Summer reading

Reading for Life by Stephen Malpezzi, Professor and Lorin and Marjorie Tiefenthaler Distinguished Chair in Real Estate


Want to take a little time out from tweeting, unplug your iPod, close up Facebook, shut down your blog, and … read a book?

I recently updated my Urban Economics course Reading for Life list (undergrad, Real Estate 420; master's level, Real Estate 720). These are mostly books, but I will recommend a few periodicals, journal articles, and even blogs.

Over the course of the summer, we'll pass along some recommendations from the list. Of course, just because a book is listed here, even if it's one of my special favorites, doesn't imply I agree with the author. Whether you, or I, agree with an author or not, always read with our class motto in mind--Don't be a sap. And stay tuned for future posts where we'll share more book picks and possibly our Class Slogan and Class Mantra.

Let's start with a couple of books that were mentioned during the recent spring meeting of our Board of Advisors:


Thaler, Richard H. The Winner's Curse: Paradoxes and Anomalies of Economic Life. Princeton University Press, 1992.

This book shows how recent theoretical advances in game theory help us understand real world issues in bidding, etc. If you think you'll be buying or selling real estate – or anything else – in your future career, read it.





Reinhardt, Carmen M. and Kenneth S. Rogoff. This Time Is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Crises. Princeton University Press, 2009.

Note the IRONY in the title. This is a masterful work of scholarship.








I update this several times a year. I’m always interested in what students and alums are reading along these lines as well. Please share your feedback in the comments below.

Previous Reading for Life highlights include In Fed We Trust.