Book Review "Best Business Writing 2012," published in Library Journal 5/15/12

Dean Starkman. The Best Business Writing 012. Columbia Univ. . ISBN 9780231160735. bus. This first annual collection from Columbia University Press presents 31 of the best English-language writings on business , finance , and economics from magazines , newspapers , blogs , tape recordings , filmed interviews , radio shows , and even a movie. The editors , including Starkman (editor , Columbia Journalism Review) , believe that "ignorance about matters business and financial is no longer an option." They include a brief history of business writing , touching on Business Week in 1929 , Fortune in 1930 , and the Wall Street Journal in 1941 , and organize the articles in sections called "Bad Business , " "Financial Systems and Discontents , " "Over There" (e.g. , foreign countries) , "Politics and Money , " "The Big Picture" (e.g. , food , patents , law schools) , and "Corporate Stories." These exposés and critiques cover companies like Pfizer , Ikea , Countrywide Financial , and coal company Massey Energy; CEOs such as Bill Ford Jr. , Warren Buffett , and Steve Jobs; institutions including the SEC , FBI , and U.S. Department of the Treasury; and issues such as taxes , lobbying , etc. VERDICT For business-interested readers , this book presents revealing , and sometimes shocking , investigations. The lack of an index is a flaw.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY

Book Review "Finance and the Good Society," published in Library Journal 5/15/12

Shiller , Robert J. Finance And The Good Society. Princeton Univ. . ISBN 9780691154886. econ. Shiller (economics , Yale Univ. ; Irrational Exuberance) believes the recent "financial crisis was…due to fundamental structural shortcomings in our financial institutions." He analyzes the roles of all the players: CEOs , investment managers , bankers , mortgagors , traders , insurers , market designers and engineers , derivatives providers , lawyers , lobbyists , regulators , accountants , educators , public financiers , policymakers , trustees , and philanthropists. Shiller argues that we must still address the financial system's malfunctions and deeper sources of the problems , which have not been solved by new legislation or regulations , by increasing the public's understanding of the "principles underlying corporations" in order to align corporate interests with society's. It is this "democratization and humanization of finance" that will lead to the good society , one in which citizens feel that basic economic justice is assured. VERDICT Extensively citing history , philosophy , psychology , neuroscience , and behavioral science , the book convincingly calls for better fiscal education and claims that greater knowledge will lessen resentment and inequality , improve comprehension , and facilitate "the good society." An excellent resource for readers interested in understanding and improving financial capitalism.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY

Book Review, published Library Journal 2/15/12

Schlefer , Jonathan. The Assumptions Economists Make. Belknap: Harvard Univ. . ISBN 9780674052260. econ.

Magazine Section: Social Sciences

Schlefer (research associate , Harvard Business Sch.; Palace Politics: How the Ruling Party Brought Crisis to Mexico ) examines the "assumptions , models , and ideas of economists" to "shed light on today's economic questions." Not a history of economic thinkers , this is an examination of their prevailing assumptions , from Adam Smith to the present. Schlefer asserts that macroeconomic models failed to guide government policy before 2008 because economists got their neoclassical theory wrong , and he blames the economic troubles of 2008 and beyond on the instability of private financial markets. He disputes factors such as supply and demand , technology , and unionization as causes of the current recession , noting that many believed the "supply of better-educated workers increasing relative to lower-skilled workers would cause their pay premium to fall" when just the opposite happened. His analysis of these assumptions concludes with five recommendations for economists: to describe their beliefs transparently , to explain the structure of their models , to include critical factors affecting the models , to weigh conflicting models , and to explain what they do not know.

VERDICT This is not a book for the lay reader , although one of the more engaging chapters covers income inequality. Interesting but complex , it will be best understood by economists.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY

Library Journal , February 15 , 2012