This is probably the only time you might not fall asleep while watching C-span. This video is a few months old but I have not seen it posted anywhere.
James Grant spoke about his experiences as a financial journalist and his body of work including a biography of Thomas Reed, speaker of the House of Representatives from 1889 to 1891, and again from 1895 to 1899. During Reed’s tenures he increased the power of the speaker and, according to Mr. Grant, “changed forever the way the House of Representatives does its business.” The former speaker did so by establishing the power of majority rule instead of allowing the minority to hold up consideration or passage of legislation.
James Grant has authored six books including a biography of John Adams. The rest of his books have been about financial matters including a biography of Bernard Baruch. In 1983, he founded Grant’s Interest Rate Observer (which Seth Klarman reads), a subscription based journal of the financial markets.
