Michael Lewis’ Latest Book Examines Chaotic Transition after 2016 Election
October 05, 2018
Michael Lewis
By Joe Garvey
What are the consequences of turning over control of the government to people who "have no idea how it works"?
That's the question Michael Lewis poses in his latest book, "The Fifth Risk," which was released this month. The New York Times bestselling author will kick off Old Dominion University's President's Lecture Series for this academic year at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Written in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, the book "paints a dire picture of the chaos and mismanagement in the departments of Energy, Agriculture and Commerce during the transition from President Barack Obama to President Trump," according to The New York Times. It also takes readers "into the engine rooms of a government under attack by its own leaders," according to Lewis' web site.
"I was shocked by the richness of the material," Lewis told the Times. "Buried in the middle of this is a civics lesson, for myself as much as anyone else."
The University Village Bookstore will have the books available for sale at the lecture.
Lewis also wrote "Moneyball," "The Blind Side" and "The Big Short," all of which were made into movies. Another of his books,"Liar's Poker," is based partly on his experience as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers.
"It's not that different from writing about Wall Street, these big, gray institutions that are suddenly interesting," he told the Times about his new book. "From a literary point of view, Trump has electrified the material by the threat of neglect and mismanagement on a scale that we haven't seen before."
Lewis is a columnist for Bloomberg News and a contributing writer to Vanity Fair. His articles have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker and Sports Illustrated.
Lewis' speech is a ticketed event co-sponsored by the Norfolk Forum and presented by Signature Family Wealth Advisors. Tickets are on sale at Ynottix.com. Discounted tickets are available by presenting a valid ODU ID at the Constant Center box office located at the corner of Hampton Boulevard and 43rd Street.
The President's Lecture Series serves as a marketplace for ideas, featuring renowned speakers who share their knowledge, experience, opinions and accomplishments. Discussing timely topics, the series puts diversity first, showcasing authors, educators, business innovators and political figures.
Next up is Imbolo Mbue, who be the 41st Annual Literary Festival speaker. She wrote the novel "Behold the Dreamers," which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was an Oprah's Book Club selection. She will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 24. That event is free and open to the public.
For more information on the series, go to https://www.odu.edu/life/culture/lecture-series/presidents.
