A Life in Our Times

Perhaps economist Galbraith--the epitome of the public intellectual--was always the amused observer, even of himself, that his memoirs would have us think. Perhaps his private life was so placid that there is nothing to tell. But the book is pinched: fascinating for all that he did & perceived, consistently entertaining because he's a witty, sardonic raconteur, tantalizing because you haven't heard all those stories of famous people before. Why dither? It's History. What it isn't, tho, is a drama of growth & change. By p.3, you know virtually everything you're ever going to know about him--the