In this whistlestop tour of economic theory, Smith outlines all the basic ideas and introduces all the big names, all structured around a meal with a starter and a main course, and dinner speakers. By the end of the book I am familiar with Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations, the book Margaret Thatcher kept in her handbag, and his ideological opposite Karl Marx. I might still dislike him, but I recognise the genius of John Maynard Keynes. I have a rudimentary grasp of monetary policy and the tools economists use to balance economies. Best of all, Smith draws out the connections between consumer spending, tax, interest rates and so on, and shows how they all impact each other in the mysterious machine known as ‘the economy’. I’ve read about it in the business section for years, and it is now starting to fit together as a coherent science.

Those wanting deeper analysis will want to look elsewhere, like a proper textbook, but if you’re only going to read one book on economics in your life (and let’s face it, for most of us one is plenty), this is the one you require.

reviewed by Jeremy Williams

• More on economics
  

reviewed by Jeremy Williams

 Life of Pi is a masterful story by Canadian author Yann Martel.  Part medieval style morality tale and part fable, it is entertaining, fresh and original. 

Martel tells the story of Piscine “Pi” Molitor Patel, the son of an Indian zookeeper, who decides to sell his zoo and move his family to
Canada.  In the process the family is shipwrecked, leaving Pi as the sole human survivor, stranded on a lifeboat.  He is not alone however.  Stranded with him are four desperate and slightly seasick zoo animals: a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, a hyena, and a massive Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. 

Most of the book surrounds this story of survival.  The introductory chapters, which are set in India, are narrated by a now older Pi Patel from his home in
Canada.  They are an essential precursor to the main story, without which the story about being stranded in the open ocean with zoo animals would have been far less engaging.  These introductory chapters include Pi’s description of how he received his name, his random thoughts on life at his father’s
Pondicherry zoo and a spirited defense of keeping zoo animals in confined spaces.   There is also narrative of how the deeply religious Pi became a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu at the same time.  This section contains my favorite dialogue of the novel.    

Pi is at the beach with his parents and runs into all three of his religious mentors, all who are proud of his dedication to their faith. 

After the Hellos and Gooddays, there was an awkward silence.  The Priest broke it when he said, with pride in his voice, “Piscine is a good Christian boy.  I hope to see him join our choir soon.” My parents, the pandit, and the imam looked surprised.  “You must be mistaken.  He’s a good Muslim boy.  He comes without fail to Friday prayer and his knowledge of the Holy Quran is coming along nicely.”  So said the Imam. My parents, the priest, and the pandit looked incredulous.   The pandit spoke.  “You are both wrong.  He is a good Hindu boy.  I see him all the time at the temple coming for darshan and performing puja.”  My parents, the imam, and the priest looked astounded.   The three wise men stared at each other, breathless and disbelieving.  “Lord, avert their eyes from me,” I whispered in my soul.  All eyes fell on me.   

Patel sees no contradiction in holding belief in all three faiths.  He also counts Atheists, including his influential teacher Mr. Kumar, as people of a different faith.  “Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them-and then they leap!” (28)  The young Pi is clearly naive, but it is a adaptive naivete that will serve him well when he is forced to survive with dangerous animals on a lifeboat.  

In the end, only Pi’s adaptability and his belief keep him alive. It is Pi’s relationship with the tiger Richard Parker that dominates most of the survival story.  Although Richard Parker is his greatest threat he is also his greatest chance of survival.  Pi’s occupation with keeping himself and the tiger alive sustains the hope that he needs to finally make it to safety.       

Martel has the ability to sustain his story for the reader despite a world consisting only of a young boy, a lifeboat, animals and the open ocean.  The story never drags and is punctuated by fascinating descriptions of flying fish and a carnivorous island.  It is fiction so mesmerizing that it makes the reader want to believe it.  Thus Martel perches his story right on the edge of believability even though it’s details seem fantastical.  In the end, even as the factuality of his account is questioned by two representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Transport, we see that the narrator feels that the facts of the story are less important than the impact that belief had on his survival. 

Though the Life of Pi is essentially a great fictional story, it also seems to assert that belief is more important than truth.  Martel promises a ”story that will make you believe in God”.  He seems to feel that organized religion’s search for ultimate truth is misplaced and actually turns people away from God.  The vision he offers of God, through the reflections and experiences of Pi, is one so syncretistic and convaluted that it even seems to justify the those who don’t believe in God at all as believers.  Martel himself has said that “we can choose our own story, so why not pick the better story.”  Or the things we like best from all religions.  Though I disagree with this premise, it makes for fascinating storytelling.  It is certainly true that belief can be a more powerful human motivator than truth, as we see demonstrated in the story of Pi’s survival.  Regardless of whether you agree with Martel on this point, the Life of Pi is a highly worthwhile read.         

  Reviewed by Richard Taylor

Elie Wiesel’s memories of being taken from his home in Sighet, Transylvania to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then Buchenwald near the end of World War II, is the most important book the author says he has ever written.  It is a mere 100 pages long.

Night was first published in 1958 in French and has recently been retranslated into English, when it was finally met with critical acclaim.  It is a masterfully written account; told through the voice of a religiously devoted Jewish teenager confronting incredible evil and coming to a crisis of faith.  Wiesel writes:    

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.  Never shall I forget that smoke.                                                                                                                        Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.   Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my  faith forever.                                                                                                                                                        Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.                                                                         Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.                                                    Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God himself.                                                                             Never.  (Night, 34) 

“Night” is heart wrenching.  It is at the same time the story of one person and the story of an entire people, engulfed in the worst evil imaginable.  Few that entered the dreaded and now infamous concentration camps at Auschwitz and
Buchenwald survived.  Some, such as Wiesel’s own father, survived nearly to the end, only to succumb in the last days of the war.  The youngest of those who did live to tell about their experiences are now very old, which makes their stories even more important.  Wiesel writes, “There are those who tell me that I survived in order to write this text.  I am not convinced.  I don’t know how I survived; I was weak, rather shy; I did nothing to save myself.  A miracle?  Certainly not.  If heaven could or would perform a miracle for me, why not for others more deserving than myself?  It was nothing more than chance.  However, having survived, I needed to give meaning to my survival.  Was it to protect that meaning that I set to paper an experience in which nothing made any sense?” 

Night  is one of those rare books that I felt physically, from head to toe.  And after I put it down it kept running through my mind.  That’s what a book like this should do; make it so that, like Wiesel, we will never forget.    

Reviewed by Richard Taylor

I struggled to know how to respond to this clearly courageous book by a women who is an intersection of numerous identities.  Irshad Manji is an enigma.   

She is a South Asian Ugandan Canadian Muslim Lesbian who was once was named Most Promising Christian in her Sunday School Class!  All of these identities influence The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith.  These competing identities are what make the book equally compelling and mystifying.  In a time where voices from moderate Islam are clearly needed to challenge the ugly realities of Islamic extremism who does Manji’s voice truly represent?     And does that really matter?   

Here is what I mean.  Manji’s criticisms of Islam are  convincing (if somewhat obvious), especially when she places her experience within an Islamic madrassa alongside her experiences in a Sunday School class and her Richmond High School.  In one she is shut up for being a women.  In the other she is allowed to speak her mind even when others disagree with her.  Her criticism is so convincing that I was left wondering, “Why is she still a Muslim?”  In voice and values she sometimes speaks  like a liberal minded Canadian trying to reconcile that pesky identity that just won’t go away.  And yet the reality is that Manji very much considers her Muslim identity important and would rather attempt to reform Islam than give it up. 

The Trouble with Islam is at its strongest when Manji allows the reader a glimpse into all her confusing identities as she seeks to reconcile the one that is Muslim.  However when she moves into the last part of the book, entitled Operation Ijtihad, the book starts to lose steam.  The reason is probably less because her ideas are not valid, though they do have many weaknesses, and more because you realize by that point that Manji, given her complex identities, will not have the credibility to make most moderate Muslims listen to her.  In some ways she is right, that is is ridiculous for someone from her background to comment on what should be done to reform Islam.  On the other hand, this book also helps the non Muslim reader to understand and appreciate the numerous distinct voices and backgrounds that fall under the umbrella of Islam, several of which are represented by Manji.  Ultimately it is a worthwhile and compelling read but I think Manji’s ideas will do more to convince non Muslims of what they already believe than fellow Muslims of the need to reform. 

For more on Irshad Manji visit www.muslim-refusenik.com . For another expose on Islam by a Muslim woman try Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  I haven’t read it yet so it will be interesting to see how it compares with this book. 

Reviewed by Richard Taylor.            

 So here’s my take.  It is clear why Barack Obama has become so popular, so fast.  He is bright, young, handsome, and articulate.  He represents the American dream. (a family that went in one generation from a village in western Kenya to running for US President)  He is confident but has humility.  He has a sense of humour and he is web savvy enough to connect with a new generation of voters.  He also comes at a time when his message resounds.  Americans are sick and tired of partisan politics. 

The Audacity of Hope is well written.  It has the same refreshing candour that has punctuated Obama’s speeches.   If you are a political junkie this will let you in on Obama’s political leanings without giving you much in the way of substantial policy.  If you want to know about Barack Obama, the human being, you can derive some valuable insight from the Audacity of Hope but I would recommend his first book more, Dreams from my Father.   

 I certainly don’t agree with all of Obama’s political views, including his support of partial birth abortion, gay marriage, and strong unions.  I do admire his clear thinking on Iraq before many Americans, Republican or Democrat, was speaking out against the War.  The best aspect of The Audacity of Hope is that the book continues Obama’s commitment to speaking clearly about his own convictions while respecting those of his opponents.  In a time where Bush Bashing is en vogue, Obama gives the President his due, while clearly stating where he disagrees. 

It’s not a thriller.  It’s not a page turner.  But you will certainly understand why Obama is commanding so much attention these days.  I guess will see soon enough whether his natural charisma is enough to overcome his lack of political experience.    

Reviewed by Richard Taylor

Reviewed by Jeremy Williams

Walk On, a recent book on the spirituality of U2, by Irish Presbyterian Minister Steve Stockman goes down like a swig of lukewarm Coca Cola. All the ingredients are there but something is still missing.

There is no doubt that U2 makes a fascinating topic. The band has remained a dominant force in rock music for three decades. I picked up the book because I am fascinated by the story of the band and have often wondered how they reconcile their Christian faith with the world of rock music. More recently I have been inspired by their social activism. Since I love their music I wanted to understand more of the motivation behind it.

Since Stockman has been a fan of the band since the beginning and often uses their song lyrics in his sermons it seemed natural that he would write a book highlighting the spiritual development of the band. Who better?

To start, perhaps someone who has actually had a conversation with Bono, or for that matter any other member of the band. Stockman opens the book with this question: “If I could ask Bono three questions what would they be?” Two problems already…

First, the author has never interviewed Bono. Thus he is forced to use information from second hand interviews and his own interpretations of U2 lyrics. This might work well if he was merely detailing the facts but it is another thing when he is interpreting U2’s spiritual convictions. Second, even though Stockman claims the book is about U2 it is really about Bono, with very few details about the other members of the band.

If Stockman really wanted to write a serious book about U2 spirituality he would have sat down with the Edge. He would have spoken with Larry. And he would have asked Adam what it was like to be the only non Christian member of U2. He not only doesn’t interview them, he barely even talks about them. So Stockman is good at recycling ideas, speculating in order to pad his book with filler, and being far too supportive of U2, always ready to defend their ideas and rarely questioning their motives. I could imagine Bono writing a more critical book of U2’s motivations and spirituality than Steve Stockman.

Reviewed by Richard Taylor.

In 1993 American climber Greg Mortenson is lost in the mountains of Pakistan after a failed summit attempt of K2. Exhausted and alone, he takes a wrong path that leads him to the isolated village of Korphe. This not only changes his life but those of many Pakistani children who had never received an education.Three Cups of Tea, which is written by biographer David Oliver Relin, is the story of Mortenson’s bumpy journey from an aimless mountain climber to a champion of education in some of Central Asia’s most remote regions. When Mortenson makes a promise to the village chief of Korphe to build a school he has little idea that his initial bumbling efforts will eventually make a tremendous difference.

He begins by trying to finance the project with no home and no money, sleeping from his car and posting ridiculous letters to celebrities that he has never met. He writes 580 letters to receive one check. Eventually the school in Korphe is built and Mortenson begins to turn his attention to other needs in the region. It leads to the formation of the Central Asian Institute, which will build many schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s most unreachable regions.

Three Cups of Tea is much more than a Reader’s Digest worthy feel good story about a person that is doing good in the world. Relin details Mortenson’s painstaking steps towards success, his challenges, and his inadequacies. We see a man who makes a difference more from strong conviction and sheer willpower than any extraordinary talent.

Three Cups of Tea also offers a thoughtful critique on the current approach to the war on terror. Through the eyes of Mortenson we see a region with a complex and rich history, where building relationships and trust are a painstaking process. In Mortenson’s schools we see a solution to the current threat of Islamic extremism that is spread mostly through Wahhabi Madrassas financed from the deep pockets of Saudi sheikhs.

I found this book inspiring and thought provoking. As the world debates the most effective way to combat terror, this is a very timely read.

A general sees a soldier standing by the side of the road with a penguin. ‘What are you doing?’ he demands. ‘Take that penguin to the zoo.’
Later that day the general is driving by and he sees the soldier again, penguin still in tow. ‘What’s this?’ he asks. ‘I said take it to the zoo.’
‘We’ve been to the zoo’ says the soldier, ‘and the park, and now we’re going to see a movie.’

So begins Kurkov’s surreal post-soviet parable ‘Death and the Penguin’, or a variation of the above, a laconic story of a struggling writer and the penguin that shares his apartment. The zoo couldn’t afford to feed the animals, and gave them away, and though the novel isn’t really about him, the lonely and warm penguin Misha proves a memorable foil to the human characters.
The actual story is about the writer, Viktor, gradually and unwittingly embroiling himself in a shadowy revolutionary plot, and as characters come and go, some off to lie low, some assassinated, he proves to be as clueless as his pet in a world that’s seen all its structures disintegrate in the Soviet decline. Life has become a matter of survival, of not asking too many questions, and taking each day as it comes.
The tiny world of the Kiev apartment is neatly conceived, described in shades of urban grey, the rhythms of each day passing in little actions, making coffee, feeding the penguin, getting the typewriter out. And no matter what happens, with every turn of events, still the same little things need to be done every day. It’s the contrast of the surreal or conspiratorial, and the sheer ordinary, that makes ‘Death and the Penguin’ such a striking read. It’s also very funny, memorable, and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s the best Ukrainian novel I’ve ever read.

Okay, yes, it is the only Ukrainian novel I’ve read…