Interviewer
Sophie Roell, Editor
Sophie Roell is co-founder and editor of Five Books. Previously she worked as a journalist in London, Beijing, Shanghai and New York. As a financial reporter, she covered the early years of the Chinese stock markets and the transition of its economy after Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 tour of the south. She wrote about the North Korean economy from Pyongyang in 2001.
She studied modern history as an undergraduate at Oxford and, after travelling the world as a reporter for five years, took the Master’s in Regional Studies-East Asia at Harvard University. This wonderfully flexible program insists on at least one East Asian language and some courses on East Asia, but leaves plenty of room to roam about the university taking courses on random subjects. Five Books, set up in 2009, is an attempt to continue that experience.
Below, you’ll find Sophie’s Five Books interviews with experts. Her own recommendations, normally nonfiction, are here. She also reads a lot of mysteries.
Interviews by Sophie Roell
Books that Inspired a Liberal Economist, recommended by Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman, Nobel prize-winning economist, Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, and Emeritus Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton, discusses the books that most influenced his formation as a liberal economist.
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1
Killing Thinking: The Death of the Universities
by Mary Evans -
2
Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures
by Edward Said -
3
The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education
by Andrew McGettigan -
4
Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents
by Elaine Showalter -
5
Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
by bell hooks
The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back
The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back
Current UK higher education policies, which treat students as consumers, are not only killing thinking but also likely to lead to a financial crisis. And yet, academia is a beautiful vocation, with the power to transform lives year in, year out. University of London professor, Les Back, picks the best books on academia.
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1
Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children
by Viviana A Zelizer -
2
Social Development
by H. Rudolph Schaffer -
3
The Roads of Chinese Childhood
by Charles Stafford -
4
The Child in the City
by Colin Ward -
5
The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger
by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
The best books on Children, recommended by Jo Boyden
The best books on Children, recommended by Jo Boyden
We all know how children should be brought up, and rarely question the cultural norms that underly that certainty. But what does that mean for the policies we try to impose on the developing world? Jo Boyden, professor of international development at Oxford University and director of its Young Lives study, picks books that question our assumptions about how to successfully raise a child.
The best books on Immigration, recommended by Ian Goldin
What are the economic effects of immigration? Economist Ian Goldin, a professor at Oxford University and founding director of the Oxford Martin School, recommends books and explains.
The best books on Jesus, recommended by Robert Morgan
Jesus was a 1st century Jew from Galilee who had a ministry of teaching and healing. He gathered disciples around him, but was eventually arrested and executed by the Roman governor of Judaea from 26 to 36CE, Pontius Pilate. But what else do we know about Jesus and what is his significance in an increasingly secular age? New Testament scholar Robert Morgan talks us through his favourite books on Jesus.
The Best Novels in English, recommended by Robert McCrum
Journalist Robert McCrum spent two years selecting the best novels ever written in English. Here he narrows it down to just five: a perfect introduction to the best fiction the English language has to offer.
The best books on Artificial Intelligence, recommended by Calum Chace
It could lead us all to immortality or spell the end of the human race. Author Calum Chace picks the best books on Artificial Intelligence or AI.
The best books on Fear of Death, recommended by Sheldon Solomon
Existential anxiety drives our lives but most of us are too frightened to think about it, says psychologist and author Sheldon Solomon. He chooses the best books to get a better understanding of our fear of death.
The best books on Dog Food, recommended by Jonathan Self
Dogs are like wolves and should be fed raw meat and bones, says the author and founder of Honey’s Real Dog Food company. He chooses the best books on dog food.
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1
Getting to 50/50: How Working Parents Can Have It All
by Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober -
2
A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter
by Claudia Goldin -
3
Tempered Radicals
by Debra E Meyerson -
4
Behind the Kitchen Door
by Sarumathi Jayaraman -
5
Living Wages, Equal Wages: Gender and Labour Market Policies in the United States
by Deborah M. Figart and Ellen Mutari and Marilyn Power
The best books on Women and Work, recommended by Myra Strober
The best books on Women and Work, recommended by Myra Strober
Despite having slightly higher education levels, women working full-time in the US still only earn 79% of what men do. Stanford economist and author of Sharing the Work, Myra Strober, picks the best books—and one article—that explain the gender wage gap, and, more importantly, show us what we can do about it.