Last week I read Send In The Idiots by Kamran Nazeer. It was so good — so fresh, clear, and moving — it made me wonder how it came to be. In other words, where do great books come from? Asking what several great books have in common should suggest answers to this question.
Among books published in the last 40-odd years these are the best I have read:
The Economy of Cities (1969) by Jane Jacobs. Why and how cities grow or fail to grow. How new goods and services arise. They almost always begin in cities — the book starts with a discussion of how agriculture began. Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1984) by Jacobs is also great but too similar to Economy to be worth separate discussion.
Totto-Chan (1981) by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. A memoir of the author’s primary school days at a progressive Tokyo private school. (Mentioned in The Shangri-La Diet.)
The Man Who Would Be Queen (2003) by J. Michael Bailey. What scientists, especially Bailey (a psychology professor at Northwestern University), have learned about the causes and effects of male homosexuality. One chapter is about male transsexuals, who are not always homosexual.
Send In The Idiots (2006) by Kamran Nazeer. The beautiful subtitle is Stories From the Other Side of Autism. When he was a child, Nazeer attended a school for autistic children. This book is about the adult lives of several of his classmates.
In later posts I will explain why I like these books so much and try to ferret out the secrets of their greatness.
Economy of Cities is great. Will have to check the rest out. Thanks!
Economies of Cities = GREAT! Will have to check the rest out.