The 19th century wild west is portrayed in movies as a lawless wasteland where the only rule was survival of the fittest. Thieves ruled the land, bank robberies were common, and violence was always right around the corner. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. Voluntary institutions established rules and norms, and property rights were absolute. This is a great book for understanding how property rights actually develop, and a harsh condemnation of rule of law through coercion.
Everyone knows about the Great Depression that kicked off with the 1929 stock market crash. However, the crash of 1921 was much worse. Why is it that the 1921 crash is ignored by economists and historians? For one, it was not a “great” depression. The depression of 1921 was over in a year, while the depression of 1929 raged for over a decade. There are a multitude of reasons for this, and James Grant tackles the causes in this book.
I’m going to take a break from writing about history, and instead… write about history. Or more accurately, write about how I read history. I’m often asked how I select what to read. There are millions and millions of history books out there, how do you weed through the junk and get to the good stuff? How do you know if what you’re reading is fact, opinion, propaganda or outright lies? I have a few rules to abide by. As with most rules, they are not ironclad, but if you follow these, you’ll be off to a good start. Without further ado, James Salerno’s rules for reading history:
A book reexamining the Warren Harding presidency? Sign me up! Harding is always at the bottom of presidential rankings, but is that earned? Published in 2022, author Ryan S. Walters tackles rehabilitating the 29th presidents’ reputation. Just attempting to do this is heresy according to mainstream historians. Michael Beschloss told the New York Times, “If you had to reach for a great revisionist mountain to climb, that would be it.” Sounds like Walters has an uphill battle. Does he succeed in his goal?
If you’re looking to read a biography on John Tyler, you don’t have many options. Published in 2020, President Without a Party is the first full-scale Tyler biography published in half a century. Does it shine any new light on an oft neglected and historically maligned president?
