I picked this one up because I really enjoyed "Why Nations Fail" and this was just as expected. Acemoglu and Robinson do a masterful job of explaining very esoteric nonfiction in such a way that you are nodding your head right along with it as if you already knew. It's a bit of a behemoth (my Kindle reading time clocked in at around 12 hours) but it gives plenty of opportunities to step aside and return without losing your place, frequently doing short recaps to keep you along for the ride.

If they keep writing, I'll keep reading.

THE NARROW CORRIDOR by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson is subtitled "States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty." Given the focus on recent events in Washington, it is a timely title that explores the balance between political repression (or despots) and personal security, the "cage of norms" a society develops to preserve order itself and the "narrow corridor" which may exist between the two. Although THE NARROW CORRIDOR had starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal, this very long (576 pages) book has also received some negative reviews, like the one by Joseph C. Sternberg in the Wall Street Journal. The authors are highly respected professors at MIT and University of Chicago who have collaborated in the past, but I believe their analysis will be simply too long and too involved for most of our high school students.