Bill Bishop

Bill recommends:

The Weariness of Self by Alain Ehrenberg - Proposes that the modern requirement that people constantly refine, tailor and broadcast the self (see Twitter) has lead to the current epidemic of depression (soon to be the most common illness in the world). Most of us simply are not up to creating ourselves 24/7.

The End of History by William Irwin Thompson

The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs

Daniel Altman

Daniel recommends: 

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (Landes) - An alternative economic history of the world that brings in many of the most powerful ideas that came after Adam Smith

The Chastening (Blustein) - An excellent account of the Asian and Russian crises and the failure of economic experts to recommend appropriate policies, which is especially relevant today.

Our Velocity (Eggers) - A touching and sometimes hilarious novel that traces the path of money spent rather than money earned around the world

El Año del Desierto (Mairal) - A thrillingly experimental novel in which a city experiences its development in reverse (in Spanish).