RaveThe New York Times Book Review... a gripping portrait of the human costs incurred when industries decline. [Stockman\'s] book is a stark warning to towns and countries facing similar trends, and a lesson in how much economists can miss ... These back stories are related with abundant dialogue — as if Stockman had been present. This bold step blurs the line between recounted history and firsthand reporting. Some may see this as a liability, but the result is a book with a unified tone, one that places the reader in the homes of the workers as they struggle to survive ... Workplace bonds run deep in manufacturing, and Stockman’s interviews capture this brilliantly ... At times, her book delves too deeply into the extended families of its central characters — lore relating to grandmothers and cousins slows the pace. This comes at the expense of developments at the factory, of which we get just a few glimpses ... Stories like this show that journalists have a vital role to play in helping us understand the complex economic forces that shape our societies. Rooting out the hidden networks and social capital that support our global economy is painstaking work. Stockman’s reporting reveals a fatal flaw in economics: Adjustment costs are not bumps in the road; they define lives. The task of 21st-century capitalism is to find a model that combines growth and innovation with ways to protect people from the painful shifts these forces so often bring. American Made is a reminder that this search continues.
Jacob Goldstein
RaveThe New York Times Book Review\"There is much ground to cover as Money moves from traders in Sichuan to goldsmiths in London to investors in the Mississippi Territory. Each treatment is necessarily brief, and some readers may want more detail. But stacking up case studies like this means a bigger story—a recurring pattern—begins to appear ... Money should be required reading for every financial regulator ... I would have liked a chapter on underground and informal currencies. People living in the world’s toughest economies use all sorts of monies that are \'made up\' ... Money is great preparation for turbulent times: a vibrant and accessible grounding in how the evolution of cash—organic, random and social—really works.
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