The Pope's Children - David McWilliams

impr0v

Did any of you, like me, get this book for christmas? I actually got two copies as it was well known that I was a fan of Mr. McWilliams, having subscribed to his newsletter and attended one of the Leviathan gigs he hosted. The book however, is a disappointment. Overly littered with jargon of his own manufacture (David seems more interested in 'jargonomics' than economics, perhaps after being widely credited with christening the 'celtic tiger') and repetitive, the book lacks any clear structure or narrative and crucially, doesn't even attempt to reach any real conclusions about where we're at and where we're going. It works to a certain extent as an attempt to catalogue, via caricature, Ireland at a moment some point in mid-2005, but does little more. The book is, perhaps understandably, devoid of any technical discussion or analysis, the reliance is instead upon some isolated trivia-esque facts that are repeatedly dropped into different areas of the book, and overall it seems to have been scantily researched.

In conclusion, best avoided, read 'Status Anxiety' by Alain de Botton and apply it to the Irish situation yourself.

segadreamcast

Spot on review. I also used to be a big fan of McWilliams, subscribing to his newsletter and watching The Big Bite regularly. However, with this book, he seems to have bought into his own hype - poor poor narrative structure and too many attempts to *label everything* (re: jargonomics). Some things just don't fit into a socio-economic group David, accept it and move on.

Lacking any clear and discernable message, McWilliams' book seems to try and cross pop-culture with economic 'theory' and fails on just about every level.

PDelux

I agree with both of you.

The pages are littered with numbers and percentages which I tend to overlook as I'm reading. In my opinion he should have used tables and graphs to show these numbers more clearly.

Madge

I got this book for Christmas aswell. Its an interesting read, but there are a bit too many statistics and percentages in some of the chapters, which seem to be selectively chosen and presented in such a way as to ignore or belittle other facts that may exist- the phrase "there are only lies, damned lies and statistics" spring to mind.

I also thought there was perhaps a too heavy reliance on sexual references and sexual puns, so to speak -for example "property porn" and the "erection index"! which I suppose make the book more entertaining and accessible for the ordinary Joe Soap!

Also, the author comprehensively explains simple economic terms- perfect competition, for example, but then I had to re-read the chapter about the property boom and the property cycle as I felt he hadn't really explained it that well.

An interesting read but could have been edited a bit better.

irishguy

I am reading it at the moment and i am not very impressed. He uses lots of statistics in a way which sometimes leads people to misinterpret them. Only on chapter 7 though.

Such as when he is explaining the increasing birth rate.

"...there were more babies delivered in Dublin than in the entire province of Munster last year - an area 20 times bigger."

This is true but the population of the greater Dublin area is larger than that of Munster, so naturally enough there would be more births.

Also he trys to make his own label for everyone and everything in the country in a hope one might stick.

Also he knows how to charge too, €22.99.

segadreamcast

If someone ever ever tries to impress me on an intellectual level by using a term from this book ("There goes breakfast roll man!", I'll stop talking to them. I re-read a chapter there with my cynical hat on and, goodness, what selective drivel he has churned out with the statistics!

Too right IrishGuy - "Also he knows how to charge too, €22.99.". Knows how to compliment himself also (RE: Back cover.)

PDelux

I also thought there was perhaps a too heavy reliance on sexual references and sexual puns,

This is exactly what I thought! I was tempted to count the number of sexual references because it must be way above average for a book on economics.(is this book about economics!?)

Another point, he complains at the start about commentators in the media giving a negative spin on Ireland these days and says that he wants to show the positive side of the boom but then continues to describe long commutes,overweight people,high cost of living,etc.

Even though there are bad points about the book, I'd say he'll be back with a better one in the future..

Cactus Col

I haven't read this book, I was put off it by David McWilliams appearing on a number of shows, and giving the impression that this was more an accessory for people who wanted to look clever then it is a book. And phrases such as "Breakfast Roll Man" I found deeply irritating the more I heard it (and I've heard it a lot over the past number of weeks)

magpie

Is there any reference to "Smug middle-class economist living in an enormous house in Dalkey with his rich wife - Man" in the book?

I had some respect for him til I saw him on the panel, I now see him to be what he is. A chancer, and a smug one at that.

PDelux

.. you just raised another point: i saw him on a number of shows too and what he said on those shows was exactly, and i mean word-for-word, what appears in the book.
If you combine all the comments he made on various shows leading up to the release it is basically a reading of the book.
I think this implies lack of depth.

impr0v

Despite the book I wouldn't write the man off. There is a degree of smugness about him, but he is a shrewd (and photogenic) economic observer with a talent for spotting trends and an ability to communicate financial technicalities to lay people. His cv speaks for itself. I get the impression that the book was rushed out in time for the lucrative christmas market and then badly edited to compound the problem. I'd imagine it has paid off in the short term but may turn out to be an ill-judged move considering this snapshot of its reception. Perhaps his abilities don't lend themselves to full length books and he's better sticking to the newsletter type format. I for one, however, won't be rushing out to get the inevitable follow up to see if practice makes perfect.

cashback

Was looking at the picture on the front cover of the book today. The people on the front are obviously not Irish. Minor point but when the book's all bout the people of this country.
Dipped in and out of this. Makes some decent points but also lot of generalisations that people outside of his neck of South Dublin wouldn't recognise.

Madge

cashback wrote:

Was looking at the picture on the front cover of the book today. The people on the front are obviously not Irish. Minor point but when the book's all bout the people of this country.
Dipped in and out of this. Makes some decent points but also lot of generalisations that people outside of his neck of South Dublin wouldn't recognise.

Actually I thought the picture may have been taken at a Slane concert!
What generalisations were those that you're reffering to?

Butterbear

I am quite the fan of Mr MacWilliams, but the above reviews are dreadful. I'm off to read the book for myself and decide what its all about. I saw him on The Panel too... he wasn't smug.. I think it was shyness. Ironic that he and Hook were on the same show, being old Nestalk buddies n' all..

lordgoat

Butterbear wrote:

I am quite the fan of Mr MacWilliams, but the above reviews are dreadful. I'm off to read the book for myself and decide what its all about. I saw him on The Panel too... he wasn't smug.. I think it was shyness. Ironic that he and Hook were on the same show, being old Nestalk buddies n' all..

Wasn't smug ??? Were you watching the show? i don't think the man has the ability to not be smug. He's got the most punchable face next to the guy who play's harry potter

magpie

Wasn't smug ??? Were you watching the show? i don't think the man has the ability to not be smug. He's got the most punchable face next to the guy who play's harry potter

Seconded

irishguy

I saw that too and i taught he was a bit smug, but i think he always is, sure he went to Trinity .The guy knows his stuff though, i have read a bit more of the book and i am beginning to like it more (more economics and less labelling). I will have to read the whole thing before i can make a decision on it.

Trouble

I don't think that he was smug either! He is too cute to be smug. Read the book over christmas and thought it was excellent. Even hit close to the bone on some occasions which is why I think that all the 'Decklanders and Hi-Co's ' posting above are a bit peed-off! He had his finger on the button and decribed trillions of people I know.....He seems to have done his research as well. Saw him at Electric Picnic last year which gave me a bit of respect for the man but wondering now if he was just researching the Popes Children partying!!!!!

fiddlechick

Improv mentioned Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety - I think McWilliams interviewed him on Agenda - I could be madly wrong but I've a vague memory of it.

One blog ( http://realitycheckdotie.blogspot.com/2005/12/david-mcwilliams-paddy-david-brooks.html ) I read said most of his stuff was from David Brooks and applied to Ireland. I haven't read him, but looked up some of his articles and they are similar to Brooks.
It passed a nice Stephens day afternoon, but nothing more.
Wouldn't spend 22 quid on it again.

DublinWriter

PDelux wrote:

In my opinion he should have used tables and graphs to show these numbers more clearly.

Nothing would put off a prospective buyer flicking through the book in Hoggis-Figgis than coming across tables and graphs!

I like David McWilliams a lot, but his fondness for inventing demiographic-nomenculture is annoying, i.e. breakfast-roll man, Spar man, Destiny's Child, etc etc etc.

Once an economist, always an economist.

There was the guts of a very good idea there, but he should have teamed up with a humourist (someone like an Irish Mark Thomas) to co-author the book.

pork99

irishguy wrote:

Also he knows how to charge too, €22.99.

Better wait for the paperback then or even better, going by the reviews here, second hand paperback

Obviously I haven't read it but I get the impression that he might be trying to do an "accessible" book about economics a la "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner which I read and enjoyed. Anyone read both books? Comparisons?

segadreamcast

pork99 wrote:

Better wait for the paperback then or even better, going by the reviews here, second hand paperback

Obviously I haven't read it but I get the impression that he might be trying to do an "accessible" book about economics a la "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner which I read and enjoyed. Anyone read both books? Comparisons?

Yeah, Freakonomics is better. I think this is where DublinWriter was coming from with his collaboration idea... McWilliams simply isn't a very good writer. A good economist? Meh. A good social scientist? A-ha. There's where he excels a little - but he's nowhere near the level of Mr. Levitt and Dubner.

He tries and, ultimately, fails in my view to deliver an accessible economics book - though that's clearly the route he was going for with his easily identifiable 'profiles' - decklanders, breakfast roll man etc etc. The book just stinks of something - something other than McWilliams' unbelievable arrogance, that is.