The Leading Indicators (18 page)

 

Acknowledgments

For the realization of this book, thanks are due to my friends, colleagues and editors Jonathan Alter, Timothy Bartlett, Ethan Bassoff, James Bennet, Anne Bensson, Molly Bedell, Harold Boughton, David Brooks, Patricia Burke, Robin Campbell, Carolyn Carlson, Stephen Carter, Diane Chandler, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Masie Cochrane, Stephen Colbert, James Collins, Katharine DeShaw, Eric Dezenhall, Benedict Drew, Martha Drullard, Thomas Dunne, Mahidar Durbhakula, James Fallows, Donna Fenn, Henry Ferris, Sharon Fisher, Avra Friedfeld, Christ Gaetanos, Kathleen Gilligan, Janet St. Goar, Tedd Habberfield, Carla Hall, Laura Hall, Marjorie Hazen, Katharine Herrup, Arianna Huffington, Debbie Ida, Jonathan Jao, Jan Jones, Mickey Kaus, Bob Kerrey, Michael Kinsley, Barbara Klie, Doro Koch, Robert Krimmer, William Lauerman, Emily Lazar, Alan Lelchuck, Nicholas Lemann, Jan Lewis, Ann Lindgren, Ben Loehnen, Deborah McGill, James Mallon, Rachelle Mandik, John Milner, Charles Peters, Sally Richardson, Janet Robinson, Tina Rosenberg, Claudia Russell, Charles Sciandra, Carolyn See, Kurt Schluntz, Mathew Shear, Allison Silver, Lauren Smythe, Kurt Snibbe, Barbara Snyder, Claire Swiat, Mary Thomas, Mary Ward, William Whitworth, David Wilson, Peter Wolverton and Claudia Zahn; to the memories of Fred Sondermann, 1923–1978; James Clay, 1927–1990; Christopher Georges, 1965–1998; John Robinson, 1953–2009; Samuel Starr, 1933–2011; William Goss, 1941–2011, and Jonathan Rowe, 1946–2011; to my children, Grant, Mara Rose and Spenser; to my siblings, Frank, Neil and Nancy; to my wife, Nan Kennelly.

I am indebted to Jonathan Karp, who a decade ago suggested I write a nonfiction book about the limits of economic knowledge, and call the volume
The Leading Indicators.
Somehow I was able to resist spending years interviewing economists. But the title stuck with me.

 

ALSO BY

GREGG EASTERBROOK

Sonic Boom

The Progress Paradox

The Here and Now

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Beside Still Waters

A Moment on the Earth

This Magic Moment

 

About the Author

GREGG EASTERBROOK is the author of a number of books, including
The Progress Paradox, Tuesday Morning Quarterback, The Here and Now,
and
Sonic Boom.
He is a contributing editor of
The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic,
and
The Washington Monthly,
and a columnist for
ESPN.com
. He has been a distinguished fellow of the Fulbright Foundation, a visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution, a bartender, a bus driver, and a used-car salesman. Visit him online at
greggeasterbrook.com
.

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
.

An imprint of St. Martin's Press.

THE LEADING INDICATORS
. Copyright © 2012 by Gregg Easterbrook. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.thomasdunnebooks.com

www.stmartins.com

ISBN 978-1-250-01173-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 9781250011749 (e-book)

First Edition: November 2012