Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More

LIVELY, ACCESSIBLE WRITING: Rob Larson's day job as a professor of economics might conjure images of stuffy academics, but his ironic sensibility and razor sharp wit set him apart. Larson's distinctive style--honed during his time as a scriptwriter--combines this sense of humor with an ability to synthesize a tremendous amount of financial data to produce some of the most accessible and engaging economic writing out there. Think Paul Krugman if he were a socialist (and actually funny).

ROBUST MARKET FOR POPULAR LEFT ECONOMICS: YouTube shows such as Economic Update with Richard Wolff (a weekly show averaging tens of thousands of views), the massive size of Adam Tooze's substack subscriber base, as well as the robust sales of our own People's Guide to Capitalism all demonstrate the growing interest in rigorous but accessible analysis of economic developments.

PERFECTLY TIMED TO CAPITALIZE ON SKEPTICISM OF RULING CLASS: As wealth inequality continues to spiral out of control, there has emerged a growing sense that the world's billionaires might not deserve the relentless veneration heaped on them. From Bernie Sanders' recent viral confrontation with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, to the growing strike wave gripping the country, evidence abounds that a healthy skepticism about the inequities of our economic system and its beneficiaries is becoming the rule. Mastering the Universe will connect with these sentiments and offer a peek behind the curtain of the wealthy.

Rob Larson is a professor of economics at Tacoma Community College and author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley, and Capitalism vs. Freedom. He writes for Jacobin, In These Times, and Dollars & Sense. He is the House Economist at Current Affairs. Larson lives in Tacoma, Washington (because Jeff Bezos has made Seattle unliveably expensive).