"A damning indictment of private equity" (New York Review of Books), this authoritative exposé shows what it is, how it kills businesses and jobs, how the government helps, and how we stop it. Private equity surrounds us. Firms like Blackstone, Carlyle, and KKR are among the largest employers in America and hold assets that rival those of small countries. Yet few understand what these firms are or how they work. In Plunder, Brendan Ballou explains how private equity has reshaped American business by raising prices, reducing quality, cutting jobs, and shifting resources from productive to unproductive parts of the economy. Ballou vividly illustrates how private equity firms buy up retailers, medical practices, prison services, nursing-home chains, and mobile-home parks, among other businesses, using little of their own money to do it and avoiding debt and liability for their actions. Forced to take on huge debts and pay extractive fees, companies purchased by private equity firms are often left bankrupt or as shells of their former selves, with consequences for the communities that long depended on them. Perhaps most startling is Ballou's insight into how this is happening with the active support of various arms of the government. But, as Ballou reveals in an agenda for reining in the industry, private equity can be stopped from wreaking further havoc.
Kurt Andersen Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)
Kurt Andersens werk duikt diep in de complexiteit van de Amerikaanse cultuur en samenleving, waarbij hij thema's als identiteit, realiteit en maatschappelijke verschuivingen onderzoekt met scherp inzicht en ironische humor. Door middel van zijn romans en non-fictie onderzoekt hij hoe individuele verhalen verweven zijn met bredere historische en culturele stromingen. Andersen's onderscheidende stijl, gekenmerkt door scherpe sociale commentaar en fantasievolle verhalen, maakt zijn werk tot een boeiende lectuur voor degenen die op zoek zijn naar een dieper begrip van de hedendaagse wereld.






Evil Geniuses
- 464bladzijden
- 17 uur lezen
Americans have disabled the government's ability to solve even basic problems, making us vulnerable to the most dangerous demagogue ever to pretend to the White House. Kurt Andersen shows how the masterminds of the economic right rode an unprecedented wave of nostalgia by dressing up their harsh new rich-get-richer system in patriotic old-time drag, making it their mission to take over the government for their purposes alone and convincing the country that the mid-century consensus about the function of the American government was all wrong. Only a writer with Andersen's crackling energy, deep intelligence, and ability to see complex systems with clarity could make such a vital book both intellectually formidable and completely entertaining. In his diagnosis of what happened and what it means for us today, Andersen spares no one, committing to a pinpointing of his own boomer generation as accessories to the great dismantling of the American experiment
Fantasyland
- 480bladzijden
- 17 uur lezen
That do-your-own-thing freedom - run amok since the individualism and relativism of the 1960s and later the unprecedented free-for-all world of the Internet, is the driving credo of America's current transformation where the difference between opinion and fact is rapidly crumbling.
Stories
- 428bladzijden
- 15 uur lezen
"The joy of fiction is the joy of the imagination. . . ." The best stories engage readers, compelling them to turn pages in anticipation of what comes next. Great literature is defined by its imagination, as demonstrated in this exceptional anthology, which redefines the boundaries of imaginative fiction. It features contributions from renowned writers like Peter Straub, Chuck Palahniuk, Roddy Doyle, and Joyce Carol Oates, among others, showcasing their craft and challenging misconceptions about genres. Curated by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, who personally selected each story, the anthology sets a high standard for this "new literature of the imagination." The collection aims to present familiar themes in fresh, illuminating ways. Notable tales include Joe Hill's disturbing exploration of evil in "Devil on the Staircase," Lawrence Block's unique take on fishing in "Catch and Release," and Carolyn Parkhurst's dark sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris introduces ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan," while Richard Adams's "The Knife" delves into vengeance. Jeffery Deaver's "The Therapist" features a psychologist on a mission to save lives, and Neil Gaiman's chilling "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" offers a haunting punishment for a grave crime. This visionary volume will transform readers’ perspectives and ignite a renewed appreciation for exceptional fiction.
Englishman Benjamin Knowles heads for America to build a new life and joins up with three young Americans--journalist Timothy Skaggs, war veteran Duff Lucking, and Duff's actress sister, Polly--to seek their fortunes in the gold fields of California.
Tollhaus der Möglichkeiten
- 734bladzijden
- 26 uur lezen
Eeuwwisseling
- 622bladzijden
- 22 uur lezen
Terwijl het jaar 2000 voortschrijdt, komen George Mactier en Lizzie Zimbalist, die tien jaar getrouwd zijn, terecht in de draaikolk van hun hectische leven. George is tv-producent en werkt voor het nieuwe succesvolle tv-station MBC, dat een nieuwsshow op het snijpunt van feit en fictie gaat uitzenden. Lizzie zit in de softwarebusiness en runt een bedrijf in een branche waar elke dag de regels worden herschreven. Ze reizen heen en weer tussen Los Angeles, Seattle en Manhattan voor de estafette-opvoeding van hun drie kinderen. George en Lizzie, opgegroeid in de jaren zestig en zeventig, hadden nooit kunnen dromen dat ze in de zakenwereld terecht zouden komen. Ze hebben het inmiddels te druk om het geld uit te geven dat met bakken tegelijk binnenkomt, en zijn te slim om niet ambivalent te staan tegenover hun opgefokte hoogglansleventje. Niets lijkt de vaart van hun voortdenderende levens en carrières te kunnen afremmen. Maar dan....
