Every postgraduate student of economics and finance, and many of their academics, would benefit from reading these sections and seeing how the financial series to which we apply our econometric skills actually arise from the actions of real people coping on a daily basis with problems that appear to them to be unprecedented.
"[10] In Harvard's Business History Review, Maury Klein writes: "Few writers have paid much attention to the closing of the Exchange, except as a curiosity exemplifying the shock experienced by Americans when the war came.
According to Stanford Professor John Taylor, "Mr. Silber offers fascinating subplots and revelations along the way—not to mention a portrait of a tough and colorful man—but his main storyline concerns two of the most dramatic-policy changes in economic history, one international, the other domestic.
[18] Neil Irwin wrote in the Washington Post, "William L. Silber has written a rich and detailed new biography of a man who has left as deep an imprint on the world economy as anyone of his generation.
[21] The Wharton School's Peter Conti-Brown in the Business History Review wrote: "The Story of Silver is a wonderful, broad book, full of verve and insight into why various generations―from Queen Elizabeth I to Warren Buffett, Alexander Hamilton to, especially, the infamous Hunt brothers―have been so focused on this slippery stuff.
A simple strategy, similar to the Hail Mary pass in football, encourages risky ventures that favor the ‘deciders' but hurts innocent bystanders, causing collateral damage that requires attention.
"[24] Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Niall Ferguson wrote: "As Bill Silber shows in this enthralling and entertaining book--which I devoured in a single sitting--all kinds of people through history have acted recklessly in the belief that they had nothing to lose, from second-term presidents pardoning crooked cronies to quarter-backs throwing Hail Mary passes.