Author:Yanis Varoufakis,Leighton Pugh
Random House presents the audio edition of Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis, read by Leighton Pugh.
Why is there so much inequality? In this short book, world famous economist Yanis Varoufakis sets out to answer his daughter Xenia’s deceptively simple question. Using personal stories and famous myths – from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix – he explains what the economy is and why it has the power to shape our lives.
Intimate yet universally accessible, Talking To My Daughter About the Economy introduces readers to the most important drama of our times, helping to make sense of a troubling world while inspiring us to make it a better one.
‘A provocative, challenging, yet non-patronising analysis of the global economy: what it is, how it came to be and why it can never be apolitical. By using ancient myths, contemporary culture and family stories, Varoufakis makes the text intimate and accessible.’ – Observer
‘Utterly accessible, deeply humane and startlingly original – a potent democratic tool at the perfect time.’ – Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough
If you're Left-wing, or even if you have doubts about market economies, you'll love his arguments because they're so easy to understand. If you're on the Right, you'll have a very clear idea of how your cleverest opponents think ... Varoufakis tells all this with exemplary verve ... It's great fun to read ... Varoufakis has started a debate here, and he's done it brilliantly
—— Evening StandardUtterly accessible, deeply humane and startlingly original – a potent democratic tool at the perfect time
—— Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not EnoughA provocative, challenging, yet non-patronising analysis of the global economy: what it is, how it came to be and why it can never be apolitical. By using ancient myths, contemporary culture and family stories, Varoufakis makes the text intimate and accessible
—— Nigel Jones , ObserverExperts have often found it easier to hide behind opaque language than to explain complex concepts in simple terms … Varoufakis wants to smash this barrier: he argues from the outset that if we defer to experts on the economy then we hand over all our most important political decisions to them … Varoufakis does equip his readers with the beginnings of a new language, and punctures myth after myth
—— Anna Minton , GuardianVaroufakis's brief history of capitalism unspools with characteristic fluency and verve ... those seeking to better understand the 'black magic' of bankers should look no further
—— Financial TimesA stimulating and elegant perspective on market economies. It is accessible but not simplistic … A superb chapter on banking ... provocative and stylish
—— Paschal Donohoe , Irish TimesOne of the most accurate and detailed descriptions of modern power ever written
—— Guardian on Adults In The RoomVaroufakis has the greatest political virtues of all – courage and honesty
—— The TimesOne of my few heroes. As long as people like Varoufakis are around, there still is hope
—— Slavoj ZizekSuperbly written ... he was – and is – right
—— Martin Wolf, Financial Times, on Adults in the RoomAn outstanding economist and political analyst
—— Noam ChomskyAstonishing … a reflection on the nature and meaning of power in our times
—— Open Democracy on Adults In The RoomThe Thucydides of our time
—— Jeffrey SachsIn these secular meditations, Knausgaard scratches away at the ordinary to reach the sublime – finding what’s in the picture, and what’s hidden
—— Rodney Welch , Washington PostKnausgaard is an acute, sometimes squirmingly honest analyst of domesticity and his relationship to his family.
—— Lisa Schwarzbaum , Newsweek EuropeVery intimate and full of love
—— Belfast TelegraphI am impressed by his responsiveness, the nuanced intelligence with which he speaks.
—— Kate Kellaway , GuardianCourageous and inspirational, without a wasted word
—— KirkusWhat he makes me see is how the personal is a possession and that this is especially true for everyone involved in the Bataclan tragedy because the personal was – and still is – in danger of being swamped by the public story of international terrorism.
—— Kate Kellaway , ObserverHe had deliberately retreated from the world that was talking incessantly about the slaughter… If Antoine refused to give his hate to the men who killed his wife and so many others, he also refuses to give them space in his life and that of his now two-year-old son.
—— Joe O'Shea , Belfast Telegraph MorningHe looked at the words on the screen as the news networks competed to find words to describe the events: massacre, carnage, bloodbath. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t because of Melvil… Initially resistant to spending time with fellow mourners, Antoine discovered that there is a kind of brotherhood, a feeling of recognition, that can provide consolation.
—— Cathy Rentzenbrink , Pool[A] beautifully written memoir… It’s the hardest book you can pick up this year, but also the most affecting.
—— GQIt is a personal account of the aftershock following the atrocity. Yet there is no gore, no torture, no scene-setting, no facts putting the Isis-claimed retaliation in context, no second-hand reports of what happened inside the theatre… Instead, it is simple and immediate, and is all about love and loss… This book may also be Leiris’s way of just holding it together. One feels he is writing as the man he was before that November day that changed everything… It is the literary equivalent of smelling her clothes every night before attempting to sleep.
—— Helen Davies , Sunday TimesA book for our times.
—— Mark Lawson , Guardian, Book of the YearThis book is a love song to Hélène, a promise to Melvil and a resolution not to be defeated by chaos and barbarity. It is a stunning mission statement.
—— Claire Looby , Irish TimesThis heartbreaking and beautifully written memoir lays bare the terrible chronology of grief, but it is also a testimony to the power of love and hope.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailIt’s an agonising account of those first few days, in which the lives of father and son changed forever. Despite the haste with which it was written, every word is chosen with care and charged with meaning, a raw and honest memoir of grief which can’t fail to move all who read it.
—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald Scotland