The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand, 1943)

This author of course provokes all sorts of reactions.  Complicated by efforts to shape, or modify, her legacy.

My reaction after now reading four of her novels:  she's continually thought-provoking and highly worthwhile.  The characters and the story lines do seem over the top, but I have to believe that's intentional on her part.

The Fountainhead is the story of Howard Roark (the architect).  I've seen most of the movie version (Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal) but for whatever reason hadn't picked up the book before.

Ellsworth Toohey, Peter Keating, Dominique Francon, etc.

The Winter of Our Discontent (John Steinbeck, 1961)

Book club selection (via Chris; August 30, 2015).

As discussed here, I'm a fan of this novel.  Well-received in the book club.

Before the Industrial Revolution - European Society and Economy 1000-1700 (Carlo M. Cipolla, 1993 edition)

Trying to get a little better handle on stuff going on in Europe in this period.  Helpful book (probably primarily intended as a textbook); but the topic is so vast that I don't know that I'm making any progress.

As is true with so much historical reading - one is struck with the idea that "they lived so much like us" - certainly rings true for this fairly recent, increasingly commercial era.

Interesting stuff about the growth of what I'll call commerce - "fairs" in various European locales; towns; free towns; trading leagues; interruptions via plague, war; amazing outliers such as Italy and - perhaps my favorite - Holland.

I keep thinking that Dierdre McCloskey is onto something with her focus on innovation (and governments that allow it to flourish).

Useful, hard to summarize (in part because there is so much variance by geography even within Europe).