Author:Alan Greenspan,Adrian Wooldridge
Shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2018
'An inspiring, rip-roaring read - like the astonishing story it describes' Liam Halligan, Daily Telegraph
Where does prosperity come from, and how does it spread through a society? What role does innovation play in creating prosperity and why do some eras see the fruits of innovation spread more democratically, and others, including our own, find the opposite?
In Capitalism in America, Alan Greenspan, legendary Chair of the Federal Reserve, distils a lifetime of grappling with these questions into a profound assessment of the decisive drivers of the US economy over the course of its history. In partnership with Economist journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge, he unfolds a tale of vast landscapes, titanic figures and triumphant breakthroughs as well as terrible moral failings. Every crucial American economic debate is here - from the role of slavery in the antebellum Southern economy to America's violent swings in its openness to global trade.
At heart, the authors argue, America's genius has been its enthusiasm for the effects of creative destruction, the ceaseless churn of the old giving way to the new. Although messy and painful, it has lifted the overwhelming majority of Americans to standards of living unimaginable even a few generations past. At a time when productivity has again stalled, stirring populist furies, and the continuing of American pre-eminence seems uncertain, Capitalism in America explains why America has worked so successfully in the past and been such a gigantic engine of economic growth.
This book snaps, crackles and pops ... Readers will emerge from this heady blend of economic, business, and political history with a sense of exhilaration that so much of the American experience could be described so vividly and insightfully
—— Robert Gordon , Financial TimesCapitalism in America makes a strong case, with some wonderful insights into business history. Innovation, spread to the masses, is indeed the engine of capitalist economies.
—— The EconomistA superbly written book ... the tone is businesslike but culturally savvy - with sociological themes from "America's urban nightmare" of the seventies and eighties to "the rising share of working women" handled with sensitivity and skill ... Capitalism in America is an inspiring, rip-roaring read - like the astonishing story it describes.
—— Liam Halligan , The Daily TelegraphBarack Obama is as fine a writer as they come . . . the prose gorgeous in places, the detail granular and vivid
—— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , The New York TimesWhat is unexpected in A Promised Land is not its literary elegance but the former president's candour
—— David Olusoga , ObserverI loved A Promised Land . . . President Obama is unusually honest about his experience in the White House, including how isolating it is to be the person who ultimately calls the shots. It's a fascinating look at what it's like to steer a country through challenging times
—— Bill GatesDeeply enjoyable . . . Obama is such a fluent and warm writer and so good at describing events and people
—— Daily ExpressBeautifully written . . . it's probably the best volume of autobiography from a former president in modern times
—— Sean O'Grady , Independent, *****Remarkably candid and beautifully written . . . It should bring inspiration for we Brits who want to build our own version of inclusive patriotism here at home
—— David Lammy , iGives a very human insight into the White House
—— StylistTo keep company with his elegant prose, complex conscience and unmistakable intelligence is a cool drink of water after four years of the other guy . . .
—— Sam Leith , SpectatorElegantly written ... Obama comes across as literary, tolerant and dignified. A gifted writer, he maintains the reader's interest for over 700 pages
—— Eric Foner , TLSDeeply enjoyable...Obama is such a fluent and warm writer and so good at describing events and people
—— Daily ExpressHis ability to put himself in the shoes of others - even those who treat him with open contempt - is admirable
—— Financial TimesHonest, powerful and personal...a must read
—— OK! magazineA brilliant, abrasive diplomat struggles to resolve foreign conflicts while fighting bureaucratic wars at home in this scintillating biography… Packer makes him a Shakespearean character—egomaniacal, devious, sloppy enough to make presidents deny him the prize of becoming secretary of state, yet charismatic and inspiring—in a larger-than-life portrait brimming with vivid novelistic impressions… In Holbrooke’s thwarted ambitions, Packer finds both a riveting tale of diplomatic adventure—part high drama, part low pettiness—and a captivating metaphor for America’s waning power.
—— Publishers Weekly (starred review)By the end of the second page, maybe the third, you will be hooked...There never was a diplomat-activist quite like [Holbrooke], and there seldom has been a book quite like this -sweeping and sentimental, beguiling and brutal, catty and critical, much like the man himself.
—— David M. Shribman , Boston GlobeThe riveting life of a deeply flawed diplomat whose chief shortcoming seems to have been the need to be more recognized than he was... Students of recent world history and of American power, hard and soft, will find this an endlessly fascinating study of character and events.
—— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)It is impossible to read George Packer’s new biography of Richard Holbrooke without a piercing sense of melancholy, not only that a man so supremely alive should be dead, but also because such people — Our Man, in Packer’s title, the incarnation of vanished glory, imperial hubris, exceptional Americanism — no longer walk the earth… Extraordinary.
—— James Traub , Foreign PolicyStunning... If you’re one of the dozens of people running for president, the book is probably the best guide you can find to navigating a transitional moment in American leadership and foreign policy. For the rest of us, it’s a gripping read, and a sad one.
—— Ben Smith , BuzzFeed NewsThrough a depiction that may be likened to Robert Caro’s The Power Broker, Packer analyzes the forces of character that led us from a commitment to unity to the chaotic division in which we find ourselves today.
—— Lauren LeBlanc , The Observer’s "16 Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2019"Best appreciated like a novel, consumed whole… charming, brilliant, cocksure.
—— Jennifer Szalai , New York TimesLike Holbrooke, Packer’s account barrels along, brimming with mischief, verve and a sense of history. Unlike Holbrooke, it is tender and self-aware.
—— Tom Fletcher , ProspectAn endlessly engaging biography.
—— Jefferson Morley , Pak BankerOur Man… [is] a fascinating examination of the (few) successes and (many) failures of US foreign policy over the last fifty years.
—— Keith Richmond , ASLEF Journal[Our Man is] heartfelt, virtuosic and quietly thoughtful at the same time
—— Daily TelegraphIsabel Wilkerson's book is a masterful narrative of the rich wisdom and deep courage of a great people. Don't miss it!
—— Cornel WestA landmark piece of non-fiction
—— The New York TimesA briliant and stirring epic
—— Wall Street JournalThe mass migration of African Americans out of the US south forever changed the country's cultural fabric - and Wilkerson's history of this period is full of sacrifice and hope ...a long overdue account
—— GuardianA deeply affecting, finely crafted and heroic book. . . .Wilkerson has taken on one of the most important demographic upheavals of the past century and told it through the lives of three people ... lyrical and tragic
—— Jill Lepore , New Yorker