Andy Kessler

AO: United Paper Shuffle

From the cutting room floor, as it were, AO’s got an excerpt so exclusive that it didn’t even make it into Andy Kessler’s latest book, Running Money, about the paper shuffle that transformed the airline business and Wall Street itself.

http://www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=7451_0_1_0_C

    “You can’t wear jeans,” the woman at the United Airlines counter told me.
    “What was that?” I asked.
    “I’m sorry, we have rules and codes of conduct to adhere to. I can’t let you sit in First Class wearing jeans.”
    “Really?” I had a cheap suit in my bag, but the last thing I wanted to do was dash into some phone booth and change into super executive so I could fly to Chicago.
    “We can’t have some sort of riff-raff in our premium sections.”
    “Well, I’m headed to a…”
    “This is United Airlines, global leaders in air travel and destinations.”
    “I’m interv…”
    “Just a second. Your record is flashing red. This is very odd. Are you some sort of VIP?”

Running Money - The Missing Chapters: Gold Bites

Since the release of my book Running Money, I’ve been flooded with feedback on my margin surplus theory. Some agree, some disagree. Like my eighth grade algebra teacher, most wanted me to show more of my work on how I got to my conclusion. Fair enough. Luckily I am in possession of The Missing Chapters, a section of Running Money that ended up on the cutting room floor (to make room for some other fun story, probably the Elvis Impersonator CEO!)

I had spent some time in the book describing the industrial revolution so I could look for patterns in Silicon Valley today. I did the same for money and banks and classical gold standards, which got cut. So here it is - I hope it can provide more insight into international trade and an intellectual property world.