The book provides an analysis of the US economy during the 1990s, particularly the boom and subsequent bust, from the perspective of the author, a Nobel laureate who served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton and Chief Economist at the World Bank. Stiglitz argues that a misplaced faith in free-market ideology during this period created problems that led to future economic issues.
The book is a heartwarming story detailing how headmistress Marie Stubbs transformed St George's, a struggling inner-city comprehensive school in London, which had been threatened with closure after a damning Ofsted report and the murder of its previous headmaster in 1995. She implemented a combination of discipline, imagination, and modern management techniques to improve attendance and examination results.
