Welcome to Econ talk conversations for the curious part of the Library of economics and Liberty.
I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
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Today is June 9, 2024.
My guest is novelist and writer Mark Halperin.
I think I have read every book that he has written, every word that he has put between two covers of any book.
Mark was here on June of 2009 talking about his book, Digital Barbarism.
Our topic for today, among other things, is his latest book, the Oceans and the Stars, a Sea Story, a war Story, a love story.
Mark, welcome back to Econ Talk.
Thank you, Russ.
We'll get to your book, but I want to start by talking about reading and writing.
When you were growing up as a boy and a young man, did you have favorite authors, people you read intensely.
That affected you?
Yes.
Do you see what's behind me?
Yeah, it's beautiful.
Radio audience can't see that, but there's 7000 books there, and it's a very barbaric thing for you to ask me to choose my favorites from those.