I don't have the time to read as much as I once did. But I can wholeheartedly recommend the following as the two books that left the deepest impression on me in 2007:

Prophet of Innovation is the biography of the great 20th century economist, Joseph Schumpeter. Overshadowed by his contemporary, John Maynard Keynes, Schumpeter was a bold thinker and fascinating man. A plus for me was the perspective the book offered on US and European history in the post-WWI period.

The Paradox of Choice (subtitle "Why More is Less") sounds at first like a throwback to the 1960's and the back-to-basics movement. It is anything but. Author and social scientist Barry Schwartz makes a powerful argument that individuals in our contemporary consumer society are increasingly dissatisfied with their lives due to an overabundance of options. His thesis has important investment as well as consumer and lifestyle implications.

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