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Publicity:
June 4, 2007:
Andrew Grabois of Beneath the
Cover called One Nation Under
Debt (previously called Born in
Debt) one of the “more interesting deals made this year.”
March 5, 2008:
I talked about the book on the Joey
Reynolds Show. Joey, one of the founding fathers of talk radio, is still
on the air and as witty as ever. The
podcast can be downloaded here.
March 18, 2008: On WTOP
Washington, I discussed the U.S.
national debt in the context of the nation’s financial woes.
March 21, 2008: “America’s
Most Independent Talk Show Host,” Charles Goyette, interviewed
me about One Nation Under
Debt.
March 26, 2008:
WURD-Radio’s “Wake Up with Bill (Anderson)”
(Named “One of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African
Americans”) interviewed me live between about 9:20 and 9:45 am.
At the end, I fielded three excellent call-in questions.
March 26, 2008:
WPAT-AM
in New York had me on to
discuss the book and the debt as part of its “Gateways” program.
Interviewer Gene Heinemeyer read the book carefully
and asked some outstanding questions.
March 27, 2008:
I appeared on “Squeeze Play,”
an interesting business discussion show on Business News Network in Toronto
to talk about the book and the U.S.
economy.
March 28, 2008:
ONUD and my L.A. Times op ed were mentioned on ABC
News.
April 4, 2008:
I had a nice conversation with Temple
University trustee, lawyer, and
talk show host Senator
Bob Rovner on his “Talks to the Stars”
program.
April 8, 2008:
Dr. Pat, a lovely lady considered the “Oprah” of talk radio, had
me on The Dr. Pat Show to discuss politics and the
national debt.
April 15, 2008:
I had an emergency appendectomy that laid me up until 1 May and broke the
momentum I was building.
May 12, 2008:
I appeared on Lou
Dobbs’s afternoon radio show. Lou, as he insisted I call him, is of
course a Great American who helped to reduce the national debt in the 1990s.
June 17, 2008:
Lou graciously had me back on his afternoon radio show.
We had a great time.
June 22, 2008:
I appeared on Larry Kane’s Larry Kane: Voice of
Reason on Philadelphia’s
CN8 at 9:30 p.m.
July 3, 2008: I chatted live with Jay Liebenguth
on his Heart of the Matter radio program.
July 9, 2008:
GreatDad.com interviewed me regarding
my philosophy
of parenting.
August 26, 2008:
I was “On the Book Shelf” of Doc Kirby of WTBF Radio in Alabama for an
excellent half hour interview.
September 4, 2008:
I appeared on “Virginia This Morning,” WTVR-T,
CBS 6, in Richmond, Virginia.
October 18, 2008:
I was on the The
Pat Williams Show, WDBO
780 AM, in Orlando, Florida.
December 5, 2008:
I discussed the book for a half hour with Larry Parks, the gracious and
astute host of The Larry Parks Show on the
Manhattan Neighborhood Network.
June 1, 2009:
David Asman plugged the book while interviewing me
regarding the nation’s burgeoning national debt on his Nightly
Scoreboard program on Fox Business News.
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Buy it here:
Amazon
Barnes
and Noble
McGraw Hill
Speaking Engagements:
“One Nation Under
Debt,” Lehigh
University College of Business and Economics, 29 February 2008.
“The U.S.
National Debt: Blessing and Curse,” Philadelphia
Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
23 May 2008.
“One Nation Under Debt:
Blessing and Curse,” Borders,
Southbury, Connecticut, 22 June
2008.
“Federal Bondholders in
Early Virginia,” Virginia
Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia,
4 September 2008.
“Alexander Hamilton,
the National Debt, and Philadelphia
Finance,” Wachovia, Philadelphia,
24 September 2008.
Supporting Op Eds:
“A
New National Party/The Party’s Over,” Los Angeles Times March 18, 2008.
“Rx
for a Vulnerable Economy: Cut Down on Debt,” Moody’s Economy.com
Dismal Scientist US/Canada 25
March 2008.
“Our
Government’s Biggest Problem,” TheStreet.com. 3 May 2008.
“Stagflation or Depression?”
Reason, June 2008.
“Cementing the Union,”
Financial History, Spring 2008.
“Buddy,
Can You Spare a Dime?” Fredericksburg
(Va.) Free Lance-Star 6 July 2008.
“Could an Italian
Economist Born in the 19th Century Offer an Answer to Our
Political Prayers?” History
News Network, 1 September 2008.
Due to the financial crisis,
I have been receiving a tremendous amount of publicity in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles
Times and elsewhere. I’ve also been asked to give a number of
presentations and write some op-eds. For details,
see my c.v.,
especially under I. Interviews. On this page I list only those items directly
related to the book.
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Reviews in the Popular Press:
Wright’s book
“offers a thoughtful, exciting, and historically rich narrative of the
fascinating debates and political machinations that led to the establishment
of America’s
financial system. The texture, depth, and intensity of his account of the
fractious interactions among competing political figures during these periods
adds enormously to the body of our knowledge of these formative years in American
financial history. It also explains the powerful forces in American politics
surrounding debt and fiscal policy that exist today.” – New
York Sun, May 12, 2008, page 7.
“Wright gives detailed
information on how the financial problem began, why it continued and where it
is today. The book’s chapters are artfully named Parentage, Conception,
Gestation, Birth, Youth and Maturity, Blessings, and Death and Reincarnation.
Lovers of American history, economics, politics and biography discover in One Nation Under Debt, an inviting
narrative that reveals how a debt helped shape today’s economy.” NewsBlaze.
“One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson and the History of What We
Owe by Robert E. Wright is a fascinating look at the history of national
debt in this country. The United States
was born in debt, a debt so deep that it threatened to destroy the country
before it ever got off its feet.” – The
Daily Journal, International Falls, Minn.
“For great studies on taxation and the Founding
Fathers see Robert E. Wright’s One
Nation Under Debt.” -- Chuck Norris, Black
Belt Patriotism (2008), p. 221, n. 37.
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Scholarly Reviews:
“Wright, the curator of
the Museum of American
Finance, is an established scholar of financial
history with nearly a dozen books on the history of finance, banking, and
debt in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century America.
In this book, Wright articulates a four-part model of economic
development—nonpredatory government, finance,
entrepreneurship, and management. The book, however, deals almost exclusively
with the first two. There is little on entrepreneurship, except for a
peculiar digression into the sugar beet industry, and nothing on management.
However, the government's role in creating and managing debt, and the links
between debt and the development of capital markets are brilliantly developed.
The book is worth reading
carefully for the first six chapters alone. Wright describes the evolution of
American indebtedness during the late colonial and revolutionary periods, the
Federalists' efforts to get the Constitution ratified, and Hamilton's
brilliant intellectual and structural management of the debt as the basis for
American economic growth. Chapter 5, on Hamilton,
is a tour de force. Chapter 6 deals with the debt's shrinkage, Jefferson's
acquisition of Louisiana, and
the Republicans' distaste for debt.
If I could write like Wright,
I would be thrilled. Some passages in the book are stunning—almost
poetic. For anyone interested in the evolution of the U.S.
economy and its early financial system, the first six chapters of this book
are essential. Wright makes his point: under skilled management (e.g.,
Hamilton), debt is good for deepening capital markets, but incurred
excessively to finance wars or inappropriate government expenditures, it can
eventually prove disastrous.” – Journal of American History (December 2008).
“The history of the
public debt of the U.S.
had been often told. Wright adds to that history by including an analysis of
the way financial markets handled the public debt. The book is worth reading
by anyone troubled by the current disregard over the burgeoning of the public
debt in the U.S., because Wright serves to remind us of a debate over the
public debt that no longer takes place. He thus raises an issue that is as
old as the country and as pertinent now as it was at the beginning.”
– Donald R. Stabile, EH.Net,
July 8, 2008.
“Wright provides a
history of the origins of the US
federal debt that should appeal to a broad audience. He writes in a lively
narrative style, characteristic of good popular history. Economic historians
will not find formal models or econometrics, but will find a well-told story,
informed by economic theory and backed up with nearly 50 pages of tables and
graphs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; students at all
levels; researchers and faculty.” – Choice, November 2008.
“Overall, I think that
this is Wright’s best book yet. This effort represents a masterful bridging
of the gap between the general reader and the professional historian and
economist. Perhaps it all crystallizes because the story is so compelling and
the author’s pen so fluid. This reader predicts that the book will end
up being widely read.” – Journal
of Economic History, June 2009.
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