LITERATURE + LECTURES

On Tuesday, October 12, Brazos Bookstore and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy present Robert Reich discussing his new book, Aftershock: the Next Economy and America's Future. Co-sponsored by the University of Houston Department of Economics, the Rice University School of Social Sciences and Barbara Ann Radnofsky. Location: Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Baker Hall #120, Houston, Texas 77005.

A brilliant new reading of the economic crisis—and a plan for dealing with the challenge of its aftermath—by one of our most trenchant and informed experts.

When the nation’s economy foundered in 2008, blame was directed almost universally at Wall Street. But Robert B. Reich suggests a different reason for the meltdown, and for a perilous road ahead. He argues that the real problem is structural: it lies in the increasing concentration of income and wealth at the top, and in a middle class that has had to go deeply into debt to maintain a decent standard of living.

Reich’s assessment of what must be done to reverse course and ensure that prosperity is widely shared represents the path to a necessary and long-overdue transformation. Aftershock is a practical, humane, and much-needed blueprint for both restoring America’s economy and rebuilding our society.

About the author: Robert B. Reich is professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He last served in government as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

He contributes weekly commentaries to Marketplace on public radio, appears regularly on television, and is a cofounding editor of The American Prospect. In 2003 Reich was awarded the prestigious Václav Havel Foundation Prize for pioneering work in economic and social thought. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Author's site: http://robertreich.org/.

Admission requires the purchase of a book from Brazos Bookstore. Click the link to purchase tickets for the event. Purchase of this ticket includes your reservation plus a signed, first edition copy of the book Aftershock. Ticket must be presented at the event to receive the book.