Nick Timiraos wrote the first draft of this remarkable history as the chief economics correspondent for the Wall SFrom my Washington Postbook review:
Nick Timiraos wrote the first draft of this remarkable history as the chief economics correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and now has followed up with “Trillion Dollar Triage: How Jay Powell and the Fed Battled a President and a Pandemic — and Prevented Economic Disaster.”
The book’s strength lies in its detailed original reporting and the fast-paced narrative of the harrowing month that the Fed spent nearly unilaterally preventing a financial catastrophe as the coronavirus was taking off in 2020. Embedded in the tale is a careful accounting of the economic and financial implications of the Fed’s actions. Timiraos takes the story into 2021 and the fallout from the Fed’s subsequent decisions that contributed to the highest inflation in four decades. The author conducted more than 100 interviews. (I spoke with Timiraos, who sought my perspective as an economist who had helped craft President Barack Obama’s response to the 2008 economic crisis and my view of one congressional meeting where I delivered remarks.)
I saw a good review of this graphic biography/analysis of Putin and thought it might be interesting for me and/or my children. I have not convinced thI saw a good review of this graphic biography/analysis of Putin and thought it might be interesting for me and/or my children. I have not convinced them to read it (yet) but I did. It was a useful comprehensive summary of what is known about Putin's youth, his early rise in St. Petersburg politics, and then his tenure as leader of Russia (as President and also leading as Prime Minister) focusing especially on the many killings he has ordered and his bungled response (and possible complicity) in various disasters and attacks (the apartment buildings, theater, school and submarine). It did not add that much to my knowledge but filled in a few gaps and reminded me of a few things. At times it was a bit over the top, if one can say such a thing about the depiction of a murderous dictator, but Cunningham seems to believe and pass along just about every conspiratorial version of everything (including believing that Trump was a Russian agent). It was, however, generally nice drawn and written....more
A twisted tale of the role of poisoning in African history, especially recent southern African history. It is told with an eye to historical detail buA twisted tale of the role of poisoning in African history, especially recent southern African history. It is told with an eye to historical detail but also some literary flair. It begins with disgraced South African President Jacob Zuma's claim that he had been poisoned and then traverses through a range of history (much of it barely written about, not necessarily recorded, and thus by necessity to a certain degree speculative) of people developing poisons for the the Rhodesian and South African intelligence services, earlier mass poisonings as source of control in Madagascar, some parallels between all of this and the poison used in the Holocaust, and then in post-Apartheid South Africa. There is something especially terrifying and horrifying about poison that can strike anywhere at anytime and Imraan Coovadia both seizes on this terror and also describes and analyzes how it was used to either terrify or conceal violence or often both....more
One of the best journalistic books about current events I have read, Karen Elliott House's On Saudi Arabia Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - AOne of the best journalistic books about current events I have read, Karen Elliott House's On Saudi Arabia Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - And Future covers the Al Saud dynasty, contemporary society, the economy, politics and foreign affairs--in all cases combining a light dose of history with context and reporting the stories of a wide range of individual Saudi's from the poor to former criminals and terrorists to royalty. House is unflinching in her criticism, but also reasonably sympathetic at an individual level. The chapter on women is particularly good, explaining how much of the modern Saudi treatment of women is at odds with the Quran--and even with pre-1979 Saudi practice. But the chapters on other segments of society are also interest, including the youth that make up the bulk of Saudi society and the princes that dominate its politics. House, wisely, hedges her conclusion--sketching a range of scenarios for the future, but seems to put most weight on the pessimistic decline without slipping into chaos scenario. But she certainly thinks that energetic and more inclusive/transparent/accountable leadership could change that. While not as beautifully written as a book like Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, it is just as insightful about one of the world's more interesting countries....more
Wow, what a stunning book. As I read it I felt completely immersed in the seedy Boston underworld of the 1970s and 1980s and their corrupt relationshiWow, what a stunning book. As I read it I felt completely immersed in the seedy Boston underworld of the 1970s and 1980s and their corrupt relationship of gangsters and the FBI, whenever the present interrupted it took a moment to adjust back to it.
I was initially skeptical that I would want this much detail on something where I knew the general arc of the story (FBI gets Whitey Bulger as an informant, protects him in exchange, eventually it all comes to light, he flees, and they eventually track him down). Boy was I wrong: each and every detail was fascinating in its own right. At times it read like a thriller. But even more impressive is how it portrays the evolution of the four main characters: John Connolly the FBI agent who grew up with Whitey Bulger in Southie and protected him mostly as a result of boyhood feelings and the glamour associated a charismatic local boy; John Morris another FBI agent who was drawn into petty corruption, a few thousand dollars here and there, and only eventually rose above it; Steve Flemmi a brutal mobster at the intersection of the Irish and Italian gangs who actually did more informing than Bulger; and finally Whitey Bulger who is portrayed not as a "good bad guy" but someone who pushes drugs and murders women.
The authors did an impressive job pulling together an authoritative account with an enormous amount of detail--much of it relying on the extensive detail uncovered and documented by a series of Federal judges. We learn more about Morris's and Flemmi's thinking because they both testified extensively while Connolly and Bulger are a little more distant which is a shame but not something the authors could remedy (and in the case of one of them, can never be remedied)....more
A journalist's perspective on the economics of the drug trade--and its implications for public policy--focused on Mexican cartels and U.S. drug use. TA journalist's perspective on the economics of the drug trade--and its implications for public policy--focused on Mexican cartels and U.S. drug use. The chapters all cover different aspects of the business, including mergers, personnel, offshoring, franchising, online marketing and diversification. It is an interesting set of stories/analysis embedded in reasonably sound economics but none of it quite as profoundly different and eye opening as the author claims (reducing demand through treatment is more cost effective than interdicting supply which just raises the price of an inelastic good is one insight). The conclusion is an argument for legalization/regulation based not on the premise that drugs are good but that they are bad and thus need to be better controlled....more
Essential reading, even if overly repetitive at times, Dreamland ties together the revolution in pain treatment leading to Oxycontin and other pill adEssential reading, even if overly repetitive at times, Dreamland ties together the revolution in pain treatment leading to Oxycontin and other pill addictions and the spread of heroin trafficking across the United States, focusing on a network he calls the Xalisco Boys. The narrative does an effective job jumping back and forth between small towns in America, some bigger cities like Los Angeles, Mexico, and little snippets of history, biology and medicine. It portrays doctors--both good and bad--pharmaceutical executives, dealers, addicts, parents of addicts, coroners, public officials, in a kaleidoscopic and almost epic narrative. And at the epicenter of the book is Portsmouth, a small city in Ohio that faced a combination of a declining economy, the spread of prescription opioids many of them dispensed by pill mills, and also the expansion of heroin dealing into smaller cities across the country.
The human stories in Dreamland are often painful, but you are left with the greatest anger that for so long so few people really paid attention and shined a spotlight on the set of issues around opioids, both prescription and in the form of illegal heroin. The book tries to end with a hopeful note as people in Portsmouth can admit their addiction problem, begin to treat it, and their city's economy and government starts to repair itself. But it is more of an open question of whether this somewhat hopeful ending accurately reflects that national trends so the most important lesson is to keep focused on the issue....more
This book is about how the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis--the "meltdown"--affected a wide range of Icelanders. The bulk of the book is about ten intThis book is about how the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis--the "meltdown"--affected a wide range of Icelanders. The bulk of the book is about ten interviews of different people--actually more like monologues because no questions appear. The people tell all facets of the story, starting with a powerful story of a young couple whose took out a mortgage denominated in foreign currency (common then) and watched it dramatically increase at the same time that their house plummeted in value and one of them lost their jobs. With Icelandic mortgages being effectively recourse loans, they were emigrating to Norway to escape their massive debt. None of the other characters are as good as the first, but it is interesting to see a financial crisis and capital control through first person narratives by someone studying abroad who can't get cash for tuition, a small business who loses their import credit, a policeman who has to do crowd control while agreeing with the crowd, and a low/mid-level bank employee who felt as cheated by the bank as her customers. All of which have the feel of a more universal experience than just Iceland....more
A phenomenal book. A carefully reported, nonfiction chronicle of a series of kidnappings by "the Extraditables" (i.e., Pablo Escobar) starting in the A phenomenal book. A carefully reported, nonfiction chronicle of a series of kidnappings by "the Extraditables" (i.e., Pablo Escobar) starting in the summer of 1990 designed to pressure the Colombian government into ending an extradition treaty with the United States and to force favorable terms for the surrender and protection during imprisonment of Pablo Escobar. The book begins in media res with Maruja (who we subsequently learn is Maruja Pachón, a prominent member of the media and wife of a key former politician) looking over her shoulder at 7:05pm in the evening before getting into her car. It then follows Maruja and her sister-in-law/assistant Beatriz Villamizar as they go on their "normal" drive home (albeit by a different route every night to avoid kidnappers), and then get surrounded by two cars, their driver executed, and the two of them sped off in different cars towards what will become, at least in Maruja's case, six months in captivity. The book then describes the kidnapping of eight other people that had started a few months earlier and then moves swiftly between their conditions in captivity, their relationships between each other and their guards, and the various negotiations to free them, update Colombia's laws, and secure the surrender of Escobar. In telling this story it moves from scenes with the President of Colombia to low-level drug dealers on the streets of Medellin and everywhere in between.
The book is deeply compassionate, sees everything from every angle, is suspenseful, excruciating, and gives what feels like an almost real window into a very violent chapter of Colombia's history. The book seems almost as much about Escobar, even though for the most part he is in the background speaking through letters, communiques, and intermediaries--although we do eventually see him in person.
Overall, the book feels about as real as one could imagine--and not at all magical....more
Loading...
