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Amity Shlaes  

Chair of the Coolidge Foundation, Economic Thinker, NYT Best-Selling Author

Amity Shlaes, a sought-after keynote speaker who places the current economy in the context of the past has given speeches and lectures covering a wide range of topics to financial institutions, corporations, colleges, universities, and historical societies.

Amity Shlaes is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, The Forgotten Man: Graphic, a full length illustrated version of the same book drawn by Paul Rivoche, Coolidge, a full-length biography of the thirtieth president and The Greedy Hand: How Taxes Drive Americas Crazy. National Review called the Forgotten Man "the finest history of the Great Depression ever written." The Economist wrote of Coolidge that the book "deserves to be widely read" and made it an editor's choice for 2013. The Forgotten Man: Graphic reached the number 1 spot in its bestseller category.

Miss Shlaes chairs the board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, a national foundation based in the birthplace of President Coolidge. The Foundation's goal is to share Coolidge with Americans, by hosting high school debate and events at the Coolidge site and through newer media. She is especially interested in education.

Miss Shlaes serves at Presidential Scholar at King's College, where she teaches Coolidge. Prior to teaching at King's, Miss Shlaes taught at New York University's Stern School of Business. Over the years she has served at the Council on Foreign Relations (as senior fellow in economic history) and the George W. Bush Presidential Center, where she was one of four directors, working on economic programs.

Many readers know Miss Shlaes from the Wall Street Journal, where she served on the editorial board, writing on foreign policy, taxation and other topics, or from the Financial Times and Bloomberg, each of which carried her syndicated column over the years. Currently, Miss Shlaes appears in print Forbes and in National Review. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale College, Miss Shlaes is married to fellow journalist and editor Seth Lipsky.

Speech Topics


The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression

Leading Through the Power of Silence: How Following President Coolidge’s Style of Less Management Can Lead to More Success

Presidents vs. the Budget: How the Battle to Balance of U.S. Presidents – from Wilson to Nixon – Sheds Light on Today’s National Debt

Why Sheryl Sanberg Doesn’t Get It: Good GDP, Junk GDP, and the Fallacy of Leaning In

The Obamacare of History: How a Giant Program Befuddled and Challenged Americans and How They Overcame It

The President Who Said ‘No’: The Five Economic Lessons of Coolidge and the Solutions for Today’s Economic Problems

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