The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success is Megan McArdle's first book. It's a fun and easy to read.
McArdle has always mixed serious economics/economic policy writing with personal finance/advice writing. She has an amazing ability to make use of both what's she's learned reporting on economics and her own experience to write in a down-to-earth and insightful way on tricky personal topics. One great example: This post on advice for jobless grads living at home with their parents.
In that way, The Up Side of Down is similar to McArdle's blogging. Lots of good insights on a number of different topics, especially the narratives behind the financial crisis, the unique features of the U.S. bankruptcy code, and personal finance.
One interesting note about this book is that McArdle is trying to extol the virtues of learning how to embrace (well-managed) failure. Yet it also feels like a book-length explanation of how she and her husband came to embrace what most people would consider an ultra-conservative approach to their own finances. How to reconcile those two messages...
McArdle has always mixed serious economics/economic policy writing with personal finance/advice writing. She has an amazing ability to make use of both what's she's learned reporting on economics and her own experience to write in a down-to-earth and insightful way on tricky personal topics. One great example: This post on advice for jobless grads living at home with their parents.
In that way, The Up Side of Down is similar to McArdle's blogging. Lots of good insights on a number of different topics, especially the narratives behind the financial crisis, the unique features of the U.S. bankruptcy code, and personal finance.
One interesting note about this book is that McArdle is trying to extol the virtues of learning how to embrace (well-managed) failure. Yet it also feels like a book-length explanation of how she and her husband came to embrace what most people would consider an ultra-conservative approach to their own finances. How to reconcile those two messages...
