Book Review

This is an excellent book and a major contribution to our understanding of twentieth-century U.S. history. Its emphasis on the fundamental relationship between economic theory and political action provides readers with compelling insight into political decision making in the United States during the post-World War II years. The narrative is set against the background of the major transformation in twentieth-century business-world thinking: the acceptance of social science theory as the prism by which to view and the foundation on which to base political policies. In a society that measured progress by the output of goods and success in moneymaking, appeals for action based on traditional morality took a backseat. Policy makers looked to economic theory and quantifiable measurements for direction. The economist became the nation's high priest. With a masterfully comprehensible style, Professor Robert M. Collins chronicles the theoretical concepts of economic growth, beginning with the Truman administration and the Council of Economic Advisers under the leadership of Leon Keyserling (a follower of Keynesian economics), up to and including the Clinton administration.

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