Amazon.com Review
It's not often--or maybe ever--that a book steeped in emerging-market economic theory reads like a thriller. But
And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) has cliffhangers and plot twists equal to a detective's tale, as Paul Blustein chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of Argentina's economy at the turn of the 21st century. The book has its flaws, of course, including the author's insistence on using goofy metaphors from the overripe Andrew Lloyd Webber musical
Evita (from which the book takes its awkward title). But by and large, Blustein, a staff writer at the
Washington Post, tells a cynic's tale of greed run amok on a massive scale.
While policy wonks at the International Monetary Fund had much to do with Argentina's implosion, Blustein also holds the country's own government responsible. Conventional wisdom says that the influence of the world's investors keeps everyone in line--a key tenet of the pro-globalization argument--but in practice, Blustein writes, "foreign funds numbed Argentine policymakers into minimizing the perils of their policies. The effect was similar to a dose of steroids, giving the economy a short-term boost while insidiously increasing the risk of a breakdown in the long run." From that point on, only devastation lay ahead for many average Argentineans, who could no longer remove savings from their banks, and for international investors, who saw their returns vanish in a flash. Blustein effectively makes the case that Argentina wasn't a rare example or a perfect storm of problems, but--bearing "striking parallels" to Enron and other financial scandals of the era--a preview of more meltdowns to come. It's a compelling cautionary tale well worth telling. --Jennifer Buckendorff
Review
"An absorbing tale of hope, folly and betrayal... [An] authoritative account of the nation's unraveling." -- Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2005
"An admirably clear, cohesive--and important--narrative... Even more impressively, [Blustein] has made a page-turner out of a currency crisis." -- New York Sun, February 24, 2005
"An engrossing inside account...It is Mr. Blustein's considerable achievement to have fashioned [Argentina's collapse] into such a page-turner." -- The Economist, March 5, 2005
"Entertaining, insightful... Undoubtedly the greatest strength of this book is what it reveals about the inner workings of the IMF." -- The Buenos Aires Herald, February 23, 2005
"Mr. Blustein tells the tale [of Argentina's collapse] with precision and panache." -- Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2005
"Suspenseful...crisp prose accessible even to those who rarely read financial newspapers...Paul Blustein deserves much praise for his stagecraft." -- The Weekly Standard, May 16, 2005
"Tells in exquisite and chilling detail the Argentine story of borrowing, boom and bust... a fascinating, well written international tale." -- John M. Berry, Bloomberg News, April 28, 2005.
"The book could have been titled 'CSI: Buenos Aires' because what Blustein expertly investigates is undoubtedly an economic crime scene." -- The Washington Post, May 8, 2005
"Vivid and intelligent" -- Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005
"[Blustein] is at his best telling the story of the various IMF bailouts of Argentina..." -- Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer, April 10, 2005.
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