The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 15, April 13, 2008, Article 6

BOOK REVIEW: THE EXCHANGE ARTIST BY JANE KAMENSKY

Anne E. Bentley of the Massachusetts Historical Society
writes: "I'd like to recommend Jane Kamensky's recently
published biography of Andrew Dexter, Jr. to your readers.
It is truly a superb biography and anyone who collects obsolete
bank notes will really enjoy the story.  Titled 'The Exchange
Artist: A Tale of High-Flying Speculation & America's First
Banking Collapse', this is an extremely well-researched and
written account of one man's manipulation of private banks
to finance his real estate empire.

"Kamensky has a definite gift for telling a story and, once
begun, this book is almost impossible to put down.  Even her
end-notes are fascinating.  Those readers who live in the
Boston area may be able to hear her discuss her work at the
Massachusetts Historical Society - we're working to schedule
a visit. I'm hoping she'll bring the computer-aided design
drawings of the Exchange Coffee House that she commissioned
for her book -- an innovative approach to illustrate a building
that disappeared ten years after it was erected, and the only
way for modern readers to understand the scale and scope of
Dexter's project. A pre-publication interview with Ms. Kamensky
gives more details on her work."

[Many thanks to Anne for bringing this book to our attention.
-Editor]

To read the pre-publication interview with Ms. Kamensky, see:
interview with Ms. Kamensky,

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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