Reviews
"The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U.,'Šis literary and profound'Š.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester'Šis a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem." Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, "Lanchester's gift is to see the big picture in new ways." -- Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post Book World, eoeFrom the insane and apparently incomprehensible chaos of the financial meltdown John Lanchester has extracted a compelling narrative, clearly explaining the madness of modern capitalism with razor-sharp insight, brilliant clarity and a refreshing dose of humor. A great book; interesting, accessible and witty.e e" John Oe(tm)Farrell, former columnist for The Independent and The Guardian , and author of An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain: or Sixty Years of Making the Same Stupid Mistakes as Always, â[A] writer with literary bona fides&[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis&.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomerâs verve. Itâs infectious&.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms.â -Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, "Few if any [finance] books will be as pleasurableand by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funnyas John Lanchester's…Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things that'll get us through." Dwight Garner, The New York Times, â[Lanchester] brings his mischievous wit to bear on the Great Credit Crackup in his boisterous primer&.His method: to boil complex instruments and linkages down to anecdotes, outlandish images and acerbic asides that strip away those layers of bank jargon. The result is the perfect read for anyone still wondering what went wrong and why.â - Bloomberg News, "[H]ere's a prediction: Few if any of these [finance] books will be as pleasurableand by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funnyas John Lanchester's I.O.U… .Mr. Lanchester explains these things methodically, with mathematical rigor, but he is also, crucially, guided as much by perception and feel….history lesson is peppered with dead-on references to everything, including "Annie Hall," "The Simpsons," "The Wire," Hemingway and Jacques Derrida….Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things that'll get us through." Dwight Garner, The New York Times, "I.O.U. provides a fine introduction to the latest financial frenzy, with a suitable degree of outrage."- Edward Chancellor, Wall Street Journal, "In I.O.U. , the only truly entertaining book I've read on the subject, the British writer John Lanchester theorizes that after the Cold War, capitalism could go wild because Western governments no longer had to worry about competing with communism. This is a fascinating idea…" Jacob Weisberg, Newsweek, âThe novelist John Lanchesterâs short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,&is literary and profound&.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester&is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem.â -Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, eoe[T]his elegantly crafted little bookemanages to be, by turns, acidic, frightening, and sharply funny. What it is not is boringe.it all makes perfect sense. A.e e" Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, "Lanchester's gift is to see the big picture in new ways." Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post Book World, "The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,…is literary and profound….But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester…is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem." Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, "[Lanchester's] ability to explain complex stuff in a down-to-earth and witty style makes his short book, I.O.U., ideal reading for financial novices."e" The Economist, “[Lanchester] brings his mischievous wit to bear on the Great Credit Crackup in his boisterous primer&.His method: to boil complex instruments and linkages down to anecdotes, outlandish images and acerbic asides that strip away those layers of bank jargon. The result is the perfect read for anyone still wondering what went wrong and why.” - Bloomberg News, "[A] writer with literary bona fides...[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis....An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectious....frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms." -- Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, eoe I.O.U. is so clear and funny and cleverly written. I love the personal asides and observations and jokes and bits of autobiography that make it seem human and not text-book like. And the more and more improbable analogies for the ups and downs of the markets (a bride's nightie...a gorilla on a pogo stick). But what I like most is that it makesmefeel intelligent, because I can now understand all this stuff.e e" Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, “The novelist John Lanchester’s short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,&is literary and profound&.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester&is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem.” -Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, eoeIn I.O.U. , the only truly entertaining book I've read on the subject, the British writer John Lanchester theorizes that after the Cold War, capitalism could go wild because Western governments no longer had to worry about competing with communism. This is a fascinating ideaee e" Jacob Weisberg, Newsweek, â I.O.U. is so clear and funny and cleverly written. I love the personal asides and observations and jokes and bits of autobiography that make it seem human and not text-book like. And the more and more improbable analogies for the ups and downs of the markets (a bride's nightie...a gorilla on a pogo stick). But what I like most is that it makes me feel intelligent, because I can now understand all this stuff.â -Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, "Lanchester brings an eye for the ironic and a gently rolling prose style. His dark humor and wit often pop up unexpectedly.... You'll search in vain for a more entertaining guide to this world than Lanchester."e" Matthew Craft, Forbes.com, "[T]his elegantly crafted little book…manages to be, by turns, acidic, frightening, and sharply funny. What it is not is boring….it all makes perfect sense. A." Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, eoeWarning to bankers everywhere in the world. You better buy every single copy of I.O.U. because Lanchestere(tm)s painted the target on you that the rest of us so desperately wanted to see." e" James J. Cramer, host of CNBCe(tm)s Mad Money, "[A] writer with literary bona fidesâŠ[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisisâŠ.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectiousâŠ.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms." Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, "[Lanchester] brings his mischievous wit to bear on the Great Credit Crackup in his boisterous primer'Š.His method: to boil complex instruments and linkages down to anecdotes, outlandish images and acerbic asides that strip away those layers of bank jargon. The result is the perfect read for anyone still wondering what went wrong and why." Bloomberg News, “[H]ere’s a prediction: Few if any of these [finance] books will be as pleasurable-and by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funny-as John Lanchester’s I.O.U& .Mr. Lanchester explains these things methodically, with mathematical rigor, but he is also, crucially, guided as much by perception and feel&.history lesson is peppered with dead-on references to everything, including “Annie Hall,” “The Simpsons,” “The Wire,” Hemingway and Jacques Derrida&.Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things that’ll get us through.” -Dwight Garner, The New York Times, "The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,...is literary and profound....But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester...is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem." -- Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, "Lanchester's gift is to see the big picture in new ways." - Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post Book World, eoe[A] writer with literary bona fidese[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisise.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomere(tm)s verve. Ite(tm)s infectiouse.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms.e e" Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, "[A] writer with literary bona fides'Š[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis'Š.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectious'Š.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms." Devin Leonard, The New York Times, Sunday Business, " I.O.U. is the map to the crazed world of contemporary finance we have all been waiting for. John Lanchester's superb book is everything its subject, the 2008 crash, was not: namely lucid, beautifully contrived, comprehensible to the reader with no specialist knowledge-and most of all devastatingly funny. I urge you to read it." - Will Self, author of Liver, eoeFew if any [finance] books will be as pleasurablee"and by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funnye"as John Lanchester'seBefore you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things thate(tm)ll get us through.e e" Dwight Garner, The New York Times, "Few if any [finance] books will be as pleasurable--and by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funny--as John Lanchester's...Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things that'll get us through." -- Dwight Garner, The New York Times, "Lanchester's book is also noteworthy for a splendid choice of language and metaphor not usually found in writing on economics and finance…All economic writing should be so evocative." Benjamin M. Friedman, The New York Review of Books, "Witty, lucid, solicitous of the average person's difficulty in grasping the conceptual underpinnings of international finance....Lanchester manages to know enough to explain the terrain clearly and yet he never loses his perspectiveâŠLanchester had me in the palm of his handâŠ" -Salon.com, eoeLanchester's book is also noteworthy for a splendid choice of language and metaphor not usually found in writing on economics and financeeAll economic writing should be so evocative.e e" Benjamin M. Friedman, The New York Review of Books, "Rare is the book about modern finance that has me nodding vigorously along with every sentence, pausing at points to muse that someone has finally, really, truly gotten it.... Such was the case with I.O.U."- Moe Tkacik, DailyFinance . com, "[A] writer with literary bona fides…[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis….An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectious….frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms." Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, "The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,âŠis literary and profoundâŠ.But this is not just finance-for-poets. LanchesterâŠis a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem." Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, 'The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis,I.O.U.,?is literary and profound'.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester'is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem.'--Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, "Warning to bankers everywhere in the world. You better buy every single copy of I.O.U. because Lanchester's painted the target on you that the rest of us so desperately wanted to see." James J. Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money, "Few if any [finance] books will be as pleasurable-and by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funny-as John Lanchester's...Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things that'll get us through." - Dwight Garner, The New York Times, eoe[Lanchester] brings his mischievous wit to bear on the Great Credit Crackup in his boisterous primere.His method: to boil complex instruments and linkages down to anecdotes, outlandish images and acerbic asides that strip away those layers of bank jargon. The result is the perfect read for anyone still wondering what went wrong and why.e e" James Pressley, Bloomberg News, "[R]Evelatory and Insightful."- Claude R. Marx, Washington Times, “[A] writer with literary bona fides&[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis&.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer’s verve. It’s infectious&.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms.” -Devin Leonard, The New York Times , Sunday Business, "From the insane and apparently incomprehensible chaos of the financial meltdown John Lanchester has extracted a compelling narrative, clearly explaining the madness of modern capitalism with razor-sharp insight, brilliant clarity and a refreshing dose of humor. A great book; interesting, accessible and witty." -- John O'Farrell, former columnist for The Independent and The Guardian , and author of An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain: or Sixty Years of Making the Same Stupid Mistakes as Always, eoeLanchester's gift is to see the big picture in new ways.e e" Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post Book World, " I.O.U. is so clear and funny and cleverly written. I love the personal asides and observations and jokes and bits of autobiography that make it seem human and not text-book like. And the more and more improbable analogies for the ups and downs of the markets (a bride's nightie...a gorilla on a pogo stick). But what I like most is that it makesmefeel intelligent, because I can now understand all this stuff." -- Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, '[A] writer with literary bona fides&[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis&.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectious&.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms.' -Devin Leonard, The New York Times, Sunday Business, "Laypeople seeking to understand the crisis, and what it means for their own bank account, will find Lanchester's volume an oasis of understanding in a sea of partisan spin and convoluted financial language."- PublishersWeekly.com (starred review), â[H]ereâs a prediction: Few if any of these [finance] books will be as pleasurable-and by that I mean as literate or as wickedly funny-as John Lanchesterâs I.O.U& .Mr. Lanchester explains these things methodically, with mathematical rigor, but he is also, crucially, guided as much by perception and feel&.history lesson is peppered with dead-on references to everything, including âAnnie Hall,â âThe Simpsons,â âThe Wire,â Hemingway and Jacques Derrida&.Before you begin to cry, pick up a copy of I.O.U. Good humor and good company will be the things thatâll get us through.â -Dwight Garner, The New York Times, "[T]his elegantly crafted little book...manages to be, by turns, acidic, frightening, and sharply funny. What it is not is boring....it all makes perfect sense. A." -- Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, eoeHard to imagine any book giving us a clearer, more concise overview of the global financial crisis. I.O.U. is endlessly witty, for one thing, but the wit is underpinned by a tremendous, unembarrassed anger and moral lucidity. A superb entry-level guide which will turn any reader into an expert within the space of 200 pages.e e" Jonathan Coe, author of The Rottere(tm)s Club and The Rain Before It Falls, “ I.O.U. is so clear and funny and cleverly written. I love the personal asides and observations and jokes and bits of autobiography that make it seem human and not text-book like. And the more and more improbable analogies for the ups and downs of the markets (a bride's nightie...a gorilla on a pogo stick). But what I like most is that it makes me feel intelligent, because I can now understand all this stuff.” -Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, "[R]Evelatory and Insightful."E" Claude R. Marx, Washington Times, "Lanchester understands perfectly that the man behind the curtain was no wizardthat markets, far from being God-given instruments of perfection, were human constructs. ...[He] is adept at explicating financial complexities with street level analogies." Roger Lowenstein, NewRepublic.com, 'The novelist John Lanchester's short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U.,&is literary and profound&.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchester&is a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem.' -Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, eoeWitty, lucid, solicitous of the average person's difficulty in grasping the conceptual underpinnings of international finance....Lanchester manages to know enough to explain the terrain clearly and yet he never loses his perspectiveeLanchester had me in the palm of his handee e" Laura Miller, Salon.com, "[T]his elegantly crafted little bookâŠmanages to be, by turns, acidic, frightening, and sharply funny. What it is not is boringâŠ.it all makes perfect sense. A." Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, '[A] writer with literary bona fides?[Lanchester] has the intellectual heft and the chops, as a jazz musician might say, to deliver a resounding book about the crisis'.An elegant and wonderfully witty writer, Mr. Lanchester approaches his subject with a newcomer's verve. It's infectious'.frame[s] the Great Recession in startlingly original terms.'--Devin Leonard,The New York Times, Sunday Business, "[John Lanchester has] leaped into nonfiction, combining prodigious research and reporting with his storytelling gift. The result is this elegantly crafted little book-equal parts history, economic primer, and social commentary-that manages to be, by turns, acidic, frightening, and sharply funny. What it is not is boring. In fact, this is a better book about the global meltdown than any other to date-and some of our best financial and business writers have weighed in on the subject'Š.He explains everything so lucidly, so simply, refracted through the lens of history for perspective, that it all makes perfect sense. A" Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, In I.O.U. , the only truly entertaining book I've read on the subject, the British writer John Lanchester theorizes that after the Cold War, capitalism could go wild because Western governments no longer had to worry about competing with communism. This is a fascinating idea” -Jacob Weisberg, Newsweek, eoeThe novelist John Lanchestere(tm)s short book on the finance crisis, I.O.U. ,eis literary and profounde.But this is not just finance-for-poets. Lanchestereis a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance. His book is a gem.e e" Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast, "Hard to imagine any book giving us a clearer, more concise overview of the global financial crisis. I.O.U. is endlessly witty, for one thing, but the wit is underpinned by a tremendous, unembarrassed anger and moral lucidity. A superb entry-level guide which will turn any reader into an expert within the space of 200 pages." -- Jonathan Coe, author of The Rotter's Club and The Rain Before It Falls
