"Still. If, say, Emmanuel Todd indeed wrote one of the best books of 2009, translations would be welcome..."

   That is quite likely, in fact.

  See:  http://www.amazon.com/Emmanuel-Todd/e/B001IXQD6S/ref=sr_tc_2_0

  and

  After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism) (Paperback)

  Daniel Everett's book, by the way, is nothing short of brilliant.

"In such an environment it is not surprising that the ills of technology should seem curable only through the application of more technology..." John W Aldridge

  You could easily read, with great 'profit', Akerlof and Shiller, Animal Spirits.  Its great virtue is that it's all about economics, rather than silly physics-envy-number-crunching.  That same goes for Mandelbrot's Misbehavior of Markets.  No particular proficiency in calculation is needed for either one of them.

"In such an environment it is not surprising that the ills of technology should seem curable only through the application of more technology..." John W Aldridge