George Goodman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Jerome Waldo Goodman (August 10, 1930 —), is an American economist, author, and broadcast economics commentator, best known by his pseudonym Adam Smith (which intentionally evokes the 18th century Scottish economist of the same name). He also writes fiction under the name "George Goodman."
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[edit] Background, education, and career
Goodman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Alexander Mark Goodman and Viona Cremer Goodman. He received a scholarship to Harvard University, where he also served as the editor of The Harvard Crimson. Goodman furthered his education by attending Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar studying political economy.
His personal style of presenting economic facts and data has been described as that of "a witty, urbane dinner guest, a droll observer of human affairs,"[1] rather than a stodgy economics professor. In fact, Goodman pioneered a style of financial writing that made the language and concepts of Wall Street more understandable and accessible to the typical investor.
Goodman's first non-fiction book, The Money Game (1968), was a number one best seller for over a year and changed the style of financial writing from that point forward. Of his many books Supermoney, Paper Money, Powers of Mind, and The Roaring Eighties are among the best known. During a stint in Hollywood, he wrote screen plays including one from his book The Wheeler Dealers which starred James Garner and Lee Remick.
He was a member of the Editorial Board of The New York Times, an editor of Esquire Magazine, and was a founding member of New York Magazine where he nurtured such writers as Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin, and Gloria Steinem.
In 1984, Goodman came to television as the anchor and editor-in-chief of Adam Smith's Money World. Running on Public Broadcasting in the U.S., it became the most honored program in its field, winning eight Emmy nominations and four Emmy Awards, as well as the Overseas Press Club Award. As Adam Smith, George Goodman also created and anchored a follow-up show, Adam Smith's Money Game that aired in over forty countries and was the first American business news show broadcast in the Soviet Union.
[edit] Recent work
Beginning in 2000 Goodman traveled the globe each year doing specials on countries and regions with fast-growning or emerging economies such as China, Russia, the Pacific Rim, Latin America, India, and Israel. Goodman has also conducted interviews with leaders in both the fields of business and politics — ranging from Warren Buffett to Mikhail Gorbachev.
Beginning March 10, 2008, Goodman appeared along with two other personal finance advisors in the "Dollars and Sense" television advertising campaign for the Hyundai Motor Company (the other two were Ray Lucia and Larry Winget).[2]
[edit] Publications
Fiction:
- The Bubble Makers (1955)
- A Time for Paris (1957)
- The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
Nonfiction:
- The Money Game (1968)
- Supermoney (1972)
- Paper Money (1981)
- Powers of Mind (1982)
- The Roaring ’80s (1988)
[edit] Notes
- ^ George J(erome) W(aldo) Goodman. Dictionary of Literary Biography. Bookrags.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
- ^ The "Dollars and Sense" Sales Event!. Hyundai Motor Company. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
[edit] See also
- Economics
- Political economy
- Adam Smith (the 18th century Scottish economist)
- List of economists
