“In Direct, Judge gives us a rich, revealing chronicle of how corporate behemoths and bad public policy have put too much distance between farm and table, manufacturer and shopper—all while inciting consumer gluttony and pillaging the environment. It’s a clarion call for the simple pleasure of conducting direct exchanges with makers who pour their hearts into sustainable products. If shopping at Walmart or Amazon has started to feel dangerously soulless, you must read this book.”  — Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything Store

“For more than two hundred years, modernity was thought to involve the transition from gifts and personal ties to a world dominated by impersonal markets and efficient transactions. In this brilliant contribution, Judge turns the established notion of 'progress' on its head. Middlemen have become too big, too pervasive, and too powerful. We need to understand when and how more direct connections work—and move our lives, our businesses, and our public policy in that direction. Essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of good jobs and the world we leave for our children.” — Simon Johnson, coauthor of Jump-Starting America andformer chief economist at the International Monetary Fund

“Though our modern commercial economy yearns to give us everything, there is something deeply frustrating about this system. In this beautifully written and powerful book, Judge helps us see a different way forward. With strategies that inform the policies of government and individuals alike, this is a blueprint for remaking the machine—and an urgent call that we get it done.” — Lawrence Lessig, professor at Harvard Law School and author of Republic, Lost

“This book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand how markets work today. This is a book that explains why rural communities are losing their small farms and businesses. This book is about how finance is slowly killing the American dream. It is a warning about the myriad harms the mono-crop and homogenized markets of the near future will impoverish community life and inhibit innovation. Judge is a top scholar in the field whose refreshingly readable story will resonate with every American who has stopped by a local grocery story or purchased an item online recently.”  — Mehrsa Baradaran, author of The Color of Money and How the Other Half Banks

“The modern way we consume has led to tremendous efficiency and abundance. But at what price? In Direct, Judge invites us to consider the human costs of losing touch with the source of the products and services in our lives. She makes a subversive argument that may just change how you see your next purchase.”  — Arthur C. Brooks, professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School and author of From Strength to Strength

“With Direct, Judge shows us novel ways to reconnect in a world where powerful middlemen have pulled us apart. She explains how direct exchange—including between farmers and families, creators and collectors, through farmers markets and digital platforms—can strengthen our economy and our sense of self.”  — Jennifer Taub, author of Big Dirty Money and Other People’s Houses

“A fascinating and disturbing examination of the modern economy and how it works—and who benefits.” — Kirkus Reviews

Kathryn Judge is the Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. She has done extensive research on financial markets and regulation, frequently publishing her work in top journals and presenting to audiences in the United States and abroad. She served as a clerk for Judge Richard Posner and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Wesleyan University, she lives with her husband and their two daughters in New York City.