The Economists’ Hour

Winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award in Narrative & Biography A New York Times Editor's ChoiceA Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller One of Oprah Magazine's Best Political Books to Read Ahead of the 2020 Election One of Book Riot's 50 Best Books to Read this Fall One of Five Books' Best Political Books of 2019One of Vanity Fair's Best Books of 2019One of MIT Technology Review's Best Books of the Year

"His book is a marvel of popular historical writing, propelled by anecdotes and just the right amount of explanation but also impressively well grounded in the latest academic research by historians, sociologists and others. Much of the territory it covers was familiar to me, but I was constantly learning new twists and nuances."

"Lively and entertaining...The Economists' Hour is a reminder of the power of ideas to shape the course of history."

"It is, I will tell you - and this is not just me, a Marketplace geek, saying this - it's fascinating. It's totally, totally fascinating."

"The rise and fall of the Chicago School is chronicled by Binyamin Appelbaum in his admirable book The Economists' Hour. As he shows, economists were treated as little more than backroom statisticians until the late 1960s.... Appelbaum argues that their heyday ended on October 13 2008, when the chief executives of America's largest banks were marched into the US Treasury for a crisis meeting. He is surely correct. The mother of all Wall Street bailouts shattered the reputation economics had gained over the previous 40 years. Yet economists' hubris lingers. Perhaps it is a lagging indicator. Economists might call it "sticky".

"The Economists' Hour provides a novel perspective on the conservative revolution that dominated the past half-century of American political history."

"A kind of ur-text, revealing the destructive role of centering economists in shaping public policy. It's not that we don't need economists and economic theory, but The Economist's Hour patiently reveals the many times and multiple ways they've had an outsized influence at key times and have steered us wrong. It's a fascinating analysis."

"The Economists' Hour is a work of journalism rather than polemic. It is a well reported and researched history of the ways in which plucky economists helped rewrite policy in America and Europe and across emerging markets."

"Appelbaum's book shows economists' dramatic impact on government policy, and thus reveals economics to be not an abstract, disinterested science but a moral and political science all to itself. "

"Appelbaum paints a lavish group portrait."

"Filled with lively accounts of personalities, ideas and events."

"Appelbaum's writing brings refreshing clarity to monetary policy, floating currency exchange rates and modern international trade."

"A must-read book for our moment."

"Highly readable biography of big economic personalities."

"Appelbaum's excellent book covers much history of economic policy, but at bottom it is about politics and ideology."

"A marvelous ride through the evolution of free-market ideas."

"Appelbaum, a New York Times editorialist and former economics beat reporter, writes lucidly about a number of connected subjects: the content of economics scholarship during the postwar era, the highly interpersonal and institution-specific story of how particular ideas and individuals came to have influence with those in power, and, most strikingly, how economists came to enter policymaking and insinuate themselves into the governing class-a distinction among academic disciplines. The result is a convincing historical interpretation that shows both the origins and consequences of economists' most self-serving myths... No one has told this whole story, operating over multiple economic subfields, as well as Appelbaum."

"My favorite parts of Appelbaum's book (which is most of it) include entertaining descriptions of the evolution of economic thought, which features lots of debate and disagreement about the right role for government."

"Appelbaum has written not just an engaging but an important book. If you want to better understand our current malaise...this book will give you both useful perspective and an enjoyable ride along the way."

"Appelbaum's excellent book covers much history of economic policy, but at bottom it is about politics and ideology."

"Highly informative, provocative and passionate."

"A compelling new book."

"The New York Times financial writer maps the advance of economists-from the Kennedy administration onward-out of the academy and into government, elevating free markets in the sausage-making of public policy and sparking the inequity that plagues us today."

"A thoughtful history of the role of economists in U.S. government and public policy debates...This work offers an intelligent assessment of free-market thought in modern times and the resultant policies and should prove of interest to those interested in public policy."

"This thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and critical account of the economic philosophies that have reigned for the past half century powerfully indicts them."

"Writing in accessible language of thorny fiscal matters, the author ventures into oddly fascinating corners of recent economic history...Anyone who wonders why government officials still take the Laffer curve seriously need go no further than this lucid book."

"Binyamin Appelbaum has written a powerful must-read for all those interested in reinvigorating the credibility of economics, especially in policymaking circles. Through an engaging discussion of how economists' influence grew and spread, he shows how free-market economics evolved into an over-promising 'affirming religion,' only to disappoint too many of its followers and lead others astray. His insightful analysis also helps us identify what's needed to ensure that the market economy remains 'one of humankinds most awesome inventions."

"I very much enjoyed reading The Economists' Hour, an entertaining and well-written look at how market-oriented ideas rose from the academy and transformed nations. I do not agree with each and every perspective, but found this a valuable and highly recommendable book, which I devoured in a single sitting."