The Good Rich and What They Cost Us

By Robert F. Dalzell Jr., Frederick Rudolph Professor of American History. Yale University Press, 2012. Are the extremely rich—the much-discussed “one percent”—indispensable drivers of economic growth, or are they robber barons who perpetuate inequality? Does the positive impact of their philanthropy offset  their possession of a grossly disproportionate amount of wealth? In this book, Dalzell takes a hard look at the essential paradox at the core of the American Dream, examining the lives of wealthy individuals past and present.