Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
Ricochet Book Club Announcement!
We have enticed Nicole Gelinas to join us here on Ricochet to discuss After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street--and Washington.
Here's John Tamny's apt review:
Back in 2002, in the aftermath of the 2000-01 Internet-stock collapse, the New York Post ran a fabulous opinion piece titled "Bearmarket.sued". The op-ed questioned the thinking of investors who, unhappy with the near wipeout of some of their investments in formerly high-flying Internet companies, sought redress for their foolish decisions in the courts.
The author of the aforementioned piece was Nicole Gelinas. Gelinas decried the litigious ways of an investor class that seemingly wanted it both ways: stupendous gains during periods of market frivolity, downside protection when markets were stressed. For taking this courageous stand, Gelinas no doubt caught a great deal of flak from readers conditioned by the late ‘90s boom to expect only positive returns.
Fast forward nearly eight years, Gelinas remains a prolific writer, and her columns for the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post remain a must read for anyone interested in what's truly happening in municipal and private finance. And now, after impressive amounts of painstaking research, Gelinas has written After the Fall, a book that drives a dagger into the heart of the unfortunate but ubiquitous term, "Too Big to Fail."
The discussion will begin on Friday, 14 January.
Now, here's the thing. This discussion will be a lot more interesting if you all read the book first. Indeed, that's the point of a book club. Offering copies of the book to those who contribute the best comments is silly, because we hardly wish to create an incentive for members not to read the book before her arrival, do we? As Nicole herself would surely note, incentives count.
So what we'll do is offer copies of the next book club selection (as yet undetermined) to those who provide the most interesting comments in this discussion. Make sense?
By the way, I absolutely vouch for this book: There is no better book on the subject.
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Comments :
Sep '10
Re: Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
Well, having it available as a Kindle Edition certainly helps!
Aug '10
Re: Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
I just finished watching her presentation on the book and I am very impressed. If you are short on time just slide on over to 44:10 and get her take on President Obama's economic advisory team's take-aways from the whole debacle, I promise she will win you over.
Her mastery of the subject is so strong that she makes it easy for a layman like me to follow her. I am sold, and I am essentially allergic to wonkery.
Sep '10
Re: Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
I was a Nicole Gelinas fan before; I'm a groupie now.
Aug '10
Re: Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
Well I have my copy and I just finished the preface and I am not at all disappointed. I'm really looking forward to this.
Something meaningful happened to me during my trip to the bookstore. I picked up a copy of Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, fourth edition.
I was in the Economics section of a not so nearby Borders determined to get my reserved copy of Nicole's book. Constitutionally incapable of buying only one book at a time, I was shuffling like a zombie trying to find the The Big Short, but it wasn't on an endcap like I expected it to be.
And there it was, bold black-and-red pattern, eye-level on the end-cap, calling to me.
I come from a working poor family. I squandered my opportunity to graduate from a prestigious liberal arts college. But in that moment, holding Basic Economics, I realized I don't have to bear the burdens of regret and ignorance.
Sure, it is just a book, but it holds the promise of a better understanding of the world. That is both a good thing and a precious reminder of the power of the written word.
Edited on Jan 8, 2011 at 3:40pmOct '10
Re: Saving Capitalism with Nicole Gelinas
You had me at John Tamny...got my ereader version today. Will let you know if I have any questions Friday!
Edited on Jan 9, 2011 at 1:13pm