The Next 100 Years by George Friedman

This is a fascinating book by a man I had never heard of but is apparently famous. Like most great non-fiction books, Friedman does not rely on little known or possibly dubious information, but simply takes what is generally known and draws conclusions from it. His main point is that the United States will dominate the next century even more than it did the last 50 years, and that the U.S. is still a "young" power coming into its prime. A fast and good read.

Belief and Nonbelief by Eco and Martini

This book is a series of letters between Umberto Eco (author of The Name of the Rose) and Cardinal Martini. It's pretty short, and both Eco and Martini spend a lot of time talking about talking rather than just talking. Just as I thought they started to engage, the book ended.