Ironic Excitement Builds for Timothy Geithner's Book

Despite saving the American economy while maintaining his boyish good looks, Timothy Geithner can't catch a break. Ever since it was announced that he is writing a book about his term as President Obama's Treasury Secretary during the Great Recession, Geithner has been mocked for the forthcoming tome. The hashtag #GeithnerBookTitles has become a sensation all of its own, with faux-titles like Tale of Two Citis practically writing themselves.

Today, the book's publisher, Crown, inadvertently released the actual name of the book, Stress Test, in a catalog listing for the title. The name of the book was first noticed by journalist Lizzie O'Leary:

Please oh pretty please let this be the real title: http://t.co/NUXZeJQ8Ag

— Lizzie O'Leary (@lizzieohreally) August 26, 2013

David Drake, a senior vice president at Crown, quickly assured The Atlantic Wire that that had merely been "a working title," one that should have never found its way into the catalog. He also says that the current release date — listed as May 6, 2014 — is merely "a placeholder."

This didn't prevent Twitter from having fun at Geithner's expense:

UPDATE: Geithner's memoir still untitled. It's still being, uh, stress tested... http://t.co/fg4MKlIsQl

— Steve Goldstein (@MKTWgoldstein) August 26, 2013

Geithner's forthcoming memoir appears to be called "Stress Test." (Or "On Timothy Geithner.") http://t.co/9oY8wCzyPW via @lizzieohreally

— Annie Lowrey (@AnnieLowrey) August 26, 2013

In case you're interested in actually reading about the policy decisions that Geithner made, his book is described as follows in the catalog copy:

[image error]Secretary Geithner will chronicle how decisions were made during the most harrowing moments of the crisis, when policy makers faced a fog of uncertainty, risked catastrophic outcomes, and had no institutional memory or recent precedent to guide them. He will aim to answer the most important--and to many the most troubling--questions about the choices he and his colleagues made, the strategies they adopted, and the economic aftermath. By describing what went right, what went wrong and the lessons learned along the way, Secretary Geithner intends to provide a "play book" that future policy makers can draw on and that the public can use to understand how and why governments act in crisis.

As for the cover? We doubt it's the finished product. Still, New York magazine's Kevin Roose offered his thoughts on the design:

Stress Test will also, hopefully, have a different cover from the one currently pictured. Because this one is boring. And has the wrong title on it.

That it does, Kevin. That it does.