At the beginning of January, I committed to reviewing “The Theft of A Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millenials’ Economic Future” by Joseph C. Sternberg for the LSE Review of Books. It was going to be a first for me, and naturally I had many questions on how to go about it. Should I make extensive notes? Should I approach it like I did my lit-review for the thesis? Do I need to read the book multiple times (even though I have no spare time)? Eventually, through chats with friends and reading the guidelines in the blog, I settled on my favourite chapters and read those multiple times. Actually reviewing the book meant that I learned a lot more from Sternberg that I otherwise would have, if it had just been for myself. But, it also meant that reading felt like a chore instead of my usual method of relaxation.

Here is an excerpt from the review I did:

In The Theft of A Decade, Joseph C. Sternberg begins by pointing at the paradox facing Millennials today: daily life is easier, safer and more comfortable than ever before, but finding a job with long-term security, or purchasing one’s first house, is much harder. Sternberg, a member of the editorial board at the Wall Street Journal, asserts that this predicament is not of the Millennials’ own doing, but is in fact an outcome of the poor policy decisions taken by the Baby Boomer generation. He breaks down the historic events that led to the current economic environment as an appeal to the Baby Boomers to recognise their mistakes and allow the Millennials an opportunity to solve their own troubles.

Please do follow the link if you’re interested to read it - hope you enjoy it!