Friend of Values and Capitalism, Travis Thomas, wrote a review of Boom and Bust on his blog. Here’s an excerpt:
Usually numbers scare me, especially large numbers accompanied by an array of economic terminology. I usually deactivate the systematic theology part of my brain when reading about money and discussing economics as to say; economics deserve no heart-felt deliberation. I perceived economics through my mind’s eye many times as simply terms and numbers, a machine without a heart. I envisioned economics as a stiff man in a crisp suit and tie without a wrinkle, confident and spouting out numbers in a board meeting. As the amount of numbers and financial jargon increases, so does his confidence and ego above those around him. So, to say the least, compassion and complex economic cycles were viewed on opposite sides of the spectrum in my mind, until I read Alex J. Pollock’s Boom & Bust. Pollock ingeniously weaves together the heart of man (good and bad) with the functions of financial cycles from chapter 1-11. With each new chapter both concepts draw closer together; the conduct of man amalgamates with the conducts of markets and they become one and the same. Economics, market forces and financial cycles are not some spooky impassive ghost-like creation with a mind of its own, but markets reflect the nature of the men who operate within them, for good and for bad. As I read more I realized not only do markets mimic the nature of men, but nature itself. I must say from the forward to the endnotes Boom & Bust was engaging. It sounds strange to my own mind to say a book on economics was engaging, but it truly was.Read the remainder of the review here.
