Book Description

Doing Business in China is essential reading for the manager or firm setting up a business for the first time in a complex market. The book provides vital knowledge about business practices, market conditions, negotiations, business organization and more. It emphasizes the importance of guanxi (relationships) as the underpinning of virtually all businesses in China. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

How to do the business in China ?
Doing business in China!
Relation, Relation And Relation....

If you are using your American or European style to work and even partner with China's firms, you must be failure in the end.

Relationship with the Government and officials are the major concerns when you stepping into the door of China.

Think Global and hire Local Chinese people is the only way to have the final success with your partner in China.

China means: " Always in the historical culture "
So don't think about China with your American Standard !

Try to learn with your local Chinese people (doer)

Anyway, China is opened now and also needed to face the ways for WTO ! Reckon, China can learn from their European and American business partners from today.

This book is essential to appreciating the Chinese psyche...
Particularly impressive is the author's approach at presenting the Chinese thought process in such a manner that Westerners can not only understand the Chinese psyche, but respect and learn from it as well. This book was perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read in a while. There is a a concerted effort to show business protocol and potential avenues of entry, but more importantly this book addresses the fundamental social concepts that need to be FULLY understood before attempting to grow in China.

authorative and insightful
Of the vast number of books about China, this one is a very useful account of how successfully doing business in China. Western Managers at the forefront in China should read this book which brings together a lifetime of research and practice on China. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Diverse, multi-faceted
Like its subject, this book is incredibly diverse and many-sided. With so many illustrious contributors, it's hard not to be enlightened.

Mandatory Reading
As an "international development studies" major, I have leared a lot about the issue at my university but have consistently felt that something was missing or maybe wrong. After field experience in rural Bolivia and increasing doubts about the development paradigm, my advisor pointed me to this book (along with Wolfgang Sachs's "Development Dictionary"). At that moment reading these two books, which share much in common, felt like an intellectual revelation. The insights of great authors such as Escobar, Rahnema, Illich, and Shiva felt like a fresh breeze compared to my past studies. The deep insights of the writers have spurred only more questions which have occupied my time and imagination since. Given the stale manner in which development is taught and discussed in the academia and the media, I feel that this book is mandatory for any development student or practitioner regarless of experience or age. It is bound to make you think.

Must have
This book is a must have for anyone critical of the development discourse. Heavy texts from around forty different progressive scholars are accompanied by boxes with excerpts from even more, such radical thinkers and activists. Refreshing and almost invaluable! ... Read more

Book Description

How did the rich countries really become rich? In this provocative new study, Ha-Joon Chang examines the great pressure on developing countries from the developed world to adopt certain "good policies" and "good institutions", seen today as necessary for economic development. Adopting an historical approach, Chang finds that the economic evolution of now-developed countries differed dramatically from the procedures that they now recommend to poorer nations. His conclusions are compelling and disturbing: that developed countries are attempting to "kick away the ladder" by which they have climbed to the top, thereby preventing developing counties from adopting policies and institutions that they themselves used. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An iconoclastic and sophiscated work
According to Michael Lind's book review in Prospect (Jan 2002), this book is "the most important book about the world economy to be published in years." And the author received the 2003 Myrdal Award for this book, which is awarded annually to a great academic achievement in the field of development/institutional economics following the late Swedish economist's name Gunar Myrdal who was a Nobel Prize laureate.

Prof. Ha-Joon Chang of Cambridge argues in this book that developed countries used some measures for promoting their economy in their earlier days of development, which they are now blaming for making the economies of developing country worse and the world economic order unfree.

The author reverses this logic. According to his arguments, policy-suggestions from such arguments of developed countries are in fact making the economy in developing countries lag behind and its development impossible, and such a rule of game in the world economy now can be rather unfair to them because developing countries even are often punished due to their using of the very same methods which developed ones used in the past.

As a critique of neo-liberal market fundamentalism, this book is very iconoclastic because it gives readers a sophisticated understanding of the real history of industrial development as well as pleasure of reading an academically original and creative work. This book is above all analytical in terms of using the method of historical comparisons. Some comparisons may be too bold. But its creativity and integrity in organizing the research overcome the limits of bold comparison. ... Read more

Book Description

Hardbound. The last two decades have seen exceptionally fast rates of change in every aspect of the telecommunications industry. These include major technology changes and the convergence of the broadcasting, information technology and telecommunications industries. The earlier view of telecommunications as a natural monopoly has now given way to one in which almost all parts are susceptible to some form of competition. Simultaneously, market structure has changed through the replacement of the former monopolistic, vertically integrated telephone companies by a variety of competing firms. These developments have been accompanied by major legislative and regulatory developments, including the passing in the United States of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and the introduction of a large number of new laws and regulations in Europe and elsewhere. The same changes have seen a massive expansion of independent regulatory agencies. This volume provides det ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good useful volume
As a user of this handbook for my research I have found it to be an extremely useful tool to learn about the various aspects of this field which has more or less been defined by this volume.

A real handbook
This is a real handbook. It covers the complete field of telecommunications: theories, technologies and pratice.

A MUST for everyone interested in telecommunications. ... Read more

Book Description

Peter Lindert inquires as to whether social policies that redistribute income impose constraints on economic growth. Although taxes and transfers have been debated for centuries, only recently have we been able to obtain a clear view of the evolution of social spending. Lindert argues that, contrary to the intuition of many economists and the ideology of many politicians, social spending has contributed to, rather than inhibited, economic growth. Peter Lindert is a prize-winning researcher and teacher at the University of California-Davis where he serves as President of the Economic History Association and as Co-Editor of its journal. His textbooks in international economics have been translated into at least eight other languages, and he has previously taught at the University of Essex, Harvard University, Moscow State University, and University of Wisconsin. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Clear headed and practical
This is a very informative book that clears up lots of misconceptions. It explains why the "wellfare state" is still around, even after so many death notices. The analysis shows that there is no net negative cost for comprehensive and universal social programs, and that there are often significant benefits. For those who can read this book without ideological and political blinders, there is much to learn from Peter Lindert's book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good intro for an Anglo-based audience
Pinder does a good job at taking a complex subject and distilling it to its essential elements. It won't surprise readers of this publisher that the author's perspective is almost entirely British. The author is also very favorably disposed toward the EU and does not provide "equal time" for the other side. That is his prerogative, of course, but it does not detract from the book.

The Merits of an Introduction
It is a good book. If you are looking for an introduction without getting into long theoretical discussions. The merit of this book is its simplicity. It tells the story of the European Union without leaving any of the main topics out. It reads easily. Has a few very useful charts and photographs. Its up to date, year 2001; I could not find another book that would bring the reader up to the launching of the Euro! The only reason it does not get five stars is that it is only a short introductory study and as a consequence it lacks depths, otherwise its a great book!

Concise introduction
Pinder launches into this short commentary with the in-depth historical foundation of the EU's formation. This is well brought up to date with the reasons for, and the outcome of, the different recent European Treaties. This is a must for anyone - who, like me, has/had a limited understanding of an important topic. A good concise introduction. ... Read more

Book Description

Written by internationally recognized crisis management expert Steven Fink, Sticky Fingers is the first practical guide that shows companies large and small, publicly traded or privately held, how to avoid huge financial losses from economic espionage, and what to do if a company believes it has been victimized. The FBI ranks economic espionage among the greatest threats to our national security since the end of the Cold War. It costs U.S. businesses more than $250 billion a year, and no company is immune from the risks.

Readers will be able to intimately follow every step behind the scenes of the landmark Avery Dennison/Four Pillars spy case and learn from the vantage points of the spy, the victimized company, the FBI, and the Justice Department prosecutors – from first suspicions to ultimate jury verdict.

Sticky Fingers also details:
* A list of the top countries that spy on U.S. businesses
* Why the biggest threat comes from within — and what to do about it
* Cybercrimes – from amateur hacking to professional netspionage
* How to formulate a crisis communications plan
* Dealing—or not dealing—with the FBI

Woven throughout the book, the epic lessons from the Avery Dennison/Four Pillars case – the longest and largest economic espionage case in U.S. history, and the first ever to go to trial since the passage of the landmark Economic Espionage Act – are combined with insights of other companies that have been victimized, including Lucent Technologies, Kodak, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, MasterCard, Gillette, Bristol-Myers Squibb, PPG Industries, and many others. Companies can fight back to reduce their risk, using the clear, pragmatic crisis management strategies outlined in this book. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

This Book is a Winner!!!
Steven Fink, author of the bestselling " Crisis Management," has written a truly superb book on economic espionage. Using actual real world examples involving Avery Dennison / Four Pillars, Lucent Technologies, and Eastman Kodak, Fink has crafted a practical and easy-to-read book on how companies should protect their most valuable corporate asset - their trade secrets.

In the case involving Avery Dennison (the label and adhesives maker), Fink provides a detailed look at what caused a highly respected scientist at Avery Dennison to sell his company's trade secrets to a foreign competitor, namely Four Pillars of Taiwan. The ensuing court trial makes for interesting reading.

Using the example of Eastman Kodak and one of its former employees, Fink again discusses the motivation behind selling one's former employers' trade secrets for personal gain. This human element, which Fink writes about with great ease and clarity, is often overlooked in other books on economic and industrial espionage.

The chapter on the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 and the types of information worth protecting should be 'must reads' for every business manager. I would like to have seen another chapter on methods that companies can use to protect their trade secrets.

All in all, a solid book that provides useful information in an easy to read format.

Mark Robinson, author of "Beyond Competitive Intelligence: The Practice of CounterIntelligence and Trade Secrets Protection."

Packed with Knowledge!
Have you ever had to decide whether to pick up that juicy Tom Clancy book or that stale, but important business one? Steven Fink splits the difference and solves your problem with this book that is half spy story, half business advice. Sticky Fingers works best as a thriller. As business advice, the book highlights the basic issues for U.S. companies fighting economic espionage, but falls short of serving up a complete playbook. The devil, as always, is in the details, and the specifics of the book's real-life cases sketch a more accurate picture of this particular devil than the generalized advice. If economic espionage is the elephant in the corner that your company has been pretending does not exist, we from getAbstract recommend Sticky Fingers as a starting point to finally taking action to protect yourself.

The Global Cookie Jar
Occasionally, an author's concluding remarks shed a great deal of light on what that author's purposes are. That is certainly true of this book. Consider this brief excerpt from the Afterword in which Fink observes: "Acts of terror [e.g. such as those which occurred on September 11th] notwithstanding, economic espionage remains one of the most serious threats to our national security since the Cold War. Therefore, we ought to have seasoned generals leading, and weathered soldiers fighting, the good battles that need to be fought." However, with all due respect to the F.B.I. and to legislation such as the Economic Espionage Act [EEA], "...you still need to be your own best defense against espionage with proper internal education, training, and procedures" and under no circumstances "delegate the crisis management work for your company to the government. It is too important." This brief excerpt helps to explain why this book can be so valuable to decision-makers in global organizations.

Recent research studies have dentified issues of greatest concern to senior-level executives, following September 11th. The top five are mail processing (86%), travel (85%), protection of employees (79%), protection of infrastructure (75%), and risk assessment (71%). Obviously, there is widespread and quite legitimate concern about protecting human beings and physical property. However, as Fink eloquently explains, we must also be concerned about -- and take appropriate measures to protect -- information which is as important to the global economy as oxygen is to the human body.

As events on September 11th clearly indicate, even a country with resources such as those possessed by the United States cannot totally defend itself and its people against terrorists acts. However, because the U.S.A. remains the world leader in research, development, new technology, products, and trade secrets, organizations within the U.S.A. are high-profile targets and "economic espionage spies are still going to come after [them] and that only increases [the] global risk of economic espionage." As previously indicated, Fink's book examines the nature and extent of that potential risk, suggesting all manner of strategies and tactics to anticipate and then prepare for, as well as respond to, economic espionage because it is "a business crisis and should be treated as such."

Fink asserts that "Companies are under attack and at enormous risk every day. from the global threat of economic espionage, but the risk can and should be lowered and managed. Here's how." He organizes his material within two Sections and presents it in 29 interrelated chapters, followed by an Afterword in which he addresses the question, "EEA: Bear Trap or Mouse Trap?" To explain "here's how", he uses the largest economic espionage case ever tried in the United States -- Avery Dennison/Four Pillars -- from his vantage point as the lead crisis management expert for Avery Dennison. Fink guides his reader step-by-step through that seminal case, also also citing along the way relevant situations in other companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gillette, Kodak, Lucent Technologies, and MasterCard.

Who will derive the greatest benefit from this book? Obviously decision-makers in global organizations. Also service providers to those organizations (e.g. attorneys, accountants, insurance underwriters, management consultants) as well as officials in governmental agencies who are directly or indirectly involved in economic espionage threats as well as acts. I also highly recommend Fink's previous book, Crisis Management, first published in 1986 but more relevant today than ever before. America is at greatest risk because it has the most worth stealing. Those with "sticky fingers" know that and so must those whose task it is to deny them.

Wish We Had Read This Book Sooner!
"Sticky Fingers" is a highly valuable contribution to the ranks of important, must-read business books that sheds much-needed light on the theft of company trade secrets. At a cost to U.S. businesses of more than $250 billion a year, it is no wonder the author calls economic espionage the single biggest business crisis in America today. Every executive and manager should read this book pronto and follow the author's sound advice on protecting their company's trade secrets. My company was a victim of economic espionage and believe me, it hurt! I wish our management had read this book and followed Fink's pragmatic advice on how companies can protect their trade secrets and reduce their risk of economic espionage.

Here's the Reality: This book tells it like it is!
It is obvious from reading "Sticky Fingers" that the author knows his subject, inside and out. The book has been thoroughly researched and well documented with a couple of hundred source notes to back it up, including interviews with former and current Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents, as well as many corporate executives. In addition, the author cites no less than three Avery Dennison attorneys who reviewed the manuscript for accuracy. People who plunk down good money for good books appreciate this kind of substantive research. Curiously, in the face of this rock-solid reporting there emerges a childishly cranky "reviewer" from Avery Dennison's Pasadena hometown. (Hmmm?) His - or her - bias seems simplistic and obvious. Having followed this particular case and the Avery Dennison company closely for many years, I have come across quite a few embarrassing incidents that the author might have included had he wanted - perhaps some discomfiting snafus involving the company's lawyers missing scheduled court dates, or company lawyers being publicly rebuked by the trial judge for having loose lips, or gaffes by self-doubting senior management and hyper-nervous internal PR flaks. Even though those incidents may have little to do with the important topic of Economic Espionage, it still might be interesting, if not amusing, if they became public one day. This could be a slippery slope for transparent individuals with personal agendas.

Like the author's previous book on crisis management, "Sticky Fingers" is a book that belongs on every business bookshelf. Company executives and managers would be wise to read it and learn how to prevent the theft of their valuable trade secrets...before they wind up as victimized as the hapless Avery Dennison. ... Read more

Book Description

Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the bestseller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century. The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.

Few observers of the late twentieth century have their fingers so presciently on the pulse of the global political and economic realignment ushering in the new millennium as do James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Their bold prediction of disaster on Wall Street in Blood in the Streets was borne out by Black Tuesday. In their ensuing bestsellar, The Great Reckoning, published just weeks before the coup attempt against Gorbachev, they analyzed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union and foretold the civil war in Yugoslavia and other events that have proved to be among the most searing developments of the past few years.

In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries -- the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government. This outstanding book will replace false hopes and fictions with new understanding and clarified values. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

A bold, unemotional thesis - ignore at your peril!
Davidson and Rees-Mogg put forward a dispassionate and compelling argument on the ramifications and logical outworkings of the information age. What sets the book apart from its peers' is the unemotional and, some would say, cold logic the authors use in developing their hypothesis, argument and conclusions. By comparison, most authors attempting to 'predict' the future tend to use an emotional, idealistic approach to the argument proposed - little, or dubious emperical evidence is put forth. As a result the reader will either agree,or disagree, on the basis of their personal belief system. We can assume, in the marjority of cases, that neither party will change his views.

This book is therefore fundamentally different, the case provides a wealth of evidence, facts and historical precedent to support the hypothesis. The reader is challenged to seek out for himself the signs that these 'megapolitical' changes are, in fact, occuring. Recent examples include, the 'asian financial meltdown', the 'revenue problems' that taxation departments are experiencing world wide, the rise of xenophobic 'nationalist' parties reacting to globalisation and technology (Australias "One Nation Party"), the 'luddite' irrational argument of the evironmental movement, the list goes one - however, as Davidson and Rees-Mogg clearly state, you must find out for yourself.

Even within this review section, several reviewers have argued, bitterly, against this book using emotional and idealistic arguments. I am afraid that 'wishful' thinking will matter not in the least as these megapolitical events unfold.

However, this reaction is entirely expected.

PS: The "offshore" services and facilities proposed by the authors to protect your assets and avoid predatory taxation are now readily available - use your 'browser'! Sorry 'state worshippers' the 'cats already out of the bag', so to speak.

Interpretive history by authors who know some economics
This book makes many forecasts about what the 21st century will be like; many, perhaps most, will prove wrong. This is not intended as a criticism of the authors, but as a reminder of the perils of the crystal ball business! In any event, Davidson and Rees-Mogg can be quite guilty of wishful libertarian daydreaming.

Nevertheless, I value The Sovereign Individual for its interpretation of our past. Reading this book, any intelligent lay person will understand that the technologies of taxation and violence are deep factors underlying the rise and evolution of the nation-state. Now information technology is increasing the possibilities for untaxable income. This will erode the power of nation-states, which is no more than the power to use the threat of violence to compel payment of taxes. Granted, many of us pay taxes voluntarily. But if nations had to rely solely on voluntary taxation, they would be a lot weaker than they are at present. Information technology has implications for the future payoff to private violence (crime, terrorism) and national violence (war), but these are less evident.

For those of you out there who are academic economists, Davidson and Rees-Mogg interpret history and politics in terms strongly derived from Coase and Oliver Williamson (transaction costs, property rights, asset specificity, opportunism, and so on). And it is definitely true that if a firm owns a lot of physical assets that can be rendered worthless during a strike, its workers can easily hold those assets hostage in exchange for higher wages.

Impressive but needs balance
This is probably a work of most impressive historical analysis as I have read ever. It had a great impact on my way of thinking but I have some reservations that might be of interest to new readers.

Authors prove that logic of violence explains most of human progress in western history but they end up skewing it towards the narrow realm of simplistic political structure of the west, conservatives VS librels. To be a work of real depth the authors should have given more attention to the other 'neccessary evil ;)' side of the capitalistic equation, i-e the economic impact and future of labor capital, and the underpreviledged in a society.

The capitalists can't logicaly sustain limitless greed in the name of output and efficiency, and be happy go lucky customers who control the government. All this efficiency through technology is truely great, but people operate techology and there are ones who don't, aren't capitalists, but still manage to do beautiful things, unseen or unsung. will you say they are not smart as capitalists?

Also, I think in essence so-called 'Muslim Fundamentalists' want the same thing captalists want, 'a better life' through logic of violence. So what is the difference?

brilliant
Whether it be Genesis as a parable for the agricultural revolution, or our mistrust of politicians and bureaucrats as a sign of impending change, this book provides insights into both where humanity has been and where it is going.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!
So said a wise philospher!

This book could have easily had this maxim as its subtitle. The authors cogently, and compellingly use historical trends to show that democracy as we know it is at an end.

Many will decry this book's "apocalyptic tone" but the fact remains that statistics don't lie: the majority of people do not vote in any election, which is one of the leading indicators of a democracy's demise. The authors use the example of the Roman church's hold on power during the Dark ages as a prime example of a system that lost its hold due to decadence from within. Because the leader's lived large at the expense of the common man, people no longer felt that religion had a relevence to their lives.

The same is true with politics today. We all know that the ruling class in this country lives large with perquisities and privaleges befitting royalty, all at taxpayer expense. Washington, or "inside the Beltway," is perceived as being so far removed from our daily lives that most politicians are looked upon with derision. Just watch how mercilessly they are pillioried in the popular culture, and in the media. This contempt for the nobles is but one of many signs that the nation-state is at an end.

It is very hard to get the average person to understand that times have changed, and the changes will dramatically effect our lives in every way. It is natural to want to hold onto what is familiar and safe. But the things that will be, will be regardless of protest or mawkish sentimentality, and these two authors have their fingers on the pulse of the future. ... Read more

Book Description

Development Macroeconomics was hailed on its publication in 1996 for providing a clear, rigorous, and long-needed synthesis of recent work in the field. This revised edition brings that achievement up to date. Addressing an audience of policy-oriented economists and theorists, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates, Pierre-Richard Agénor and Peter Montiel review and assess the burgeoning research done in the past two decades, paying special attention in this new edition to issues that have recently gained in importance among developing countries, such as the interaction between macroeconomic policies and long-term growth, the political economy of macroeconomic reform, the management of capital inflows, and currency crises.

As Agénor and Montiel show, development macroeconomics has become a vital subdiscipline of macroeconomics. In the past, general macroeconomic perspectives on developing countries were divided into the ideologically charged categories of "monetarist" or "structuralist," but a vast literature has since developed that treats the problems of developing countries with the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics. The authors' coherent and rigorous treatment presents this new analysis and empirical work in an unusually lucid and unified way. It includes extensive empirical material describing the characteristics of the developing-country macroeconomic context. It explores how the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics can be adapted to accommodate such characteristics, and it uses the resulting models to analyze a diverse set of macroeconomic issues that developing countries have confronted in recent years. This is a crucial book for anyone wishing to understand this rapidly changing field. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An illuminating offer for macroeconomics scholars
This book by Agenor and Montiel has succeeded to a large extent in their objective of integrating macroeconomic theory with the issues of the less developed countries. Proves to be an useful book which could be a decent alternative to the various textbooks in macroeconomics which are divorced of the diverse features of the less developed countries. Indeed an asset for the subject and the researchers. Worth possessing. But the cost is a little bit unaffordable for those in the developing world ... Read more

Book Description

Current Affairs ... Read more

Reviews (34)

michael maren, thank you for writing such shocking truths
The truth can be pretty shocking sometimes but I feel very glad I've read this book. I've always wondered about these aid organizations and their real purpose. It's unbelievable how far human beings can go as far as profiting from other beings' suffering. What's more shocking though is that there was no concern to check before aiding what the consequences of these aid procedures would be to the people that were supposed to be aided. The results? Even more suffering, a shocking waste of money, resources and last, but not least, human lives. Will human beings ever learn? - I keep asking myself. The more powerful are always trying to keep their territories safe and clean at all costs. Where are the human rights they brag so much about? It seems that they think they're the only ones who have rights. This book opens up our eyes for first world countries procedures concerning third world countries. Thanks to Michael Maren, who had the guts to speak out and uncover all those dirty lies

...Paved with Bad Intentions
This rampaging investigative report truly uncovers the horrors of the international aid business. The uninitiated may ask how the process of helping starving people in third world hellholes and developing stable democratic societies could possibly be bad. Well it is bad, and Michael Maren writes passionately from experience. He has seen the pernicious effects of charity-based NGO's from the ground, both as a longtime aid worker in several African countries, and then as a muckraking journalist.

Using the then-current debacle in Somalia as a case study, Maren demonstrates that international charity has become a self-sustaining bureaucracy and a big business focused on profits, with little or no focus on helping actual disadvantaged people. The main problem is free food shipments, which put honest third world farmers out of business and attract fraudulent refugees, who have no incentive to work when they know that food and medical care is free at refugee camps. Meanwhile, much is stolen by local warlords and sold off, and homegrown entrepreneurs make a killing off the cash thrown around by huge staffs that accompany NGO relief missions. "Charities" are drawn to humanitarian disaster sites as opportunities for profits, government funding, and corporate relations; then split when things cool off and offer no hope of actual long-term development. The bad effects described above usually make the local situation worse, even leading to war in Somalia's case. Famines indeed have political roots, and NGO's literally destroyed Somalia.

Maren tends to lose his cool in the midst of his passionate reporting, falling into unnecessarily inflammatory language. He also tends to pick on certain enemies like the Save the Children fund and particular UN agencies. His coverage of the "humanitarian" (actually military) mission in Somalia is revealing but drifts from the book's focus into war reporting. But despite some weaknesses, this hugely informative and revealing book raises very serious concerns about the corruption of the inaccurately named "foreign aid" industry. [~doomsdayer520~]

More harm than good
There are very few books that can claim to fundamentally change the way you see the world; this is one of them. Michael Maren brutally exposes the hypocrisy, corruption and inefficiency that will destroy forever the reader's attitude about foreign aid and charitable work overseas. A reader who wants to retain his belief in the myth that the billions of dollars we spend on foreign aid actually benefit the poor and starving of the world should NOT read this book - it will shatter your illusions forever. After reading about how aid to Third World countries ends up perpetuating the very conditions it is supposed to eradicate, how it enriches the corrupt elites of those countries and helps them consolidate their often violently dictatorial rule, and how a surprisingly large proportion of it ends up in the pockets of those actually running the charities, it becomes clear that foreign aid and charity to the Third World is part of the problem rather than the solution.

Sensationalistic and sloppy
As an international aid worker and former Peace Corps volunteer, I was hoping for objective and well-researched criticism of international aid programs. Wrong book. The majority of this book is based on the author's personal experiences and anecdotal experiences of others with a couple of specific aid agencies, which are hardly indicative of the "aid industry" as a whole. The writing was amateurish and the facts so slanted and incomplete that I struggled to finish the book.

No aid worker believes that there isn't corruption or incompetence in the field - it's like any other profession in that respect. Maren frequently characterizes aid workers as cowboys who are in it for the money or twenty-five year olds in 4x4s. Working in post-conflict situations is extremely challenging - logistically, mentally, and emotionally. Hard choices and compromises need to be made. But Maren isn't interested in portraying the challenges - he's got an agenda and an axe to grind and he won't let facts or research get in his way.

If you want a more thoughtful and interesting but equally critical portrait of Peace Corps life, I strongly recommend George Packer's "The Village of Waiting" over this book. This book is more of a memoir than journalism, although it's presented as the latter.

The Self Licking Ice Cream Cone
This chapter title speaks to how this book was written. It has excellent material to write 3 different books bur the author combined it all under 1 title. This then presented a jumbled, disjointed type of reading. The first part of the book deals with foreign aid and its devastating effects. The problem is that he really is writing more about Save the Children and USAID then any other charities. He mentions others but gives no details about them. The book's title would have better reflected his thesis if he stated the devastating problems of charities and USAID. This to me was a great disappointment because I had expected read details of case histories that involved a vast majority of the NGO's.

The second section was much more centered on Somalia and the Black Hawk Down setting and the reasons for this catastrophe. It almost seems that the Charities and NGO's were an after thought. This section gave a very good insight of who was who and the warlords were in power but no real specifics on any NGO.

The 3rd. and final part which covers approximately 80 pages of 280 page book is much more a reflection of the authors personal political beliefs. This is a significant part for a book of this size to go off on a tangent.

On a personal note I found it quite disturbing how often the "F" word had to be used either in describing a situation or repeating people's feelings. This was senseless and not required in a book of this type.

I am glad that I read it because it opened a door for me to research further. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A parsimonious argument.
When I picked up this book to begin reading it, I was quite frankly nervous. I'd heard it recommended in so many places that I wanted to read it, but I am not an economist by training and so was not sure that I was going to be able to follow the arguments that it laid out.

While I'm certainly not going to claim that I understood everything, I think that I did manage to follow the majority of Olson's points. Furthermore, I believe that this owes more to the lucid and well-structured nature of the book than it does to me being blessed with any unusual intelligence.

_The Rise and Decline of Nations_ begins with an explanation of the questions that the book will explore and sets the standards for the consideration of a satisfactory answer. It then works out the logic of the offered argument and breaks that argument down into 9 well-described implications. It then goes on to test and explain that logic and those implications. Olson does a wonderful job of providing adequate support the concepts that he introduces, even to the point of pointing out areas where non-economists might have special trouble or require further information. As a result of all his hard work, the book has the feeling of being exactly as long as it needs to be, and no longer.

I was certainly convinced by his arguments about how special interest groups affect economic growth. I understood why he was unwilling to take it farther into the area of policy, but couldn't help but wonder what the eventual policy implications would be, assuming that his theory is further tested and developed. I also found myself wondering if this argument would work in the same way *within* a corporation and whether it might say something about reorganisation and restructuring exercises.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and recommend it wholeheartedly.

Power groups disected
In this extremely well written book Mancur Olson applies his Noble Price winning 'Logic of Collective Action' to the real world. It tries to give a partial answer to the question: why do some countries get rich and others do not? Well: power groups emerge and make a society rigid. The society cannot properly respond to changes anymore. The theory is applied to a very large number of nations throughout recorded histrory: from ancient China and caste India to apartheid South Africa and post-industrial-revolution England. The only country/nation throughout the entire human histry he admids he has trouble understanding with this great theory is France. Read it!

Elegant Theory Elegantly Presented
Professor Olson describes a wide range of social/economic structures and processes (unions, big government, high and rising taxes, regulation, monopolies, etc.) that characterize most economies but more so the aging economies of Western Europe (This book was written before the unification of eastern and western Europe). He then proceeds to show us what these all have in common: They each, together and with time, contribute in increasingly slowing down and stifling a nation's economy. Reading this book leads one to see that the USA is also involved in a similar progression, albeit at an earlier stage. I first read this book as an Economics student about 15 years ago. I enjoyed it tremendously. I also learned from it. His clear and powerful conveyance of concepts have kept the ideas with me. He explains the economics simply yet completely. One need not have studied Economics to follow him. I highly recommend this book. Even though the author's forescast is gloomy, his book is brilliant. Sherry S.

A classic in the world of political economy.....
It surprises me that I haven't reviewed this book..... Anyway, this is one of the classic works on political economy: it builds on the Olson's earlier (and perhaps even better work) 'The Logic of Collective Action' using the logic contained therein to explain why and how different societies have prospered (and declined....) at certain stages in the world's or there own development.

Without writing a short book report for the undergraduate readers of this book, countries he examines are spread across the world; much of his thesis hinges on post-WWII comparisons of the US against Japan and Germany....

For prospective readers of Olson's work: first, I would start with 'The Logic...' BEFORE you read this, though a reading of this book would not be compromised by not having done so. His newer book 'Power and prosperity...' can be safely avoided (it's kinda expensive as it is still only out in hardcover...) having read both of these; you could then waste your political economy-budgeted money on either the works of Douglass North ('Structure and Change in Economic History';'The Rise of the West), Karl Polyani ('The Great Transformation'), or, well, Hemingway or Fitzgerald or something fun to read.....

I do highly recommend this book. Any student of foreign affarirs, politics at any level (though people who don't do IR or comparative stuff might benefit more from 'The Logic...'), economists, or students of history. Perhaps even to more general readers.....

An excellent study with plenty of applications.
Olson does a stellar job "proving" his theory using accepted scientific standards. His main thesis is that stable societies, over time, will be stifled by a steady growth of groups each committed to obtaining a disproportionate amount of society's goods. This theory, composed of only nine implications, is parsimonious with wide explanatory power. It helps to explain the post-war growth of coutries such as Japan and Germany, while providing a reason why the growth rates of the United States, and especially Great Britain, have been stagnated. Perhaps the most interesting chapter of the book is the last, in which Olson merges both Keynesianism and monetarism to form a new theory of macroeconomics. By using his theory, he is able to better explain involuntary unemployment than either of the more popular schools of macroeconomic theory. I was amazed at how many phenomena, such as slavery and the Indian caste system, can be at least partially explained by Olson's theory. Anyone seriously interested in knowing the way the world works will want to give this theory substantial consideration. ... Read more

Book Description

The growth of technological and scientific knowledge in the past two centuries has been the overriding dynamic element in the economic and social history of the world. Its result is now often called the knowledge economy. But what are the historical origins of this revolution and what have been its mechanisms? In The Gifts of Athena, Joel Mokyr constructs an original framework to analyze the concept of "useful" knowledge. He argues that the growth explosion in the modern West in the past two centuries was driven not just by the appearance of new technological ideas but also by the improved access to these ideas in society at large--as made possible by social networks comprising universities, publishers, professional sciences, and kindred institutions. Through a wealth of historical evidence set in clear and lively prose, he shows that changes in the intellectual and social environment and the institutional background in which knowledge was generated and disseminated brought about the Industrial Revolution, followed by sustained economic growth and continuing technological change.

Mokyr draws a link between intellectual forces such as the European enlightenment and subsequent economic changes of the nineteenth century, and follows their development into the twentieth century. He further explores some of the key implications of the knowledge revolution. Among these is the rise and fall of the "factory system" as an organizing principle of modern economic organization. He analyzes the impact of this revolution on information technology and communications as well as on the public's state of health and the structure of households. By examining the social and political roots of resistance to new knowledge, Mokyr also links growth in knowledge to political economy and connects the economic history of technology to the New Institutional Economics. The Gifts of Athena provides crucial insights into a matter of fundamental concern to a range of disciplines including economics, economic history, political economy, the history of technology, and the history of science.

... Read more

Reviews (2)

Toward an economics of knowledge
Partly because it is too wide-ranging to settle on any sound-bite answer, this is one of the better books around to examine the question of the sources of the West's technological and economic supremacy.

In "The Gifts of Athena", Joel Mokyr sets his sights on three objectives: First, to establish that expanding knowledge has been the engine driving the world's expanding economy over the last few centuries, rather than the other way around. Second, to explore the factors that control the discovery and application of new knowledge, so as to get a better grasp on why the Industrial Revolution took place in Europe, and why England might have led the way. Finally, to speculate on what I found to be a startling question: what's to prevent the explosive expansion of technology to which we have become accustomed from falling into stagnation, as lesser periods of innovation have done throughout history?

He accomplishes the first objective handily. Apparently some economists believe that the Industrial Revolution must have been driven primarily by economic forces (new means of capitalization and rising demand) rather than by the availability of science, because of the multi-century lag from Kepler and Newton to the economic blastoff. But Mokyr argues that there was a necessary intermediate stage, the "Industrial Enlightenment", which structurally altered the relationship between "what-is" and "how-to" forms of knowledge, as well as making both forms radically more accessible to artisans, entrepeneurs, and the general public.

His explorations of the other two questions are fresh and illuminating, but a bit picaresque. There's no overarching theory here and, except for parts of the chapter on adoption of new technology by households, little quantitative rigor. Where the discussion excels is in its opening pages, which lay out a useful systematic language for talking about kinds and qualities of knowledge; in its readiness to think outside the market-explains-all box; and in its unflagging supply of vivid historical examples.

Among many piquant ideas, the central insight I brought away from this work was the extent to which the phenomenon of "science" is a collection of socially enabling institutions, rather than just a Baconian method. Not that Mokyr holds much brief for the notion that the conclusions of science are socially constructed. Rather, its conclusions become accepted and transmitted, and therefore available for economic use, only by the grace of a set of social relationships and conventions that Bacon's scheme did not mandate, and which might just as easily not have taken place.

I should note that where economics are concerned, I'm very much a layman, and not really even a particularly informed one. ("Oh, Schumpeter, yeah, I heard of him somewhere.") I found Mokyr's text challenging but frequently engaging, and comprehensible throughout.

Peerless scholarship
"Gifts of Athena" is an outstanding piece of work with profound consequences for research and policy. Its intellectual radiance will finally make the remaining shadows of conventional economic history fade into oblivion. It guides the perplexed, reassures the convinced and guides the uninitiated. ... Read more

Book Description

A galvanizing new work from America's leading economic critic—a book that will set the terms of the political debate for years to come.

No one has more authority to call the shots the way they really are than Paul Krugman, whose provocative New York Times columns are keenly followed by millions. One of the world's most respected economists, Krugman has been named America's most important columnist by the Washington Monthly and columnist of the year by Editor and Publisher magazine.

In this long-awaited work containing Krugman's most influential columns along with new commentary, he chronicles how the boom economy unraveled: how exuberance gave way to pessimism, how the age of corporate heroes gave way to corporate scandals, how fiscal responsibility collapsed. From his account of the secret history of the California energy crisis to his devastating dissections of dishonesty in the Bush administration, Krugman tells the uncomfortable truth about how the United States lost its way. And he gives us the road map we will need to follow if we are to get the country back on track. ... Read more

Reviews (180)

Bush fans need not read! Keep your head in the sand......
If you are a George Bush fan this book is probably not for you. Paul Krugman is currently a columnist for the New York Times but is an economist and has been involved with politics since he worked with committeemen in the Reagan administration. The book was taken from his columns from 2000 to 2003. While he tries to simplify things his primary method of explaining things is through the use of numbers.

Krugman explains what happened to the surplus and why the big tax cuts are aimed at ELIMINATING Social Security. Paul Krugman also has some harsh words for his fellow journalists for taking comments from the administration at face value without even doing minimal investigation to check on their validity. If you are a moderate or left in your politics and want to know what happened in the last 3 years this book is for you. If you just want snappy comebacks for your right wing friends then I suggest Al Franken' book instead.

After all, the top 20 reasons for going to war stated by Bush, Cheny, Powell, and Rice have ALL been PROVEN wrong. We give tax breaks to the rich, yet the Bush administration announces they want to cut back on Social Security benefits. WOW! Don't you see something wrong with this?

Economist and Princeton professor Krugman explains why we are back into deficits, why the right-wing GOP refuses to work within the limits of the American political framework, why Americans are now pessimistic about most things, and he exposes George W. Bush for what he is -- A power hungry liar.
But, not only does Krugman point all this out with his great logic and wit, he also (unlike most current political authors) offers ideas on how we can get our great country back on the right track again.

If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. I also really liked Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.

Ab Uno Disceomnes--From One Thing Learn All
I first read this book several months ago, and have had time to think about it and to refer to it periodically. At first I was disappointed. I expected a book of analysis on what has happened to the country under the Bush presidency. Instead, I found a collection of Mr. Krugman's columns. Because I already read his op-ed pieces every Tuesday and Friday for free on line in the New York Times, I felt a little cheated. But Mr Krugman is an economist, and getting paid twice for the same work is very economical, I guess.

But as I read "The Great Unraveling" the technique grew on me, and I accepted the book for what it was. The introduction (pp 6-20) is truly compelling. Here Krugman introduces his readers to the concept of the "revolutionary power." He borrows the idea from Henry Kissinger's PHD dissertation "A World Reborn." He argues that the neocon movement the Bush Administration represents is such a power. These people do not play by established rules of conduct. Their values and goals differ from those of the established order. Krugman delineates the characteristics of such a movement from again borrowing from Kissinger's work. It was reminiscent of a conversation between Sean Connery as a streetwise Chicago cop and the idealistic Eliot Ness played by Kevin Costner. In the exchange the elder man tells Ness how he has to approach getting Capone

Also, Krugman writes as an economist and not as a journalist; he makes this point early in the book. Because of his training as an economist he did not buy into the Bush campaigns statements about how they would meet government obligations and offer huge tax cuts at the same time. His professional training would not allow him to buy the oft cited equation in the book that 2-1=4. His training as an economist allows him to spring board into a broader discussion about areas beyond pure economics.

An old friend of mine told me that though I was a complete failure that "I could always serve as a bad example." This is how Krugman studies economics, looking at bad examples, mistakes that have occurred in foreign economies so that he can predict what will happen in our country and in our economy.

The book begins with an examination of bubbles in the economy--how the exuberance they create works to undermine economies. He talks about the bubble in the Asain Rim and ultimately in American high tech stocks. He explains the Ponzi scheme and how it applies to contemporary economics and why the feeding frenzy that ensues is often so irrepressible. He rues the role of Alan Greenspan in perpetuating the irrational exuberance that the tech rallies fomented. In the following section he takes on the crony capitalists--that group of beneficiaries of greed at Enron, Global Crossing, Adelphia, etcetera, explaining the reasoning for why CEO's plunged their companies into the abyss as they did. It involves stock options and cooking the books.

The sections of the book are designed to follow different threads of this unraveling. In retrospect I realized that this was indeed the best way to watch something come apart--reports over time on a variety of topics. It is interesting to watch Krugman's thinking emerge.

Also, it is interesting to watch that thinking evolve away from just economics and into the things that economics impacts--which is everything. He discusses the impact on health care, the Iraq War, terrorism, the treatment of veterans and of little people. There is a compelling quote in the book where Krugman questions whether Dick Armey and Tom Delay really believe the draconian free market solutions they espouse or whether they just "hate poor people." He talks about injustice to veterans--how the Bush administration tries to conceal benefits from them.

Krugman, at bottom, is not an ideologue. He is interested in economic results. He attacks some of the arguments against globalization. He contrasts economists like Larry Summers and Larry Lindsay, showing how ideology can effect solutions. He states that sound economists, regardless of how they are labeled right or left, differ little in their assessments of conditions given sound information. He writes that the collapse of the Argentine economy had not so much to do with free market solutions as it did faulty monetary policy. Conversely, he shows that Sweden, while a highly taxed mixed economy, is doing very well--low unemployment and 4% growth.

Mr Krugman is an "honest broker" who believes that he should report according to the best evidence, measure results and not ideological purity. As he does report, he watches those who do believe in ideological solutions press on in their great unraveling.

Much-Needed Wakeup Call
Krugman has been a beacon of truth in some very dark days in American politics. Because he is an economist rather than a journalist, Krugman can expose the Bush administration's deceptions by doing the math and checking the sources. It's a rare talent these days, when most news reporting consists of little more than printing a quote from side A and an opposing quote from side B ("balance" accomplished!), with no regard for the objective truth of these claims.

While the book is essentially a collection of Krugman's New York Times columns, I found it very valuable for seeing how various stories unfolded, from the growing awareness that California's energy crisis was in fact engineered by Enron traders "gaming" the system to the deceitful manner in which the Bush adminstration lured the country into the misguided and tragic war in Iraq.

But more than anything, this book is not to be missed because of Krugman's excellent introduction, in which he explains how the Bush administration constitutes (in Henry Kissinger's term) a "revolutionary power" that will brook no compromise and will do anything (issue bogus terror alerts, out CIA agents, knowingly lie to the American public, etc.) to maintain and extend its power and ram its extremist agenda down our throats.

The Great Unraveling is a much-needed wakeup call for the American public and an urgent and timely warning of the dangers the Bush administration poses to our cherished democracy.

Ex-Enron Consultant fails to come clean
When will Krugman talk about how he was a (well) paid for Enron as they were scamming investors and Enron employees who lost their life savings. Come clean Krugman!

Outdated anthology of spiteful and shallow op-eds
A member of my extended family recommended this book as "the" book that would "convert" me from my moderate stance. He said he was just sure I would read it and begin to "hate Bush" as much as he does. He was just sure I would "see the light."

So I read it, with an open mind, yet skeptical that one book could sway me.

It is trash. And, as it turns out, I had already read the entire book in its many pieces.

First off, it is shallow. Because it is essentially just a collection of old op-eds, there is no depth, no real substance. If you want the gist of this book, just go to the NYT archive and pull up a few of his op-eds.

Which brings me to my second point, that it is repetitive. The op-eds are hollow and short, yet some of them cover almost the same ideas. If you've read one on a particular subject, you've read them all. My advice for Mr. Krugman: either elaborate or go to a new subject, por favor. Thanks.

Third, Krugman contradicts himself over and over. For example, his paranoid belief that President Bush wants to de-fund the government and take away the social safety net secured by FDR doesn't jive with his bemoaning of the deficits (and blaming them solely on Bush, nothing else) we now face.

Fourth, the guy just seems angry. I guess some Americans share his anger, and if you are angry and pessimistic about life and our country, this is the book for you, but he just is such a vindictive and bitter writer that it is hard to take him seriously.

Fifth, along those same lines, his hyperbole makes him not very credible. He seems to believe the worst about the direction of the country and the leadership of the Bush administration, no matter what he is talking about. Even good news becomes bad news to Paul Krugman.

If you are a moderate, you will be repulsed and repelled, as I was. If you are a conservative, you will probably become energized to fight against it. If you are a liberal (or just anti-Bush), this probably won't enlighten you or give you anything new to use at happy hour or around the water cooler, but it will, in a rather shallow way, reinforce your anger and resolve to oust Bush (notice, I didn't even say it would reinforce your ideology or positions or beliefs, because it likely will not). ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Andybody Who Cares Should Read This
An excellent, excellent book in several ways. Anybody who cares - about society - conservative, moderate, or liberal should read this. All economists, political scientists, politicians, and students of these fields should read this book carefully. The Economist's Tale is a true morality play. It looks at the way economics plays out in real-life using the framework of food policy in Sierra Leone. The author is not against market forces - but as economic theory has recognized in the last few decades - markets work (or don't work) with many attendant frictions and imperfections. Unfortunately, in the tale told within this book, people die because of these frictions.

The Economist's Tale is also quite interesting and riveting as a read. It is also a quick read. One learns much about Sierra Leone among other non-economic subjects. It appears nobody else has rated this book yet - which tends to indicate that few people have read it - a sad state of affairs. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

interesting but not practical
He presents well the case for locally-owned business being better for a community's economic well-being than are chain and franchise stores, and provides lots of different examples of ways that businesses can be community oriented. I found particularly interesting the part about the Green Bay Packers, who were saved out of bankruptcy by a group of fans who sold "stock" to the community to raise the cash. You can't sell the stock to a non-GB resident, you can't own more than 1 (I think) share, and you can only sell shares at the same price you bought them for: $25. Really, sounds a lot like the ICC's shares, and it guarantees that the Pack will never leave Green Bay.

On presenting options for ownership, though, Shuman seems to go a little overboard.

When trying to decide how to promote the kinds of business he wants, Shuman starts reasonably enough, but quickly moves into the implausible. Suggestions such as using zoning law to encourage local business (by discouraging development in the locations and of the scale that WalMart likes to build) and implementing local currencies to encourage patronage of locally-oriented business are useful, and have been successfully used in many places. However, when we get into suggestions about tearing down the WTO and replacing it with something that supports local business, we're getting unreasonable. While it may be possible that the WTO would become less multinational- and more local-friendly, I'm betting that it will only do so when its member states do so, and not as a first step which will encourage its members to do so. Shuman seems to realize this to some extent, as he proposes pro-local legislation in the United States Congress, but this too is unuseful.

Fun to read, but not practical at all.

All you need to know about community empowerment
EVERYONE should read this book. It is very well thought out and very convincing. Change is possible by sticking together and empowering ourselves as self-reliant communities. The appendix takes up no less than a third of the whole book and is a gold mine in and of itself.

A Highly Important Book for Any Concerned Citizen
This book cuts through all of the conventional public discussions on the economy and society to make a clear, convincing case for reviving local communities. Pundits, politicians, and intellectuals are always bemoaning the collapse of "community," but their analyses are usually coiled around morality, or the need for "better education," or some equally superficial issue. But as Shuman points out, all the civic involvement and moral uprightness in the world is useless if our towns and cities are being held hostage by globe-trotting corporations and ultra-mobile capital. "Community" is only possible if people control their own lives; and this is possible only when there are thriving, viable local economies. This is not a book that calls for a complete retreat from the global forces that are shaping our world -- that option is impossible with the current levels of technology. But what Shuman does outline is a way for communities to reestablish a balance between the local and the national/global, in the areas of production, finance, and government. And unlike many other books, which never get past the critique to make any positive prescriptions, this one is brimming with concrete proposals. It also has the most extensive list of groups, organizations, and resources that I have seen in the area of decentralized economics and community self-reliance. This is a must-read.

Food for thought for economic development folks
Every year on the anniversary of Walt Disney Worlds settling in Orlando, Fla., its a sure bet some newspaper will ca