The book is full of historical figures of the time—President Roosevelt, of course, but also the economist John Maynard Keynes (and his Russian ballerina wife, the lovely but shocking Lydia Lopokova) and financier J.P. Morgan. Playing master puppeteer is economist Harry Dexter White, an archrival of Keynes.
Despite being married to an economist and being pretty good at money management, I don’t really understand financial systems very well. But I loved this story and learned a lot. The book takes us into WWII from another perspective and, late in the war, leads us to historic Bretton Woods, where world leaders remake the money system so countries can survive and recover in a much-changed, post-war world economy. Wealth of Shadows is a twisting story well-told and supported by an astonishing 10-page Author Note that details what’s truth and what’s fiction chapter by chapter. Highly recommended!!! When not checked out, you'll find Wealth of Shadows in the Fiction section under Moore.
Throughout May 2021, Eileen adapted existing library operations to include the cataloging step. COVID was still raging, so planning and training had to be done while wearing masks and maintaining distances.
She cataloged the first book on June 22, 2021, and by August 30, 2024, she’d cataloged all 4,006 items on the library’s shelves. Achieving that milestone suggested that our vision of creating an online catalog for resident use might also be attainable. My enthusiasm was briefly dampened when Eileen decided that renting a residence was a better fit for her than owning one. She moved from Coffman on August 8 but not before assuring us that she’d help train her successor. What good fortune to have Margaret Green waiting in the wings. Much of Margaret’s career had been in educational administration, but before that she had been a cataloger for five years at Harvard’s Widener Library. With some training from Eileen, Margaret was ready to solo. And the good news just keeps on coming. Just days ago, I watched while Eileen migrated our library’s inventory into an online catalog platform. A week later, Library Committee members and residents were test-driving our catalog from their own computers. Library Committee members miss our friend Eileen Smith’s presence at Coffman every day. Always a pleasure to know and work with, she remains extraordinarily generous with her time. I know she’s as pleased with the outcome of this project as we are. |
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