I Love Capitalism!: An American Story

Why it is worth your time

I Love Capitalism! is Ken Langone's 2018 memoir. Langone grew up in Roslyn Heights on Long Island, the son of a plumber, worked his way through Bucknell and NYU night school, and became an investment banker. He took Ross Perot's Electronic Data Systems public in 1968, co-founded Home Depot with Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in 1978, and later gave his name to the NYU medical center. The book is a defense of American capitalism told through his own rise. Jason recommended it on the podcast in September 2020 and ran it in his TWiST book club that month. Langone is a self-made New Yorker of the previous generation, which is Jason's favorite kind of subject. It suits readers who like plain-spoken business memoirs. The caveat is that the title is the thesis: this is a memoir written as a case for capitalism, not a study of it.