About the Author
Yanis Varoufakis is the former finance minister of Greece and the author of several international bestsellers. And the Weak Suffer What They Must?: Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability reveals the underlying problems that led to the Eurozone crisis and its ongoing catastrophic mishandling. Adults In the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment is his explosive memoir of his time in goverment, which reveals what goes on behind the scenes in Europe's corridors of power. Talking To My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism explains through vivid stories and easily graspable concepts what economics actually is and why it is so dangerous in the form of a letter to his teenage daughter. Born in Athens in 1961, Yanis Varoufakis was for many years a professor of economics in Britain, Australia and the USA before he entered government and is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Athens. Since resigning from Greece's finance ministry he has co-founded an international grassroots movement, DiEM25, campaigning for the revival of democracy in Europe and speaks to audiences of thousands worldwide.
Review
"Varoufakis has written one of the greatest political memoirs of all time [and] one of the most accurate and detailed descriptions of modern power ever written" * Guardian * "An important, terrifying must-read. In particular, it anatomises the way in which EU leaders operate with a brutal clarity ... shocking and ultimately tragic ... He gets to the heart of their failure more acutely than anyone ... Varoufakis has the greatest political virtues of all - courage and honesty" * The Times * "A tremendously indiscreet account ... drawing upon his own audio recordings and diaries of top-level meetings. It is deeply personal and very well written" * Financial Times * "The most jaw-dropping segments are the accounts of phone calls and closed-door meetings - often verbatim, courtesy of his secret recordings - between ministers and technocrats ... We see duplicity and cynicism ruling supreme .. A convincing critique ... Our own government should take note" * Daily Telegraph * "This is a superbly written account of the struggle to alleviate the austerity imposed upon the Greek people by the eurozone. Greece, argues Varoufakis, has been put in a debtors' prison and robbed of autonomy and dignity for the indefinite future. Critics would argue that he failed as finance minister in 2015 because he was insufficiently politic. More plausibly, he could never have succeeded, such were the vested interests arrayed against him. This outcome was - and is - a tragedy, because he was - and is - right. The bulk of Greek debt should indeed be cancelled outright. Read and weep" -- Martin Wolf, Financial Times Summer Reads
