The Demise of Phi Beta Kappa

I just returned from the Triennial Council of Phi Beta Kappa. They require each local chapter to send a delegate; this year, it was my duty to attend. A complete waste of everybody's time. There was literally no point to have this meeting at all.

So, onto the book reviews; the only part of the trip worth reporting.

1. Eichengreen, Globalizing Capital
I assigned this book to my intermediate macroeconomics course. It's a nice history of exchange regimes. Perfect for anyone who is interested in such things. Utterly horrid for anyone who doesn't care about such things. You know who you are.

2. Louis L'Amour, Hondo
I gather this was L'Amour's first novel. I like L'Amour, but not so much that I am overly excited about reading more of his books. There is something refreshing about reading a book in which the men are Men. Oddly, things like the nature of Manliness don't get discussed much where I work. (Though for a really interesting discussion of such matters, see Harvey Mansfield's outstanding book, Manliness.)

3. Agatha Christie, Poirot Loses a Client
Standard Hercule Poirot book. In other words it was a wonderful way to spend an rainy morning in Austin, Texas.