Nancy’s Reviews > THE NEW GILDED AGE > Status Update

Read essay (19/33) "Metamoney" Adam Gopnik continues to write for The New Yorker as a staff writer, a role he has held since 1986. He's a a real Duracell bunny...still ticking! Although this topic about US money (bills) dd. 1998...it is in 2026 a very entertaining read. Gopnik always gives his writing a engaging whiff of humour...I love it!

Read essay (18/33) "A Sense of Change" by John Updike. Updike was a poster boy for The New Yorker. He submitted 153 poems and 179 articles fiction (highest count) and reviews. His work spanned over 50 years, totaling nearly 850 pieces. This little gem (very short essay) was wonderful...bringing back memories of a childhood in which I was dazzled by coins, Buffalo Nickel, Lincoln Penny and remember the Mercury dime?

Read essay (17/33) " Sweat is Good" . This was a fascinating look at the garment district in NYC written 25 years ago. It is a narrative nonfiction, typical of Buford's immersive reporting.

Read essay "Moby Dick in Manhattan"( 16/33). Nice read....about the author James Wilcox. It detailed his struggle to survive as a writer devoted purely to literary fiction in 1994.

Read essays 15/33: "Landing From the Sky" by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is the basis of her 2003 book "Random Family. Essay was a snapshot of an extended family in the Bronx as they navigate poverty, drug dealing, abusive relationships, teenage motherhood, and repeated incarceration over more than a decade. Excellent writing....

Read essays 14/33 "The Quarter of Living Dangerously (24.04.2000) by D. Denby. It feels that the world has shifted in 2000 to the "New Economy". It produces "...a new kind of personality —the man or woman who is morally promiscuous, whose character has the liquid properties of cash.."

Read 13/33 essays: Today's essay by Malcom Gladwell about Lois Weisberg (Chicago) ...was the best read so far! This profile was the basis for his book The Tipping Point: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
EXCELLENT ...writer M. Gladwell!

Read 11/33 essays: "Marisa and Jeff"....how insider trading on Wall Street fells good at first ...then turns into a hot mess. Most of these essays were written 25 years ago. So I wonder if employees using AI tools to plan or conceal insider trades...could escape detection? We'll have to wait and see.

Read 10/33 essays: Today is a look at Mary Meeker (1959) "The Girl in the Bubble". Who? In 1990s She was celebrated for her stock-picking acumen. Now, Mary Meeker digests vast amounts of data to highlight the unprecedented pace of AI adoption and innovation and how businesses can create an explosion of wealth. Mary just keeps on ticking...like the Duracell bunny!

Read 9/33 essays: "Kids in the Conference Room" (1999) looks at management consulting jobs that were once a top aspiration for college graduates, prestige, high pay, fast-track career growth. By reading about the past I wondered if AI could replace these young people? AI reinvents consulting as higher-value..but does not make it obsolete. Nothing can replace empathy.