This time is different: eight centuries of financial folly

incentives that lead to cronyism and bailouts. Would democratic nations, especially, appreciate the wisdom of Lerner’s two-handed economics (on the one hand, on the other hand)? The need for secrecy, he notes, works against the constant democratic demand for transparency. Implicitly, the advice leans against democratic success and toward authoritarian political economy and/or the military-industrial complex. For example, the USA success stories evolved from the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency! Indeed, Lerner begins and ends his book by highlighting Singapore as a country that gets it right. From beginning to end, Lerner warns readers that there is much ambiguity in his analysis. Past public efforts failed but government always aided the successful hubs of entrepreneurship that did develop. If anything, Lerner is fair and balanced to a fault: the ambiguity, nuance, and frequent caveats lead the reader to ask whether, on balance, public venture capitalism is worth doing. After all, the alternative to ‘try, try again’ is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ – the classic definition of stupidity. There are no easy answers offered, just good advice summed up in the introduction and conclusion. Lerner lays out the problems and prospects and lets readers decide for themselves. This small volume is a handy reference for those looking for an honest primer on public venture capital.