As you say in your enthusiastic review of Sylvia Nasar’s Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011), it is a “history of economics which is full of flesh, bloom, and warmth” (“Centuries of Trial and Error,” September 10, 2011). As well as wrath, especially when it comes to Karl Marx. In your words, the author “does almost nothing to conceal her prejudices” when it comes to this bookworm. Where Marx saw crises that would eventually undermine capitalism, Joseph Schumpeter saw creative destruction. In the end, Marx got it upside down: “capitalism’s recurrent crises actually make it stronger.” Splendid. As you note, it is surprising that the author has nothing to say about the last financial crisis. Indeed. Now that the second dip is ever more likely, this crisis is bound to make capitalism stronger than ever. And the destruction involved will be the most creative in history. It is a pity that this excellent opportunity to explain economic history has not been taken by the author for all it is worth.