The Conscience of a Liberal

Economist and New York Times writer Krugman expands on the angry-liberal economic perspective of his newspaper columns, documenting the shrinking of the middle class and the increase in American economic inequality with statistics and well-chosen examples. Krugman's polemic is read by soap-opera actor Culp with unassuming ease. Culp reads like he imagines an economics professor might sound, but jazzes up the learning with a bit of actorly pizzazz. Having never met a sentence he didn't like, Culp turns Krugman's pessimistic diatribe into an oddly jaunty march through economic theory. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; Culp's voice is pleasant and makes for a nice accompaniment to Krugman's tome. Without him, consciences might not have been quite so stirred. Simultaneous release with the W.W. Norton hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 17).