Reading

Usually have a few books on the go at once.

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals, A historical survey by Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Nai-Jai Guo

Picked this up on a trip to Sydney. Be sure to check out Adyar book store in the city for esoteric type books.
This book is a must for anyone with an interest in the Chinese martial arts. It places the arts within their historical and social context from the Ming dynasty onwards. It does this by reviewing the important surviving training manuals, teachers and authors from these periods. For instance I was surprised to find out that there really was no philosophical basis for the internal arts (bagua, tai ji, xing yi) being viewed as related, nor being derived from taoist principles. Rather, this view appeared due to the martial arts politics/marketing of the day. Namely, the interaction of the legendary Sun Lu Tang and Li Cun Yi. This book puports to academic pretences but is not academic in quality. Still should be read.
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206329704&sr=1-1


Trading & Exchanges, Market Microstructure for Practioners by Larry Harris.

Picked up after a recommendation by the legendary Victor Niederhoffer.
http://www.dailyspeculations.com/wordpress/

An academic book which has become the bible of the growing sub field of financial economics called market microstructure. This text describes the participants and their motives for trading markets, with particular attention to the financial markets as opposed to real goods and assets markets. It delves deeply into the underlying structure of markets that enable the participants to exchange value and how this is acheived by each different participant. If you have ever wondered, as I have, what is liquidity, where does it come from, where does it go and how can I take advantage of it? This is the book. As someone who is fascinated by market making and spread trading/arbitrage this text is excellent, it has enabled a deeper understanding of what is going on within a particular market to produce/diminish liquidity. Also, when a particular type of participant is likely to be making money relative to other participants.
http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Exchanges-Market-Microstructure-Practitioners/dp/0195144708/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206331037&sr=1-1


Robbie Burns mentions my surname in the third verse of Auld Lang Syne. To celebrate my Scottish forebears I'm reading:
The Scottish Enlightenment, The Scots' Invention of the Modern World by Arthur Herman

From dirt poor subsistence farmers, religous reformists and traders, who, foster a healthy interest in acquiring knowledge through public lectures, debates and supporting academic institutions. Open to all comers. Go on to produce academic luminaries such as David Hume, Adam Smith, James Watt and Robbie Burns. This book is a little tough going in places, Herman is not the most inspiring writer you could read, however each page is dense with information and rich with historical context. Good but slow reading so far..

http://www.amazon.com/How-Scots-Invented-Modern-World/dp/0609809997/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206332965&sr=1-2

Regards
TheBagwan