Making the Money Sing

Reviews / Votes

Making the Money Sing should be required reading for any philanthropist, new or experienced. John Tirman shows that imaginative and creative donors can influence public policy and successfully engage issues with all the momentum of the Cold War. Tirman also points out the need for every donor to consider what might happen if the goal is achieved. Donors did not bring as intense a focus to building peace after the Cold War as they did to ending the Cold War. This case study of philanthropy, the peace movement, and public policy should encourage anyone to believe that it is possible to make a difference, however complex and seemingly intractable the problem. -- Adele Simmons, former president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation A lucid gem of a book, John Tirman's Making the Money Sing is the untold story of how a handful of good-hearted foundation officers leveraged private wealth to help bring an end to the Cold War. Tirman opens our eyes to the critical role played by foundations in the rough and tumble jousting of foreign policy making. This fine book should be an inspiration to anyone working in the philanthropic world. But it is also a reminder to all scholars that 'following the money' is essential to writing good history. -- Kai Bird, author of The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy & William Bundy, Brothers in Arms and coeditor of Hiroshima's Shadow John Tirman's thoughtful book provides a fresh and provocative analysis of how and why the Cold War ended. And his views of civil society in the post-Cold War era will set off a new debate amongst internationalists, philanthropists, and social activists. -- Archibald L. Gillies, president, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Very few historians have paid attention to how American foundations and private donors have helped shape U.S. foreign policy and public opinion on international issues. But they will have to do so after reading John Tirman's book. Tirman's examination of the role philanthropy played in the arms control and intervention debates of the 1980s and 90s is subtle and fascinating-all the more because he was an insider in the process himself. And he has added some new, previously unsung visionaries to the cast of characters who deserve credit for helping to end the madness of the Cold War. -- Adam Hochschild, lecturer at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of To End All Wars and Spain in Our Hearts