A smart, lively account of a revealing episode in economic history.
Hammes’ (Economics/Univ. of Hawaii-Hilo; Shaping Our Nation, 1988) nonfiction title sheds light on the great inventor’s eccentric, intriguing foray into economic theory.
With the nation suffering from a sharp depression in the early 1920s after the inflationary boom of World War I, Thomas Edison figured he could solve the economic malaise with a plan to back the value of money with farming commodities as an alternative to the gold standard. Under his scheme, farmers would deposit their harvest in government warehouses and receive half of its 25-year average price as a loan in dollars printed by the Federal Reserve, an amount that would be repaid over the course of a year as the crops were sold off. Edison hoped to provide farmers a more stable income and the country a more stable currency founded on real value; his proposal drew much acclaim from the public and press—and scorn from economists. (One professor suggested that Edison was senile.) Economist Hammes gives a detailed, highly readable exposition of Edison’s complex scheme and its surprising resemblance to modern-day policy innovations. The Federal Reserve, he notes, now seems to be running a similar program—only instead of giving farmers money in exchange for their wheat, it gives bankers money in exchange for their toxic mortgage-backed securities. He sets Edison’s ideas against a lucid explanation of money, inflation and the gold standard, as well as a nuanced analysis of America’s 19th-century monetary controversies. At the time, currency was a stormy political issue pitting debtors, farmers and exporters against bankers and creditors. In Hammes’ vivid portrait, Edison embodies these contradictions: He’s a captain of industry who had a profound suspicion of both the Wall Street financiers who backed him and the boom-and-bust cycles that almost bankrupted him. He also emerges as a great American amateur: half-genius, half-crank, convinced that a little common-sense tinkering could improve the economy where the experts had failed. Hammes illuminates the crucial role money plays not just in the economy, but also in the national character.
A smart, lively account of a revealing episode in economic history.Pub Date: March 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985066703
Page Count: 166
Publisher: Richard Mahler
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A quietly powerful story, at times harrowing but ultimately a joy to read.
In this novel, life turns toward a dark horizon for a precocious adolescent grieving for her father in 1941 Tennessee.
It’s difficult to harbor secrets in a rural mountain town of maybe 80 souls, especially when adult siblings live within spitting distance of the family home. Most of the townsmen work at the sawmill, and most of the young women have been harassed at one time or another by creepy Johnny Monroe. But Louisa May McAllister, nicknamed Wildflower, knows that revealing her frequent forays to the cemetery, where she talks to her beloved late father, would only rile her embittered mother. She also knows to hide her “secret sense,” as it would evoke scorn from all save eccentric Aunt Sadie, who shares her tomboy niece’s gift. Those secrets come at a cost when, on one of her graveyard visits, Louisa May ignores her premonition of danger. The consequences—somewhat expected yet still horrific—are buffered by the visions into which the 13-year-old escapes. Sharp-witted, strong, curious and distrustful of any authority figure not living up to her standards—including God—Louisa May immerses us in her world with astute observations and wonderfully turned phrases, with nary a cliché to be found. She could be an adolescent Scout Finch, had Scout’s father died unexpectedly and her life taken a bad turn. Though her story is full of pathos and loss, her sorrow is genuine and refreshingly free of self-pity. She accepts that she and her mother are “like vinegar and soda, always reacting,” that her best friend has grown distant, and that despite the preacher’s condemnation, a young suicide victim should be sent “to the head of heaven’s line.” Her connection to the land—a presence as vividly portrayed as any character—makes her compassionate but tough; she’s as willing to see trees as angels as she is to join her brothers-in-law in seeking revenge. By necessity, Louisa May grows up quickly, but by her secret sense, she also understands forgiveness.
A quietly powerful story, at times harrowing but ultimately a joy to read.Pub Date: April 22, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983588238
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Wild Lily Arts
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The latest in Sathy’s (Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man: A California CST Adventure, 2009, etc.) series of test prep titles disguises educational tips in a funny middle-grade reader.
Chris Robb’s day is off to an inauspicious start when he accidentally wears his sister’s pink socks to school, and only goes downhill from there. Chris isn’t the best of students and his inability to focus and remember the most basic things—like his teacher’s absurd name, Ms. Bubblebrain—gets him into constant trouble. Between Chris and his colorful cast of classmates, Ms. Bubblebrain can hardly keep order. Scenarios, such as the entire class falling down like a row of dominoes when a panicked Chris runs right into his teacher, are illustrated in a high quality black-and-white cartoon style. The funny, well-illustrated story will likely appeal to struggling readers and is certainly much more entertaining than typical test prep materials. Sample standardized test questions with fill-in circles appear at the end of each chapter to acclimate students to test-taking. Some questions are too easy, but others require students to dig deep. Each question has one overly goofy answer, which might prove a bit too tempting for some students: For the question, “What is the antonym (opposite) of yell?” choice D reads, “I don't know, but this one time, I yelled so loud that my tongue flew out of my mouth and got stuck to the wall in my classroom.” The book is designed to be used either as a read-alone or as a read aloud book by teachers or parents. For this reason, an appendix includes lists of additional activities as well as the core standards, referenced throughout the book by way of superscript notations. The notations might prove distracting to some readers, but are set off in a non-bold font that most readers should be able to ignore. The fill-in style questions, however, make it less than ideal for library use. This fun book uses elements of humorous novels and cartoons to emphasize core elementary standards in a way that will likely appeal to both teachers and students.
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0982172940
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Student Solutions, Inc.
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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