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Arts & Entertainment

Ellisville Author Puts Out Economic 'Wildfire'

Robert Srote of Ellisville aims to fix a broken system with his new book about the American economy. Srote also will appear Saturday at a St. Louis book-signing event.

There are few people who have not felt the pinch of the modern economy. There is optimism to be found in last month's report that job creation grew last month, but American unemployment still sits just shy of 9 percent, and finding a job can sometimes feels like a full-time career.

Robert Srote of Ellisville hopes to help change that. His new book “Wildfire: the Legislation that Ignited the Great Recession” is a simple yet powerful look at the causes and solutions for the worst economic crisis in decades. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Srote will be at Mokabe's Coffeehouse in St. Louis for a book-signing.

A residential architect by trade, Srote first conceived of the idea for “Wildfire” while studying for his MBA at Maryville University here in St. Louis.

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“In late 2008, the housing industry began to systematically collapse, directly impacting my livelihood and I wanted to get to the root cause of the economic catastrophe,” Srote said.  “It wasn’t until I completed about half of the book that I realized that this is information that I need to share.” Nearly two years after beginning his research, the book was released on January 11, 2011. 

"Wildfire" stares the country’s political and economic systems straight in the eye by correlating direct faults of the current state of the economy with political corruption, consumer deceit and greedy executives.The language is sometimes harsh, but sometimes strong rhetoric is an ideal antidote.

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That is not to say "Wildfire" is all bark and no bite. Although surprisingly thin at 195 pages, 16 of them are dedicated to footnotes where Srote references specific Congressional bill numbers and other legal documents.

Srote is quick to point out that he is not simply finger-pointing at a few select lawmakers.

Despite the passion of the text, it also is reasonably non-partisan in tone, avoiding blaming any one political party for allowing the economy drastically deteriorate.

“I wrote this book with the intent of information distribution only," Srote said.

WHAT: A book signing of Wildfire: The Legislation that Ignited the Great Recession by Robert Srote.
WHEN
: Saturday, April 2, 2011 from 1 - 3 p.m.
WHERE
: Mokabe's Coffeehouse, 3606 Arsenal St., St. Louis, MO 63116

 

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