Book picks similar to
Globalization and Belonging by Mike Savage
non-fiction
slsp5301m
econ
political-social-psychology
Waffle Street: The Confession and Rehabilitation of a Financier
James Adams - 2010
Wearied by eight years in the bond market and disillusioned by the financial services profession, he decides to get an “honest job” for a change. Before he knows what hit him, Jimmy finds himself waiting on tables of barflies at his local Waffle House.Amidst the glorious chaos of the night shift, the 24-hour diner affords a bevy of comedic experiences as the author struggles to ingratiate himself with a motley crew of waiters and cooks.Unexpectedly, the restaurant also becomes a font of insight into financial markets and the human condition.In a uniquely hilarious and thought-provoking narrative, Waffle Street unravels the enigmas of money, banking, economics, and grits once and for all. As they laugh heartily at the author’sexpense, readers will develop a profound appreciation for the first principle of economics: there really is no such thing as a free lunch.
Spaces of Capital: Towards a Critical Geography
David Harvey - 2001
Spaces of Capital, a collection of seminal articles and new essays spanning three decades, demonstrates why his work has had-and continues to have-such a major impact. The book gathers together some of Harvey's best work on two of his central concerns: the relationship between geographical thought and political power as well as the capitalist production of space. In addition, he chips away at geography's pretenses of scientific neutrality and grounds spatial theory in social justice. Harvey also reflects on the work and careers of little-noticed or misrepresented figures in geography's intellectual history-Kant, Von Th�nen, Humboldt, Lattimore, Hegel, Heidegger, Darwin, Malthus, Foucault and many others.
The End of Influence: What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money
Stephen S. Cohen - 2009
Now, America finds itself cash poor, and to a great extent power follows money. In The End of Influence, renowned economic analysts Stephen S. Cohen and J. Bradford DeLong explore the grave consequences this loss will have for America's place in the world. America, Cohen and DeLong argue, will no longer be the world's hyperpower. It will no longer wield soft cultural power or dictate a monolithic foreign policy. More damaging, though, is the blow to the world's ability to innovate economically, financially, and politically. Cohen and DeLong also explore American's complicated relationship with China, the misunderstood role of sovereign wealth funds, and the return of state-led capitalism. An essential read for anyone interested in how global economics and finance interact with national policy, The End of Influence explains the far-reaching and potentially long-lasting but little-noted consequences of our great fiscal crisis.
The Luck Factor
Max Gunther - 1978
We can't see it, or touch it, but we can feel it. We all know it when we experience it. It's an obvious description of obvious events. But does it go deeper than this? And if it goes deeper, does it do so in any way which we can harness to our own and others' advantage? Taking us on a richly anecdotal ride through the more popular theories and histories of luck - from pseudoscience to paganism, through mathematicians to magicians - Max Gunther arrives at a careful set of scientific conclusions as to the nature of luck, and the possibility of managing it. Based entirely on drawing out the logical truths hidden in some examples of outrageous fortune (and some of the seemingly absurd theories of its origins), he presents readers with the concise formulae which make up what he calls "The Luck Factor" - the five traits that lucky people have in common - and shows how anyone can improve their luck.
Class Matters
The New York Times - 2005
We have no hereditary aristocracy or landed gentry, and even the poorest among us feel that they can become rich through education, hard work, or sheer gumption. And yet social class remains a powerful force in American life.In Class Matters, a team of New York Times reporters explores the ways in which class--defined as a combination of income, education, wealth, and occupation--influences destiny in a society that likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity. We meet individuals in Kentucky and Chicago who have used education to lift themselves out of poverty and others in Virginia and Washington whose lack of education holds them back. We meet an upper-middle-class family in Georgia who moves to a different town every few years, and the newly rich in Nantucket whose mega-mansions have driven out the longstanding residents. And we see how class disparities manifest themselves at the doctor's office and at the marriage altar.For anyone concerned about the future of the American dream, Class Matters is truly essential reading.Class Matters is a beautifully reported, deeply disturbing, portrait of a society bent out of shape by harsh inequalities. Read it and see how you fit into the problem or--better yet--the solution!--Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch
Coming Apocalypse
Vernon Coleman - 2020
In Coming Apocalypse he explains how and why the 'crisis' developed and explains the sort of future we can expect now that lockdowns have destroyed the global economy and changed our way of life. Our world will never be as it was in January 2020. Dr Coleman explains what he believes we can expect.
The Sources of Social Power: Volume 1, a History of Power from the Beginning to Ad 1760
Michael Mann - 1986
In it, Michael Mann identifies the four principal 'sources' of power as being control over economic, ideological, military, and political resources. He examines the interrelations between these in a narrative history of power from Neolithic times, through ancient Near Eastern civilisations, the classical Mediterranean age, and medieval Europe, up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England. Rejecting the conventional monolithic concept of a 'society', Dr. Mann's model is instead one of a series of overlapping, intersecting power networks. He makes this model operational by focusing on the logistics of power - how the flow of information, manpower, and goods is controlled over social and geographical space-thereby clarifying many of the 'great debates' in sociological theory. The present volume offers explanations of the emergence of the state and social stratification.
Rise of the New World Order: The Culling of Man
J. Micha-el Thomas Hays - 2013
The Luciferian one world government of Biblical prophecy is unfolding behind the scenes as you read this, and was given the catchy name of the 'New World Order'. In our modern day world, the technology exists to fulfill all aspects of the Biblical prophecies regarding the End Times, including the resurrection of the original Antichrist, who was the architect of the New World Order over 4,000 years ago. This tyrant will be brought back to life to rule the world once again by using mankind’s advanced DNA technology, fulfilling the prophecy of Revelation 17:8 "The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the Earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come." I'm going to show you specifically the evidence that identifies who the Antichrist was and will be again, how the plan for the New World Order began, who ran it through history, who runs it today, and what is to happen in the very near future. You can learn right now all of the most important components of this evil agenda and how they interlock to form a pyramidal, compartmentalized conspiracy run by the Luciferian elites, to the ultimate benefit of only a few thousand of the people involved with bringing the one world government to fruition. This is all revealed in my first book, "Rise of the New World Order: The Culling of Man". If you've never heard of the New World Order, what is happening behind the scenes is frankly quite shocking. My first book is exactly the 'red pill' that will wake you up to what's really going on in the world. Yes, it's quite disturbing, but there's a happy ending full of hope and promise if you understand what is REALLY going on, that which is plainly laid out in my books. The second book of this series, “Rise of the New World Order 2: The Awakening” is also out now. Please read the book reviews for this thrilling new series of books here on Amazon and also Amazon UK, and you will see that I am creating a highly important series of books for you to not only read, but to make others aware of their existence. The time for a mass-awakening of humanity is short and I need your help! I'm currently working on the third book, 'Rise of the New World Order 3: Falling Sky', and expect to have it done and out in 2018. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. -Sentinel Jeff Hays
Gina Rinehart: The Untold Story of the Richest Woman in the World
Adele Ferguson - 2012
The daughter of Lang Hancock – legendary arch-conservative, secessionist, mining millionaire and discoverer of the world's largest iron deposit in the Pilbara – Gina has grown up in a family known as much for its front-page legal stoushes as for its business acumen and toughness.With her reported wealth more than doubling in the last twelve months, Rinehart is beginning to flex the enormous power her money gives, buying large shareholdings in television's Ten Network and newspaper group Fairfax Media. They are moves that will give Rinehart and her controversial views a major place in Australian life and public affairs.Based on painstaking research and a wealth of interviews with Rinehart's colleagues, friends, family and former employees, award-winning journalist Adele Ferguson has written the definitive biography, shining a light into the private world of Gina Rinehart, her family, her feuds and the iron determination that has driven her relentless rise.
The Perfect Crime: The Real Life Crime that Inspired Hitchcock’s Rope
Fergus Mason - 2013
But they wanted the one thing that no amount of money could buy: life. They wanted to create the Perfect Crime--to kidnap and murder a 14-year-old boy for the thrill of getting away with murder.The crime was so horrifying that even legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock took notice, and directed his version of the story: Rope. But the real story of the Rope is much more brutal and suspenseful than even Hitchcock could do justice to. Read the real history in this thrilling true crime book.
Rogue Warrior of the SAS: The Blair Mayne Legend
Roy Bradford - 1987
Robert Blair Mayne is still regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in the history of military special operations. He was the most decorated British soldier of the Second World War, receiving four DSOs, the Croix de Guerre, and the Legion d'honneur, and he pioneered tactics used today by the SAS and other special operations units worldwide. Rogue Warrior of the SAS tells the remarkable life story of "Colonel Paddy," whose exceptional physical strength and uniquely swift reflexes made him a fearsome opponent. But his unorthodox rules of war and his resentment of authority would deny him the ultimate accolade of the Victoria Cross. Drawing on personal letters and family papers, declassified SAS files and records, together with the Official SAS Diary compiled in wartime and eyewitness accounts, this is the true story of the soldier.
Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government--And the Reckoning That Lies Ahead
David Rothkopf - 2012
Its employees outnumber the populations of almost a hundred nations. The world's largest asset manager, a secretive New York company called Black Rock, controls assets greater than the national reserves of any country on the planet. A private philanthropy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, spends as much worldwide on health care as the World Health Organization. The rise of private power may be the most important and least understood trend of our time. David Rothkopf provides a fresh, timely look at how we have reached a point where thousands of companies have greater power than all but a handful of states. Beginning with the story of an inquisitive Swedish goat wandering off from his master and inadvertently triggering the birth of the oldest company still in existence, Power, Inc. follows the rise and fall of kings and empires, the making of great fortunes, and the chaos of bloody revolutions. A fast-paced tale in which champions of liberty are revealed to be paid pamphleteers of moneyed interests and greedy scoundrels trigger changes that lift billions from deprivation, Power, Inc. traces the bruising jockeying for influence right up to today's financial crises, growing inequality, broken international system, and battles over the proper role of government and markets.Rothkopf argues that these recent developments, coupled with the rise of powers like China and India, may not lead to the triumph of American capitalism that was celebrated just a few years ago. Instead, he considers an unexpected scenario, a contest among competing capitalisms offering different visions for how the world should work, a global ideological struggle in which European and Asian models may have advantages. An important look at the power struggle that is defining our times, Power, Inc. also offers critical insights into how to navigate the tumultuous years ahead.
Creative Destruction: How Globalization Is Changing the World's Cultures
Tyler Cowen - 2002
A Thai schoolgirl mimics Madonna. Saddam Hussein chooses Frank Sinatra's My Way as the theme song for his fifty-fourth birthday. It is a commonplace that globalization is subverting local culture. But is it helping as much as it hurts? In this strikingly original treatment of a fiercely debated issue, Tyler Cowen makes a bold new case for a more sympathetic understanding of cross-cultural trade. Creative Destruction brings not stale suppositions but an economist's eye to bear on an age-old question: Are market exchange and aesthetic quality friends or foes? On the whole, argues Cowen in clear and vigorous prose, they are friends. Cultural destruction breeds not artistic demise but diversity.Through an array of colorful examples from the areas where globalization's critics have been most vocal, Cowen asks what happens when cultures collide through trade, whether technology destroys native arts, why (and whether) Hollywood movies rule the world, whether globalized culture is dumbing down societies everywhere, and if national cultures matter at all. Scrutinizing such manifestations of indigenous culture as the steel band ensembles of Trinidad, Indian handweaving, and music from Zaire, Cowen finds that they are more vibrant than ever--thanks largely to cross-cultural trade.For all the pressures that market forces exert on individual cultures, diversity typically increases within society, even when cultures become more like each other. Trade enhances the range of individual choice, yielding forms of expression within cultures that flower as never before. While some see cultural decline as a half-empty glass, Cowen sees it as a glass half-full with the stirrings of cultural brilliance. Not all readers will agree, but all will want a say in the debate this exceptional book will stir.
Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy
Jonathan Rauch - 2015
What if idealistic reform itself is a culprit?In Political Realism, Jonathan Rauch argues that well-meaning efforts to stem corruption and increase participation have stripped political leaders and organizations of the tools they need to forge compromises and make them stick. Fortunately, he argues, much of the damage can be undone by rediscovering political realism. Instead of trying to drive private money away out of politics, how about channeling it to strengthen parties and leaders? Instead of doubling down on direct democracy, how about giving political professionals more influence over candidate nominations? Rauch shows how a new generation of realist thinkers is using time-tested truths about politics and government to build reforms for our time.Rich with contrarian insights and fresh thinking, Political Realism is an eye-opening challenge to today's conventional wisdom about what ails American government and politics.
The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap
Ralph Nader - 2004
Bush,corporate government, and the whole charade of presidential campaigning -- from the last honest man in American politicsRalph Nader -- brilliant visionary, relentless activist -- may be the most honest man left in politics. And yet his presidential campaigns have faced consistent opposition -- mainly from Democrats afraid that competition from an inspiring independent could dent their voting block.Now, in The Good Fight, Nader swings back harder than ever at those who "want to block the American people from having more voices and choices" and have lost touch with the concept that votes must be earned, not inherited or entitled. While taking on corporate-occupied Washington and the government's daily abuse of ordinary citizens, he urges a speedy return to stronger civic motivation. If fed-up citizens don't actively join the fight for better leadership, then ultimately we have no one to blame but ourselves for the inadequate checks on the erosion of our civil liberties.In an era when politicians sell us rhetoric and then sell out our principles, Nader stands as a crucial voice of candor. The Good Fight is a stirring response to politics as usual, one that will captivate readers of all political stripes and help us define what we must do to shape the brightest future for our nation.