Non-Fiction
Tracy Kidder
Being a development worker, it's always refreshing to read about someone kicking @$$ and taking names. That man is Paul Farmer and well, he's just great. The book is a well written window into his life and inspires you to shine.
Dave Eggers
I spent most of this novel with a soreness in my throat. I'll be honest, it's a tear-jerker. This memoir follows the fascinating story of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee from the Sudanese civil war. We live in an unfair world for much tragedy to fall on one man's life. But Valentino remains optimistic and the result is a beautiful story. A truly powerful novel.
Michael Lewis
I just read this book last week. What a great primer on just what the hell happened with the economic collapse. Michael Lewis expertly breaks down the lead up to the collapse: key players, types of bonds, credit default swaps, etc.. A must read to understand how we got to where we did a few years ago.
William Easterly
I've read a lot of books on development over the last two years. While I admire the efforts of Jeffrey Sachs, Easterly's analysis rings truer. A lot of money is being poured into programs fighting poverty, disease, etc. This aid is important, but so is coupling these programs with accountability and feedback from the population it's meant to serve. It's an eye-opening thesis that's completely accessible.
Fiction
Everything is IlluminatedI had already read this book a few years before the Peace Corps and loved it. I saw a copy floating in the volunteer lending library and I have to report, it's still just as amazing. The story follows an author retracing his family's roots in Ukraine. He solicits the help of an ad hoc tourist agency in Ukraine and what transpires is witty and magical in a One Hundred Years of Solitude kind of way. Just wonderful.
