.000Z
@carolmhunt @Conor_Devine Class book. Loved it.      source
The Power Broker book cover
The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro - 1975-07-12 (first published in 1974)
Goodreads Rating
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Power Broker, uncovers the untold story behind the shaping (and mis-shaping) of 20th-century New York City and State. Robert Moses, the single most powerful man of his time in New York, led urban renewal efforts with a political machine that was virtually the fourth branch of government. By mobilizing banks, contractors, labor unions, insurance firms, and even the press and the Church, Moses created an empire, living like an emperor and completing public works costing $27 billion. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings of power in American cities.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-02-20T23:32:36.000Z
@FeargalORourke I read the first 2 LBJs yonks ago-but tbh I love The Power Broker the most as a book. It's such a study in power.      source
Titan book cover
Titan
The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Ron Chernow - 2004-03-30 (first published in 1998)
Goodreads Rating
Explore the life of history's first billionaire and America's most famous dynasty patriarch in this captivating biography. Ron Chernow, the award-winning biographer, breaks down the true nature of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. with uncommon objectivity and literary grace while offering startling revelations. From his humble beginnings to the creation of America's most powerful monopoly, Standard Oil, Rockefeller was a controversial figure surrounded by scandals and investigations. Chernow presents a nuanced and human portrait of the icon while also documenting a pivotal moment in American history. With appearances by notable figures such as Mark Twain and J. Pierpont Morgan, Titan weaves together a vivid tapestry of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that is as insightful as it is dramatic.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-02-15T20:33:56.000Z
So you have the Jeff Bezos of his era being absolutely hammered by one of the first investigative journalists. I'd recommend reading/listening to Titan. But I'd love to see it on screen. Make it happen @Netflix.      source
Intimations book cover
Intimations
Smith Zadie - 2020-07-28
Goodreads Rating
A series of personal essays on the experience of lockdown during 2020. Written with Zadie Smith's signature wit and style, these essays offer a unique and intimate perspective on these unprecedented times. A powerful and timely work of art that is essential reading for the current moment.
Stephen Kinsella
2021-01-31T12:40:52.000Z
A cool little book by Zadie Smith, with this quote from Kierkegaard on the necessity for delusions, even hypocrisies, to get us places.      source
How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Champagne Football by Mark Tighe
Humankind by Rutger Bregman
Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
Factfulness by Hans Rosling
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
Extrastatecraft by Keller Easterling
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
The Code Book by Simon Singh
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence by Norman F Dixon
Ireland, 1912-1985 by Joseph J. Lee