A Tenured Professor (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author) "HARVARD YARD, the ancient center of college and university instruction, is an enclosure of a bit more than twenty acres in extent that is now..." (more)
Key Phrases: peace professorships, irrational expectations, New York, Professor Grierson, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Twenty years have elapsed since the celebrated Harvard economist's last novel ( The Triumph ) but this succinct parable for our times, a rare comedy of point and precision, is well worth the wait. Harvard professor Montgomery Marvin, a clever, mild-mannered economist whose Ph.D thesis examined arcane aspects of refrigerator pricing, devises an approach to economics that he calls the Index of Irrational Expectations, based on the all-too-apparent notion that there is no limit to human folly when greed is the driving force. Buying stocks of irrationally inflated companies short, selling while the price is still high and replacing them cheap when the inevitable decline comes, Marvin and wife Marjie soon amass a fortune. Liberals at heart, they spend the money by endowing peace professorships at military schools and establishing countervailing PACs--money to support candidates for office opposing those helped by wealthy lobbyists. Only when they buy a major arms manufacturer and turn its efforts to peaceful purposes does the sacred defense establishment turn on them. This rueful tale is embellished with countless delightful asides on matters as various as Harvard academic manners and the proper behavior before Congressional committees.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Can a tenured professor of economics at Harvard, creator of a stock forecasting model, put his vast yields toward liberal causes without upsetting the prevailing political-economic system? Montgomery Marvin develops the Index of Irrational Expectations (IRAT) after studying the euphoria which accompanies investment, and with his activist wife Marjie he puts IRAT earnings to such uses as labeling products based on their makers' number of women executives; establishing chairs in peace studies at the military academies; and setting up PRCs (Political Rectitude Committees). In his first novel in 22 years, Galbraith shows that as a novelist, he is a fine economist. His language tends to be pretentious and his tone pedantic, with hints of condescension amid occasional wit and convoluted sentences which slow the pace. But he fits his scenario deftly into the present scene, providing a modern fable of some interest. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/89.
- Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Va.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Edition edition (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618154558
• ISBN-13: 978-0618154555
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #230,289 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satire of Academia, Politics or Economics?, May 24, 2002

By	Carl Malmstrom (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews

Though "A Tenured Professor" was written in 1990, it's just as topical for the post-Internet boom world as it was for Reaganomics and Bush Senior's recession. A story of a liberal economics professor who finds the key to predicting boom and bust cycles for stocks based on consumer hysteria or pessimism, it is told as a satire, but it cannot escape the sting of realism from time to time.

Galbraith himself, aside from being a Professor Emeritus of economics at Harvard, has a great deal of familiarity with the country's political landscape, having been, among other things, a former US Ambassador to India. His familiarity with Washington politics in both parties comes through with striking clarity. At times he need only to refer to a Senator or Congressman obliquely for me to know exactly who he speaks of. Economically, as well, the book sparkles with a cynicism and perpetual questioning of whether or not economic interests control political ones. Even his academic knowledge is impressive - it's obviously that he is both very fond and somewhat sardonic of Harvard at the same time - but it is not so much a book about academics as it is about the direction of our country.

If it struggles anywhere, this book struggles with it's own style. Galbraith is obviously highly intelligent and an accomplished economist. He is not, however, first a novelist. This becomes apparent when he has to push the plot along from time to time in with forced dialogue or grope for it within his satirical meanderings. However, he has enough experience with the novel as a form that it never grinds to a halt.

In spite of it's form - or maybe because of it, this book does have an important comment to make about the interplay between politics and economics in the United States today. He does so so effectively, in fact, that you worry where satire leaves off and cynical reality begins. I found myself reading this book hoping for the former and worrying over the latter. I would recommend anyone with an interest in modern history or the process of government-running to read this and judge for themselves.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars High-Caliber Intellectual Fiction.........you be the judge!, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Tenured Professor (Paperback)

The Harvard Professors of intellectual glory are at it again! This book will be interesting to anyone who enjoys reading novels on a regular basis. The autodidact who consumes philosophical, historical, and scientific works daily may be disappointed...but you be the judge. Psychological irrationality and economic models allow the hero to elude the "risk factor" that is commonly associated with predicting the market. If academic snobbery and ivory tower elitism is as interesting to you as it is to me you will find something in this book that will get your cerebral juices flowing!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Story Contains Human as well as Economic Insights, June 29, 1998

By	Richard L. King ([e-mail]) (Seattle, Wa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tenured Professor (Paperback)

A Tenured Professor is a great read for those of us who find the financial markets fascinating.

The plot weaves events and interactions of a professor who discovers a formula for predicting and profiting from others' irrational investment behavior. Using a host of funny and realistic characters, Galbraith shows how economic insight can cause some humorous personal problems.

And the insight for us trader wannabe's? Can't tell -- it would spoil the story!