Renowned author of economics and finance Peter L. Bernstein will speak at Hamilton College on Wednesday, March 29, at 5:30 p.m. in the Chapel. The lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President and the History department and is free and open to the public.
Bernstein's most recent book Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation (2005), treats American history rather than finance. It explores the building of the Erie Canal and how it furthered the Industrial Revolution and the global expansion of capitalism. Bernstein argues in the book, "By bringing the interior to the seas and the seas to the interior, the Erie Canal would shape a great nation, knit the sinews of the Industrial Revolution, promote globalization and revolutionize the production and supply of food for the whole world."
Bernstein was a classmate of John F. Kennedy at Harvard, where he graduated magna cum laude; he was an intelligence officer during World War II, researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank, economics professor, money manager, pioneer in investment analysis, historian, expert on risk and author. He is president of Peter L. Bernstein Inc., an economic consulting firm to institutional investors and corporations worldwide. Bernstein is the author of nine books in economics and finance plus countless articles in professional journals such as The Harvard Business Review and the Financial Analysts Journal, and in the popular press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Worth Magazine and Bloomberg publications.
Running concurrently with Peter Bernstein's visit to Hamilton will be a library exhibit on the early history of the Erie Canal. The Burke Library possesses an extensive collection of historical memorabilia—newspapers, pamphlets, directories, maps— on the Mohawk Valley and the Erie Canal. The Burke Library will display these materials, as well as travel guides written by European visitors, to document the construction and topography of New York State's great inland waterway.
