Visible Hand

Matthew Hennessey is the Wall Street Journal's deputy op-ed editor.

“What we badly needright now is someone to remind us of what economic freedom is and does. MatthewHennessey’s Visible Hand is a wise reminder that freemarkets are essential to human flourishing. In an engaging and highly amusingstyle he boils economic concepts down to their essence. Buy this for any son ordaughter who needs to know what American capitalism is, what it isn’t, and whyits departure would bring great ill.”—Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal columnist“MatthewHennessey makes the case for liberal democracy and American capitalism in plainEnglish—and he does it with a sense of humor, too. Nothing dismal here.Econ 101 should always be this much fun.”—Larry Kudlow, former directorof the National Economic Council“Matthew Hennessey brings to economics the sensibility of a manwho grew up helping to tend bar at his father’s saloon in New Jersey: He has nointerest in putting on airs, only in telling you the story. In VisibleHand he has produced the most completely enjoyable book oneconomics I’ve ever encountered. Economics? Enjoyable? Did I just write that?Because of Matt, I did.”—Peter Robinson, Murdoch Distinguished PolicyFellow at the Hoover Institution“As a libertarian, I don’t like mandates, but VisibleHand should be required reading for every American. It will restore faithin the power of capitalism to increase opportunity for all of us, especiallythose born without wealth and privilege. For too long, economics has been theprovince of writers of gray prose and makers of two-dimensionalsupply-and-demand charts. Hennessey uses personal experience, history, andpopular culture to create a thrilling story about how the world actually works.I’m going to make my sons—a Millennial and a Zoomer—read Visible Hand, whichexplains how individualism, free markets, choice, and entrepreneurial risk makeus richer, happier, and more fulfilled."—Nick Gillespie, editor at large, Reason“This delightful and entertainingbook makes the ideas behind economics accessible to all. It also reminds bothnovices and econ wonks why economic reasoning is so important and critical tounderstanding the world today.”—Allison Schrager, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow