By James Kwak
(This is an occasional update on this blog. For more frequent news and reviews, see the 13 Bankers site.)
Since the last update here, we’ve gotten several more reviews: The Daily Beast, Fortune, The Aleph Blog, and Rortybomb, to name a few. Links to many reviews are here. (If you wrote a review and want us to link to it, send me an email at baselinescenario at gmail dot com.)
I’ve also updated the list of past media appearances that you can view online, so you can see Simon’s suit from many different angles. In particular, I’d like to flag the Firedoglake Book Salon from this past weekend, where Bill Black hosted an in-depth, online discussion with Simon. I’ve also updated the list of upcoming events (in-person and media). For those in Rhode Island, there’s a last-minute addition: I’ll be talking at Brown this Sunday.
Some people have asked how the book is selling. I know little about the publishing industry, but I believe the accurate answer is always, “I don’t know.” Our Amazon book ranking is in the 40s, which we are grateful for. (Michael Lewis was #1 for a couple of weeks until he was completely blown out of the water by Stephenie Meyer’s next vampire novel, which isn’t even shipping until June.) But as for bookstore sales (which are still several times Amazon sales), you really don’t know, because bookstores can return unsold copies. So it’s too early to tell.
Update: Simon’s entire event (over one hour) at the World Affairs Council of Washington is available on C-SPAN.
The Baseline Scenario 
I am still going through it. Bought it on my Kindle the second day I think. I must say that I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I am. I say that only because I thought I would have probably read most of the stuff here, and there won’t be much new stuff in it. That is definitely not the case though.
For what it is worth, I bought the Kindle edition Saturday and am still plowing through it. It is a surprisingly (did not expect to enjoy history oriented text this much) enjoyable read and one of the most footnoted texts I have read in recent memory. I hope it sells well as it is a really good book. I initially bought it because I enjoy your blog, but find myself recommending it to my finance-minded friends as well. Good job!
I’ll be doing the “long awaited” grahambrokethemold review some time in May. (haha) I got the free shipping from Amazon. Sometimes it’s tough being a cheap basturd. It’s either the Capote books that are holding me up or Amazon wants to thoroughly punish me for not adding more to their profit margins. I’ll let you decide which.
Being the arrogant prick that I am, I imagine I will find one interesting thing of note others have missed.
It’s tough waiting though. This book is almost something of a spiritual experience for me. Maybe like the little wooden box you get before crossing the river that Joseph Campbell talks about in mythology. My little adventure cannot continue without it.