Books by Sebastian Edwards

“Growing up, one topic of debate at the dinner table (other than World War II) was Chile. My father and his brothers were all Delft-trained Dutch engineers, and one of them ended up living in Chile in the 1980s, as part of his work. He was sympathetic to the economic prosperity Augusto Pinochet had brought while my dad (who also ended up working in Chile in the 1980s, though he didn’t live there) focused on the human rights horrors and indignation at the role of the CIA in supporting Pinochet in his military coup against Salvador Allende. The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism would have added useful fuel to their debate. The book is by Sebastián Edwards, himself one of the Chicago boys—a Chilean-born economist trained at the University of Chicago—but he tries to be even-handed. Visiting Chile during the 2019 demonstrations he notes the furious crowds and graffiti around Santiago: ‘Neoliberalism was born and will die in Chile!’ The book has a broader interest, beyond Chile, for the debate on neoliberalism generally and what it does and does not mean.” Read more...

Notable Nonfiction of Fall 2023

Sophie Roell, Journalist