Business, Finance & Law Books
Penguin Books Ltd Superfreakonomics
Book SynopsisThe international bestselling Freakquel to Levitt and Dubner''s Freakonomics, this book sees them looking deeper, questioning harder and uncovering even more hidden truths about our world, from global cooling to patriotic prostitutes, drunk walking to why suicide bombers should buy life insurance.''Mind-blowing'' Wall Street Journal''Page-turning, politically incorrect and ever-so-slightly intoxicating, like a large swig of tequila'' The Times''Like Freakonomics but better ... you are guaranteed a good time'' Financial Times''Great fun ... Levitt is a master at drawing counter-intuitive conclusions'' Sunday Times''Studded with intriguing examples'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewLike Freakonomics, but better ... thrilling ... you are guaranteed a good time ... underneath the dazzle, there is substance too -- Tim Harford Financial Times Levitt is a master at drawing counter-intuitive conclusions ... great fun ... Superfreakonomics travels further than its predecessor -- Tom Standage Sunday Times A humdinger ... Page-turning, politically incorrect and ever-so-slightly intoxicating, like a large swig of tequila The Times
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Eating Animals Jonathan Safran Foer
Book SynopsisTo reduce risk of pandemics for ourselves, our gaze needs to turn to the health of animals. Discover Jonathan Safran Foer''s eye-opening and life-changing account of the meat we eat.''Should be compulsory reading. A genuine masterwork. Read this book. It will change you'' Time OutEating Animals is the most original and urgent book on the subject of food written this century. It will change the way you think, and change the way you eat. For good.Whether you''re flirting with veganuary, trying to cut back on animal consumption, or a lifelong meat-eater, you need to read this book.From the bestselling author of the essential book on animal agriculture and climate crisis: We are the Weather.''Shocking, incandescent, brilliant'' The Times''Everyone who eats flesh should read this book'' Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall''Universally compelling. Jonathan Safran Foer''Trade ReviewA spirited, emotional and well-researched investigation into what our taste for flesh really means Observer Deserves a place at the table with our greatest philosophers Los Angeles Times Shocking, incandescent, brilliant The Times Everyone who eats flesh should read this book -- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Extremely smart and incredibly curious Vanity Fair Gripping, horrible, wonderful, breathtaking, original. A brilliant synthesis of argument, science and storytelling. One of the finest books ever written on the subject of eating animals -- The Times Literary Supplement
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Organization Theory Selected Classic Readings
Book SynopsisThis book spans seventy years of theory from Max Weber''s seminal writings on bureaucratic organization to the latest management thinking represented by Handy, Peters and Waterman. Covering three main areas of interest, those of the structure of organizations, management and decision making, as well as that of organizational behaviour, this thoroughly revised and updated edition contains a vast amount of new contributions. It is a widely acknowledged text in its field, and an essential handbook for all those it concerns. It has also been announced as a core text for Open University courses from January 2008.
£16.19
Penguin Books Ltd False Economy
Book Synopsis*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*Why do some countries succeed while others fail? What causes boom or bust? The World Trade Editor of the FT explains how the world really works.''A thorough examination of economies from the age of empire to the age of the IMF'' The Washington PostWhy do oil and diamonds lead to economic disaster more often than boom? Why doesn''t Africa grow cocaine? Why might believing in God be good for your balance-sheet?Botswana and Sierra Leone are both blessed with abundant diamonds. Why did Botswana became the world''s fastest-growing economy while Sierra Leone suffered a decade of brutal civil war?For the past two hundred years Argentina had enjoyed a vista of economic opportunity almost identical to that of the USA but in 2001 Argentina''s government bankrupted itself. Why did the USA succeed while Argentina stalled?Time and again, world leaders have failed to
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Partnership
Book SynopsisDespite financial turmoil, Goldman Sachs remain the leading investment bank in their field. They are notorious for their unique management culture, unorthodox recruiting techniques - and for their secrecy. In The Partnership Charles Ellis reveals their story. With unparalleled access to the leadership of this famously close-knit firm, Ellis investigates the brilliant individuals who turned a marginal family business into a global powerhouse, weathering recession, scandal and disaster on the way. Among them are high school dropout and financial genius Sidney Weinberg, maverick reinventor John Whitehead, former US treasury secretary Hank Paulson and working-class New Yorker turned current CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. The Partnership reveals the shared values of intensive recruitment, discipline and talent that have tied Goldman Sachs''s people together - and made it a survivor.
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Waste
Book SynopsisCombining frontline investigation with startling new data, Tristram Stuart''s Waste shows how the way we live now has created a global food crisis - and what we can do to fix it. With shortages, volatile prices and nearly one billion people hungry, the world has a food problem - or thinks it does. Yet farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers in North America and Europe discard up to half of their food - enough to feed all the world''s hungry at least three times over. Forests are destroyed and nearly one tenth of the West''s greenhouse gas emissions are released growing food that will never be eaten. While affluent nations throw away food through neglect, in the developing world crops rot because farmers lack the means to process, store and transport them to market. But there could be surprisingly painless remedies for what has become one of the world''s most pressing environmental and social problems. Travelling from Yorkshire to
£12.99
Penguin Books Ltd How Markets Fail
Book SynopsisHow did we get to where we are? John Cassidy shows that the roots of our most recent financial failure lie not with individuals, but with an idea - the idea that markets are inherently rational. He gives us the big picture behind the financial headlines, tracing the rise and fall of free market ideology from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan. Full of wit, sense and, above all, a deeper understanding, How Markets Fail argues for the end of ''utopian'' economics, and the beginning of a pragmatic, reality-based way of thinking.Trade ReviewA very good history of economic thought * Economist *How Markets Fail offers a brilliant intellectual framework . . . fine work * New York Times *An essential, grittily intellectual, yet compelling guide to the financial debacle of 2009 * Geordie Greig, Evening Standard *A powerful argument . . . Cassidy makes a compelling case that a return to hands-off economics would be a disaster * BusinessWeek *This book is a well constructed, thoughtful and cogent account of how capitalism evolved to its current form * Telegraph Books of the Year recommendation *John Cassidy ... describe[s] that mix of insight and madness that brought the world's system to its knees * FT, Book of the Year recommendation *Anyone who enjoys a good read can safely embark on this tour with Cassidy as their guide . . . Like his colleague Malcolm Gladwell [at the New Yorker], Cassidy is able to lead us with beguiling lucidity through unfamiliar territory * New Statesman *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Invisible Hand
Book SynopsisAdam Smith's landmark treatise on the free market paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that competition is the engine of a productive society, and that self-interest will eventually come to enrich the whole community, as if by an invisible hand'. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd What the Customer Wants You to Know
Book SynopsisAccording to business guru Ram Charan, the process of selling is broken. Demand for competitive pricing is ever on the increase, and customers want more than great products at great prices; they want you to know how their business works, so that you can make it work better. It is time for companies to re-think their selling processes, and that''s where Charan''s concept of Value Creation Selling fits in. It is a new approach that while radical is nonetheless practical and produces stronger customer relationships and long term rewards. VCS will enable you to:Gain a deeper knowledge of your customer''s businessUse this knowledge to improve your customer''s marginsShow how your product and expertise is a winning combinationSomeday, every company will listen more closely to the customer. . .
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Last Tycoons The Secret History of Lazard
Book SynopsisWilliam D. Cohan''s The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. is the astonishing story of the world''s most elite and legendary investment bank - and the men who reigned over it all. For over 150 years Lazard Frères had stood apart from other Wall Street firms by offering ultra-wealthy clients the wisdom of its ''Great Men'': from Felix Rohatyn, the escapee from Nazi-occupied France turned financial genius, to Michel David-Weill, the inscrutable French billionaire ''Sun King''; from Steve Rattner, the boy wonder from Long Island who clashed violently with the old guard, to larger-than-life CEO Bruce Wasserstein, ''Bid-Em-Up-Bruce'', who broke with the bank''s traditions and made himself billions in the process. They amassed unimaginable fortunes and would stop at nothing to make a deal, until their titanic egos started to jeopardize everything. In The Last Tycoons William Cohan, himself a former high-level Wall Street banker, Trade ReviewRiveting … a genuine page-turner * Will Hutton *Spellbinding * Financial Times *A definitive account … it lives up to the billing * The Times *Has sent a jolt through Lazard and the rest of Wall Street * Wall Street Journal *An epic * The New York Times *Spellbinding * Financial Times *
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Ecological Intelligence
Book SynopsisDaniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and journalist. He is co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the Yale University Child Studies Center (now at the University of Illinois at Chicago), co-chairman of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, based in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University, and a member of the board of directors of the Mind & Life Institute. His book Emotional Intelligence was on the New York Times bestseller list for a year and a half, with nearly 6 million copies in print worldwide and translated into thirty languages, it remains one of the bestselling non-fiction works of the past decade. Goleman lives in the Berkshires in the United States.Trade ReviewRefreshingly optimistic * Financial Times *An idea that is changing the world . . . the global economy is being remade before our eyes * Time Magazine *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Plundered Planet
Book SynopsisIn The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity with Nature Paul Collier proposes a radical and often counter-intuitive rethink of international policy in order to combat global poverty and environmental devastation. How can we help poorer countries become richer without harming the planet? Is there a way of reconciling prosperity with nature? World-renowned economist Paul Collier offers smart, surprising and above all realistic answers to this dilemma. Steering a path between the desires of unchecked profiteering and the romantic views of environmentalists, he explores creative ways to deal with poverty, overpopulation and climate change - showing that the solutions needn''t cost the earth. ''A practical handbook for ending world poverty. He wants us to read the evidence, not wear slogans on our T-shirts'' Sunday Times ''Collier and his team have researched the detail ... If you want to help the worldTrade ReviewA path-breaking book -- George SorosPaul Collier has written with great insight about the prospects of the bottom billion. In The Plundered Planet, he addresses himself to the complex opportunities, challenges and risks in managing the planet's natural resources. The bottom billion have a huge stake and an important role in the outcomes. Collier helps us see these issues through their eyes -- Michael Spence, winner of the Nobel Prize in EconomicsRead this book -- Sir Nicholas Stern, author of The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate ChangeOriginal, important and always thought-provoking. I learned a lot -- Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist and The Logic of LifeCollier's arguments are compassionate and convincing, and his straightforward explanations of economic principles are leavened with humor and impressively accessible * Publishers Weekly *Paul Collier must be read if one is to begin to understand the most vital contemporary arguments. -- Bob GeldofCollier and his team have researched the detail ... If you want to help the world, stem your bleeding heart and tell your broker to switch your funds to Emerging Markets (Africa) * Sunday Telegraph *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd How The West Was Lost
Book SynopsisFrom the author of Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo''s How the West was Lost explores how the ''first world'' has its wasted inheritance with flawed economic policy - and what can be done to reverse the decline. We think we know what''s coming. But is it already too late? How the West Was Lost is a wake-up call for all of us. Dambisa Moyo argues that during the last fifty years the most advanced countries on earth have squandered their advantage through fatally flawed policies: obsessing over property, ravenously consuming and building up debt instead of investing. Here Moyo outlines solutions that could help stem the tide. By rethinking many of the things we take for granted, she shows, it may yet be possible for the West to get back into the race. ''An outspoken iconoclast ... Moyo shows well how fundamental economic liberalisation espoused by what she calls the profligate, greedy, self-interested West has come back to bite it'' Guardian ''Succinct and sophisticated ... I applaud her brave alarum against our economic and social complacency'' Observer ''A well-reasoned look at how the world''s most-advanced nations are squandering their economic lead ... a prescription for stopping the rot'' Bloomberg ''Clear and brazen ... This argument has rarely have been made more concisely'' The Times ''An economist who makes waves'' Sunday Telegraph Dambisa Moyo worked at Goldman Sachs for eight years, having previously worked for the World Bank as a consultant. Moyo completed a PhD in Economics at Oxford University, and holds a Masters from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Her other books include Winner Take All and How the West was Lost. She was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia.Trade ReviewMoyo's diagnosis of the recent disasters in financial markets is succinct and sophisticated...I applaud her brave alarum against our economic and social complacency: her core concerns are sufficiently close to painful truths to warrant our attention. -- Paul Collier * The Observer *We [in the West] have alienated trading partners and are colluding in the decline of our own prosperity, says Moyo, who sets out strategies for weighting the political seesaw back to our advantage. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *This argument...can rarely have been made more concisely...Moyo is a very serious lady indeed. -- Dominic Lawson * The Times *The sad saga of the recession gives legs to Dambisa Moyo's provocatively-entitled book, for it goes to the heart of the great economic issue of our times: how swiftly will power shift over this century? -- Hamish McRae * The Independent *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Big Short
Book SynopsisTHE OUTRAGEOUS NO.1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER, NOW AN OSCAR- AND BAFTA-WINNING FILM From the jungles of the trading floor to the casinos of Las Vegas, The Big Short, Michael Lewis''s No.1 bestseller, tells the story of the misfits, renegades and visionaries who saw that the biggest credit bubble of all time was about to burst, bet against the banking system - and made a killing. ''In the hands of Michael Lewis, anything is possible ... if you want to know how a nation lost its financial mind - and have a good laugh finding out - this is the book to read'' Sunday Times ''Magnificent ... a perfect storm of brilliant writer meeting big subject'' Guardian ''A triumph ... riveting ... The Big Short reads like a thriller'' The Times''A terrifying story, superbly well told'' Daily Telegraph''A rollicking good yarn'' Financial Times ''Probably the single best piece of financial joTrade ReviewIt's time to throw another tank of petrol on the Wall Street pyre, as only Lewis can * Financial Times *He is so good everyone else may as well pack up * Evening Standard *No one writes with more narrative panache about money and finance than Mr. Lewis -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Probably the single best piece of financial journalism ever written * Reuters *Hugely entertaining * Economist *Terrifying and superbly told * Daily Telegraph *Genius * Sunday Times *Compelling and horrifying -- GQA more than worthy successor to Liar's Poker ... if you want to know about the origins of the credit crunch, and the extraordinary cast of misfits, visionaries and chancers who made money from the crash, there's no more readable account * Daily Telegraph *A triumph ... riveting ... a genuine page-turner * Times *The very best book about this whole affair -- John Lanchester, author of 'Whoops!'If you read only one book about the causes of the recent financial crisis, let it be Michael Lewis's The Big Short * Washington Post *In the hands of Michael Lewis, anything is possible ... if you want to know how a nation lost its financial mind - and have a good laugh finding out - this is the book to read. * The Sunday Times *Magnificent ... a perfect storm of brilliant writer meeting big subject. * The Guardian *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Keynes
Book SynopsisRobert Skidelsky is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His three volume biography of the economist John Maynard Keynes (1983, 1992, 2000) received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. ('This three-volume life of the British economist should be given a Nobel Prize for History if there was such a thing' - Norman Stone.) He is the author of the The World After Communism (1995). He was made a life peer in 1991, and was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1994.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Whoops
Book SynopsisJohn Lanchester''s Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay is the unbelievable true story of the economic crisis. We are, to use a technical economic term, screwed. The cowboy capitalists had a party with everyone''s money and now we''re all paying for it. What went wrong? And will we learn our lesson - or just carry on as before, like celebrating surviving a heart attack with a packet of Rothmans? John Lanchester travels with a cast of characters - including reckless banksters, snoozing regulators, complacent politicians, predatory lenders, credit-drunk spendthrifts, and innocent bystanders to understand deeply and genuinely what is happening and why we feel the way we do. ''Devastatingly funny ... the route map to the crazed world of contemporary finance we have all been waiting for'' Will Self ''Bang on the money'' Independent ''Explains the crisis in a way that actuTrade ReviewThis is what George Bernard Shaw might have called An Intelligent Person's Guide to the Crisis of Modern Capitalism, and everyone ought to read it * Robert Harris, Sunday Times *Original . . . beautifully written . . . both entertaining and profoundly anger-inducing * Chris Blackhurst, Evening Standard *The route map to the crazed world of contemporary finance we have all been waiting for. John Lanchester's superb book is everything its subject - the 2008 crash - was not: namely lucid, beautifully contrived, comprehensible to the reader with no specialist knowledge - and most of all devastatingly funny -- Will SelfWickedly funny . . . Good humor and good company will be the things that'll get us through * Dwight Garner, New York Times *Endlessly witty, but the wit is underpinned by a tremendous, unembarrassed anger and moral lucidity. A superb guide which will turn any reader into an expert within the space of 200 pages. * Jonathan Coe *Explains the madness of modern capitalism with razor-sharp insight, brilliant clarity and a refreshing dose of humour. A great book. * John O'Farrell *Scarier than Thomas Harris * Nicci French *John Lanchester's newfound mission: to explain the world of finance to the general public . . . The result is the perfect read for anyone still wondering what went wrong and why. Unless you'd rather they didn't know * Bloomberg *Literary and profound . . . a master explainer with an excellent grasp of sophisticated finance * Christopher Caldwell, The Daily Beast *Acidic, frightening, and sharply funny . . . a better book about the global meltdown than any other to date * EW.com *[A] sober message lurking among Lanchester's delightful wordplay, and it deserves attention by everyone who cares to understand where we are, how we got here and who is responsible * John Lawrence Reynolds, Globe and Mail *This is a piece of genius . . . It tells a proper story, like a novel, and we're all part of it - which means it is *gripping*. Yes! Gripping! A book about money! I know! But it's true. It is necessary, particularly - but not exclusively - if you're somebody who thinks, 'Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Iceland, um, mortgages, er...' and doesn't want to keep thinking it until the end of time, amoeba-stylee. I humbly posit that it is a masterpiece * India Knight *Lanchester has turned that fascination - coupled with a kind of astonished anger - into a lucid, conversational account of the crisis designed for non-financial types and helpfully leavened with jokes, swearing and interesting asides * Quentin Webb, Reuters *An excellent book for anyone wondering what the hell is going on. Triple A, as the credit rating agencies might say * Irish Times *Or you could simply borrow the book from someone. If they've read it, even better - they won't be expecting you to return it * The Telegraph *For anyone still wondering what the hell those bankers did with our money, try John Lanchester's deliciously escoriating Whoops! Even someone who can't remember their eight times tables comes away feeling wonderfully well informed -- Allison Pearson * summer reading recommendation, Psychologies *This account is by far the most lucid and entertaining explanation of the world banking crisis of 2008 -- Megan Walsh * summer reading recommendation, Times *A lively lay reader's guide to the financial crisis, written by a novelist who sought to educates himself about banking and its failures. Funny and pointed, it exposes the gulf between the two cultures of modern Britain: financial and non-financial -- Ed Crooks * summer reading recommendation, Financial Times *If you want to look like a rock of good sense, a person who is deep and wise and worried, then I suggest Whoops! by John Lanchester ... If only the Queen Mother were still alive, it would make sense even to her -- Colm Toibin * summer reading recommendation, Guardian *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Crisis Economics
Book SynopsisIn this myth-busting book Nouriel Roubini shows that everything we think about economics is wrong. Financial crises are not unpredictable ''black swans'', but an inherent part of capitalism. Only by remaking our financial systems to acknowledge this, can we get out of the mess we''re in. Will there be another recession, and if so what shape? When will the next bubble occur? What can we do about it? Here Roubini gives the answers, and lists his commandments for the future.Trade ReviewSuccinct, lucid and compelling ... essential reading -- Michiko Kakutani * The New York Times *His was one of the few voices in the economics profession to have correctly predicted the crisis ... broad, well-argued and easy to digest * Independent *This is a wake-up call * Observer *Nouriel Roubini was right -- Paul Krugman * Time *The seer who saw it coming * The New York Times *The man known as "Dr Doom" has been hailed as a prophet * Financial Times *The only professional economist who really predicted the crisis, and perhaps the only independent thinker in that business -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Scarcity
Book SynopsisSendhil Mullainathan, the ''most interesting young economist in the world'', and Eldar Shafir, the ''most brilliant psychologist'' of his generation, explain the hidden problem behind everything with ScarcityWhy can we never seem to keep on top of our workload, social diary or chores? Why does poverty persist around the world? Why do successful people do things at the last minute in a sudden rush of energy? Here, economist Sendhil Mullainathan and psychologist Eldar Shafir reveal that the hidden side behind all these problems is that they''re all about scarcity. Using the new science of scarcity, they explain why obesity is rampant; why people find it difficult to sleep when most sleep deprived; and why the lonely find it so hard to make friends. Scarcity will change the way you think about both the little everyday tasks and the big issues of global urgency.''Stars in their respective disciplines, and the combination is greater than the sum of its parts. Their project has a unique feel to it: it is the finest combination of heart and head that I have seen in our field'' - Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow''Scarcity is a captivating book, overflowing with new ideas, fantastic stories, and simple suggestions that just might change the way you live'' - Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics''An ultimately humane and very welcome book'' - Oliver Burkeman, Guardian Sendhil Mullainathan is a Professor of Economics at Harvard, and a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant. He conducts research on development economics, behavioural economics, and corporate finance. He is Executive Director of Ideas 42, Institute of Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University.Eldar Shafir is William Stewart Tod Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Most of his work focuses on descriptive analyses of inference, judgment, and decision making, and on issues related to behavioural economics.Trade ReviewStars in their respective disciplines, and the combination is greater than the sum of its parts. Their project has a unique feel to it: it is the finest combination of heart and head that I have seen in our field -- Daniel Kahneman, author of 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'Scarcity is a captivating book, overflowing with new ideas, fantastic stories, and simple suggestions that just might change the way you live -- Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of 'Freakonomics'Here is a winning recipe. Take a behavioral economist and a cognitive psychologist, each a prominent leader in his field, and let their creative minds commingle. What you get is a highly original and easily readable book that is full of intriguing insights. What does a single mom trying to make partner at a major law firm have in common with a peasant who spends half her income on interest payments? The answer is scarcity. Read this book to learn the surprising ways in which scarcity affects us all -- Richard Thaler, co-author of 'Nudge'An ultimately humane and very welcome book -- Oliver Burkeman * Guardian *The book's unified theory of the scarcity mentality is novel in its scope and ambition * The Economist *A succinct, digestible and often delightfully witty introduction to an important new branch of economics -- Felix Martin * New Statesman *A pacey dissection of a potentially life-changing subject * Time Out *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd GoGivers Sell More
Book SynopsisThe sequel to the international bestseller The Go-Giver, applying its inspirational approach to real-world challenges.The Go-Giver took the business world by storm with its message that giving is the simplest, most fulfilling, and most effective path to success. It has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers; but some have wondered how the story''s lessons stand up to the tough challenges of everyday, real-world business.Bob Burg and John David Mann answer that question in Go-Givers Sell More, a practical guide that turns giving into the cornerstone of a powerful and effective approach to selling.Most of us think of sales as a struggle to make people do something they don''t really want to do. But that cut-throat mentality makes the process much harder than it has to be - especially in an economic downturn when customers are more suspicious and defensive than ever. It''s far more effective (and satisfying) when salespeople think like Go-Givers Trade ReviewUse the approach in this book and you will not only sell more, you will also lead a rich and joyous life. It works! * Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese? *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Great Degeneration
Book SynopsisThe decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Symptoms of decline are all around us today: slowing growth, crushing debts, ageing populations. But what exactly is amiss with Western civilization? The answer, Niall Ferguson argues, is that the institutions that were once the four pillars of Western society - representative government, the free market, the rule of law and civil society - are degenerating. The Great Degeneration is a powerful indictment of an era of negligence and complacency. To stop us frittering away the institutional inheritance of centuries, Ferguson warns, will take heroic leadership and radical reform. ''A refreshing perspective on the economic decline of advanced countries and the origins of the crisis'' Samuel Brittan, Financial Times ''He writes with splendid panache and a seemingly effortless, debonair wit'' The Times ''One of the most incisive writers of history, poliTrade ReviewBrilliantly written, full of wit and virtuosity, stuffed with memorable lines and gorgeous bits of information. A great read * The Times (on Civilization) *A dazzling history of Western ideas ... epic * Economist *This is sharp. It feels urgent. Ferguson... twists his knife with great literary brio -- Andrew Marr (on Civilization)A masterpiece ... fascinating facts burst like fireworks on every page * Sunday Times *Brings history alive for the reader with a dazzling knowledge ... peerless * Independent on Sunday *
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Penguin Books Ltd PostCapitalism
Book Synopsis''The most important book about our economy and society to be published in my lifetime'' Irvine WelshFrom Paul Mason, the award-winning Channel 4 presenter, Postcapitalism is a guide to our era of seismic economic change, and how we can build a more equal society. Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone continual change - economic cycles that lurch from boom to bust - and has always emerged transformed and strengthened. Surveying this turbulent history, Paul Mason wonders whether today we are on the brink of a change so big, so profound, that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system by which entire societies function, has reached its limits and is changing into something wholly new.At the heart of this change is information technology: a revolution that, as Mason shows, has the potential to reshape utterly our familiar notions of work, production and value; and to destroy an economy based on markets an
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Penguin Books Ltd The Party
Book SynopsisRichard McGregor''s The Party has been established as the book on China and its political leadership. It is indispensable to understanding what may soon become the most powerful country on earth, and here is it is newly updated to include material on the once-in-a-decade leadership changes taking place in November 2012.Newly updated version including analysis of the once-in-a-decade leadership changes taking place in November 2012China''s Communist Party is the largest, most powerful political machine in the world. Here, Richard McGregor delves deeply into its inner sanctum, revealing how this secretive cabal keeps control of every aspect of the country - its military and media, legal system and businesses, even its religious organizations. How has the Party merged Marx, Mao and the market to create a global superpower? And what does this mean for the world?''Extraordinary'', Sunday Times''Masterful ... entertaining and insTrade ReviewExtraordinary * Sunday Times *Masterful ... entertaining and insightful * Economist *Superb ... an essential, riveting guide to how the rising power really works -- Jonathan FenbyIf you read only one book about China this year, it should be this one. And if you do not read this book, you probably do not understand China today -- Arthur Kroeber * China Economic Quarterly *A compelling exploration of the world's largest and most successful political machine * New Statesman *A book that is as informative as it is entertaining ... China has been transformed. The system that takes the credit is brilliantly described by McGregor -- Chris Patten * Financial Times *McGregor is one of the best foreign journalists who have reported from China. The Party draws on two decades of superb reporting ... A fine contribution for those who want to know about the rising power they will face in the decades ahead -- Ezra Vogel, Professor Emeritus, Harvard UniversityFew outsiders have any realistic sense of the innards, motives, rivalries, and fears of the Chinese Communist leadership. But we all know much more than before, thanks to Richard McGregor's illuminating and richly-textured look at the people in charge of China's political machinery ... invaluable for anyone trying to make sense of China's future plans and choices -- James Fallows, National Correspondent for The AtlanticFascinating and ambitious ... Richard McGregor lays bare the secretive machinery of the party -- Gady Epstein * Forbes *McGregor has done the world a service with his fascinating new book -- Peter Hartcher * Sydney Morning Herald *A fascinating read ... in an age when Chinese economic influence is reaching new levels, it is an invaluable exercise in understanding the operation of the most powerful political party in the world -- Ian Kehoe * Sunday Business Post *A vivid narrative, sprinkled with humour and insight ... amazing characters ... an engrossing read * South China Morning Post *Gripping ... McGregor brings to life the characters behind the icons of Chinese power and wealth, the figures that built the Shanghai skyline and rebuilt Beijing for the Olympics. More importantly, he gives us a feel for the dynamics behind China's rise * Irish Times *A lively and penetrating account of a party that ... has clung to secrecy as an inviolable principle -- Andrew Higgins * Washington Post *Eminently readable ... McGregor has done a great service to those who would hope to better understand where China's power lies * China Economic Review *An illuminating glimpse behind the red curtain ... McGregor's lucid dissection shows how top-ranked party members - indeed the party itself - sit outside the law * Metro *
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Power of Bad And How to Overcome It
Book SynopsisWhy does a bad impression last longer than a good one? Why does losing money affect us more than gaining it? What makes phobias so hard to shake?The answer is the negativity bias - or in other words, the power of bad. As John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister show, we are wired to react to bad events more strongly than good ones. It makes sense in evolutionary terms, but in our modern world the lure of bad is more powerful than ever. It governs our moods, drives marketing and dominates the news. It can explain everything from why wars start or couples divorce, to why we mess up job interviews or feud with neighbours. But there is good news. By using smart strategies from new science, we can train our brains to get better at spotting our own negativity bias, fighting back with our rational minds to manage the bad in our lives - and even using its power for positive results.Trade ReviewIlluminating * Times *Tierney and Baumeister argue their case forcefully and well, and supply vast quantities of evidence in its favour * Daily Mail *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Rise and Fall of the British Nation A
Book Synopsis''Forget almost everything you thought you knew about Britain ... You will not find a better informed history'' David Goodhart, Evening Standard''A striking new perspective on our past'' Piers Brendon, Literary ReviewFrom the acclaimed author of Britain''s War Machine and The Shock of the Old, a bold reassessment of Britain''s twentieth century.It is usual to see the United Kingdom as an island of continuity in an otherwise convulsed and unstable Europe; its political history a smooth sequence of administrations, from building a welfare state to coping with decline. Nobody would dream of writing the history of Germany, say, or the Soviet Union in this way. David Edgerton''s major new history breaks out of the confines of traditional British national history to redefine what it was to British, and to reveal an unfamiliar place, subject to huge disruptions. This was noTrade ReviewEvery so often a book comes out that the entire political class needs to read ... Edgerton is Britain's most exciting and arresting late-modern historian ... Thanks to this rich and compelling book, we now have a proper map and compass. -- Colin Kidd * New Statesman *A fierce and dazzling account of 20th-century Britain -- Christopher de Bellaigue * Guardian *An extraordinary revisionist study of modern Britain ... Edgerton's aim here is nothing short of a radical repositioning of our sense of ourselves as a nation. It's a startling book, and an unexpected thesis ... I'll be reading [it] over and over, and for years to come.' -- Brian Morton * The Herald *Forget almost everything you thought you knew about Britain in the 20th century ... You will not find a better informed history of this country in the last century. -- David Goodhart * Evening Standard *Stimulating and bracing ... He demonstrates that the story the British tell about themselves - and how it is taught in schools and discussed in the public sphere - is bogus. -- Iain Martin * The Times *Unsentimental and rigorous rewriting of British history. ... It looks beyond the froth of political debate, takes business seriously and analyses government as much from Whitehall and administration as Westminster and politics. -- A. W. Purdue * Times Higher Education *Beautifully written and can be read with pleasure by the general reader as well as the trained historian -- Vernon Bogdanor * Daily Telegraph *Original, opinionated, scholarly, complex and immensely stimulating ... this ambitious and provocative book achieves something remarkable. It provides a striking new perspective on our past, one that future historians may not accept but will be unable to ignore. -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *A sweepingly, and ambitiously, revisionist account of 20th century British history ... full of striking lines ... and a very important challenge to much of the existing historiography. -- Duncan Weldon * Progressive Review *Timely jolt to a deluded 'Bullshit Britain'. David Edgerton fillets national delusion and historical amnesia ... of a country that knows so little of its own history. -- Chris Kissane * Irish Times *Edgerton is an extraordinary historian ... Written with bracing élan, Rise and Fall generates insights at every turn. Edgerton set out to rattle "the cage of clichés which imprison our historical and political imaginations", and succeeds magnificently. -- Nick Pearce * OpenDemocracy *... refreshing and immensely stimulating, and should be compulsory reading for anyone wanting to understand the reality of twentieth-century Britain. Lewis Namier, another historian known for his combative brand of scholarship, viewed iconoclasm as the judge of a great historian, that having produced an account of a period 'others should not be able to practise within its sphere in the terms of the preceding era'. Edgerton has certainly achieved this. -- Oliver Hadingham * History *
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd The Making of the English Working Class
Book SynopsisFifty years since first publication, E. P. Thompson''s revolutionary account of working-class culture and ideals is published in Penguin Modern Classics, with a new introduction by historian Michael KennyThis classic and imaginative account of working-class society in its formative years, 1780 to 1832, revolutionized our understanding of English social history. E. P. Thompson shows how the working class took part in its own making and re-creates the whole-life experience of people who suffered loss of status and freedom, who underwent degradation, and who yet created a cultured and political consciousness of great vitality.Reviews:''A dazzling vindication of the lives and aspirations of the then - and now once again - neglected culture of working-class England'' Martin Kettle, Observer''Superbly readable . . . a moving account of the culture of the self-taught in an age of social and intellectual deprivation'' Asa Briggs, Financial Times''Thompson''s work combines passion and intellect, the gifts of the poet, the narrator and the analyst'' E. J. Hobsbawm, Independent''An event not merely in the writing of English history but in the politics of our century'' Michael Foot, Times Literary Supplement''The greatest of our socialist historians'' Terry Eagleton, New StatesmanAbout the author:E. P. Thompson was born in 1924 and read history at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, graduating in 1946. An academic, writer and acclaimed historian, his first major work was a biography of William Morris. The Making of the English Working Class was instantly recognized as a classic on its publication in 1963 and secured his position as one of the leading social historians of his time. Thompson was also an active campaigner and key figure in the ending of the Cold War. He died in 1993, survived by his wife and two sons.Trade ReviewThompson's work combines passion and intellect, the gifts of the poet, the narrator and the analyst -- Eric Hobsbawm * Independent *A dazzling vindication of the lives and aspirations of the then - and now once again - neglected culture of working-class England -- Martin Kettle * Observer *Superbly readable . . . a moving account of the culture of the self-taught in an age of social and intellectual deprivation -- Asa Briggs * Financial Times *An event not merely in the writing of English history but in the politics of our century -- Michael Foot * Times Literary Supplement *The greatest of our socialist historians -- Terry Eagleton * New Statesman *
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd Howkins J Creative Economy
Book SynopsisCreativity is the fastest growing business in the world.Companies are hungry for people with ideas - and more and more of us want to make, buy, sell and share creative products. But how do you turn creativity into money? In this newly rewritten edition of his acclaimed book, leading creative expert John Howkins shows what creativity is, how it thrives and how it is changing in the digital age. His key rules for success include:Invent yourself. Be unique.Own your ideas. Understand copyright, patents and IP laws. Treat the virtual as real, and vice versa.Learn endlessly: borrow, reinvent and recycle.Know when to break the rules.Whether in film or fashion, software or stories, by turning ideas into assets anyone can make creativity pay.Trade ReviewJohn Howkins picks his way through the many facets of creativity, unearthing surprising facts * Economist *The first really practical guide for people working in the creative industries * Director Magazine *A valuable introduction to its brave new world * Sunday Times *A point of reference for those seeking to merge creativity with business acumen * World Intellectual Property Organization *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Map and the Territory 2.0
Book SynopsisLike all of us, though few so visibly, Alan Greenspan was forced by the financial crisis of 2008 to question some fundamental assumptions about risk management and economic forecasting. How had our models so utterly failed us? Virtually every day, we make wagers on the future - but, even when we''re not driven by factors entirely beyond our conscious control, the maps by which we are steering are often out-of-date. The Map and the Territory is an important attempt to update our forecasting conceptual grid using twenty-first-century technologies, offering a lucid and empirical grounding in what we can know about economic forecasting and what we can''t.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Emerging Africa
Book SynopsisA rare and timely intervention from Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on development in Africa.To many, Africa is the new frontier. As the West lies battered by financial crisis, Africa is seen as offering limitless opportunities for wealth creation in the march of globalization. But what is Africa to today''s Africans? Are its economies truly on the rise? And what is its likely future?In this pioneering book, leading international strategist Kingsley Moghalu challenges conventional wisdoms about Africa''s quest for growth. Drawing on philosophy, economics and strategy, he ranges from capitalism to technological innovation, finance to foreign investment, and from human capital to world trade to offer a new vision of transformation. Ultimately he demonstrates how Africa''s progress in the twenty-first century will require nothing short of the reinvention of the African mindset. ''Africans seriously analyz
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Money Machine
Book SynopsisWhat happens in the City has never affected us moreIn this excellent guide, now fully revised and updated, leading financial journalist Philip Coggan cuts through the headlines, the scandals and the jargon to explain the nuts and bolts of the financial system.What causes the pound to rise or interest rates to fall? Which are the institutions that really matter? Why is it we need the Money Machine - and what happens when it crashes? Coggan provides clear and concise answers and shows why we should all be more familiar with a system we so intimately depend upon.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Value of Everything
Book SynopsisMariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is also Founder and Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Her widely published research focuses on the relationship between public policy, innovation, and economic growth and she advises policymakers around the world on how to steer innovation so that it produces growth that is more inclusive and sustainable. She is author of the highly acclaimed book The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths and co-editor of Rethinking Capitalism: Economics and Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. She is winner of the 2014 New Statesman SPERI Prize in Political Economy, the 2015 Hans-Matthöfer-Preis and the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She was named as one of the 'three most important thinkers about innovation' in New Republic.Trade ReviewA stimulating analysis of the underlying causes of inequality and growth which forces us to confront long-held beliefs about how economies work and who benefits. ... The book itself adds value by forcing us to confront these points. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *Someone should make a musical out of this book. That is quite unlikely, I grant you, but not as unlikely as it sounds. In 1893 the Savoy theatre staged Gilbert and Sullivan's penultimate operetta, Utopia, Limited ... It is time to rework the idea and Mariana Mazzucato is a candidate to write the libretto. -- Philip Collins * The Times *As Mariana Mazzucuto's new book, published today, explains, our economy has been financialised and no longer rewards real value creation. -- Chi Onwurah * New Statesman *Mariana Mazzucato ... argues that we urgently need to rethink where wealth comes from to heal a sick system. -- Richard Kilgarriff * Management Today *Mariana Mazzucato offers an exposé of how value extractors and rent-seekers have been masquerading as value creators in the global economy. And, furthermore, how the conventional wisdom has indulged them in this. -- Fran Boait * Prospect *In The Value of Everything, published last week, Mazzucato sharpens her focus, not only lauding the role of 'mission-oriented' public investment, but honing her critique of the private sector too. -- Liam Halligan * The Spectator *Some economists merely interpret the world in various ways; others seek to change it. Mariana Mazzucato is an exemplar of the latter kind. The Italian-American is a restless thinker drawn to transformative, disruptive projects. ... Mazzucato's mission is to overturn the now dominant neoclassical theory of value. In the mid-19th century, she explained, an intellectual revolution occurred: rather than value determining price, price began to determine value. -- George Eaton * New Statesman *The Value of Everything is receiving accolades on Twitter from finance ministers and student idealists alike, and is clearly set to be essential summer reading for civil servants. -- Delphine Strauss * Financial Times *Praise for The Entrepreneurial State: Conventional economics offers abstract models; conventional wisdom insists that the answer lies with private entrepreneurship. In this brilliant book, Mariana Mazzucato...argues that the former is useless and the latter incomplete. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *One of the most incisive economic books in years. -- Jeffery Madrick * New York Review of Books *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd When to Rob a Bank
Book SynopsisThis is the ultimate guide to the world of the Freak. Renegade thinkers and bestselling sensations Levitt and Dubner have carefully curated the very best of their blogs, conversations, wisecracks and advice from the last decade to reveal the outlandish truth about everything from lying to bankrobbing, fast food to sex taxes.''We are all Freakonomists now'' Washington Post''A phenomenon ... their approach has won them a cult following'' Observer''Lie back and let Levitt and Dubner''s bouncy prose style carry you along from one peculiarity to the next'' Sunday Telegraph''You are guaranteed a good time'' Financial Times
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Penguin Books Ltd The Great Divide
Book SynopsisWhy has inequality increased in the Western world - and what can we do about it? This title argues that inequality is a choice - the cumulative result of unjust policies and misguided priorities. It exposes the inequality that is afflicting America and other Western countries in thrall to neoliberalism.
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd An Economic History of the English Garden
Book Synopsis''Roderick Floud''s ground-breaking study of the history, money, places and personalities involved in British gardens over the past 350 years gives fascinating insight into why gardening is part of this country''s soul.'' Michael Heseltine, Deputy Prime Minister (1996-1997)''Thousands of books have been written about the history of British gardens but Roderick Floud, one of Britain''s most distinguished economic historians, asks new and important questions: how much did gardens cost to build and maintain, and where did the money come from? Superbly researched, it is full of information which will surprise both economists and gardeners. The book is fun as well as edifying: Floud shows us gardens grand and humble, and introduces us gardeners, plantsmen and technologies in wonderful varieties.'' Jane Humphries, Centennial Professor, London School of EconomicsAt least since the seventeenth century, most of the English population have been unable to stop making, improving and dreaming of gardens. Yet in all the thousands of books about them, this is the first to address seriously the question of how much gardens and gardening have cost, and to work out the place of gardens in the economic, as well as the horticultural, life of the nation. It is a new kind of gardening history.Beginning with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Roderick Floud describes the role of the monarchy and central and local government in creating gardens, as well as that of the (generally aristocratic or plutocratic) builders of the great gardens of Stuart, Georgian and Victorian England. He considers the designers of these gardens as both artists and businessmen - often earning enormous sums by modern standards, matched by the nurserymen and plant collectors who supplied their plants. He uncovers the lives and rewards of working gardeners, the domestic gardens that came with the growth of suburbs and the impact of gardening on technical developments from man-made lakes to central heating.AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH GARDEN shows the extraordinary commitment of money as well as time that the English have made to gardens and gardening over three and a half centuries. It reveals the connections of our gardens to the re-establishment of the English monarchy, the national debt, transport during the Industrial Revolution, the new industries of steam, glass and iron, and the built environment that is now all around us. It is a fresh perspective on the history of England and will open the eyes of gardeners - and garden visitors - to an unexpected dimension of what they do.Trade ReviewA fascinating history of gardening reveals our expensive passion for all things green... This is the first economic history of the English garden and frankly it's almost shocking that no one has looked into it until now... There is a mind-boggling amount of detail in this book ... Floud is a clear writer and excels at providing context and keeping the whole enterprise grounded. -- Ann Treneman * The Times *We have social histories of the English garden, art histories of the big ones and plant histories of what went where. We seldom have a financial history. Floud has set out to write one, applying his head for statistics to this under-cultivated field... an invaluable checklist ... Floud's bigger point is that gardening is and has been a big element of the total economy. ... Amazing. Floud casts his net wide. -- Robin Lane Fox * Financial Times *This is a very different kind of gardening book. It's not about design or horticultural techniques, but is a history, - the first of its kind, the author claims - of the economics of gardening, financial excess and all, from Charles II to today ... extraordinarily interesting. Floud impresses on us the sheer scale of what we're dealing with here... his book is full of fascinating detail - about everything from working-class gardens, kitchen gardens and nurseries, to the astonishing cost of some rare plants and their shrinking value over time. -- Andrew Holgate * Sunday Times *This is one of the most important books on garden history in the last half century and, for anyone serious about the subject, it is a Must Buy. -- Richard Mawrey * Historic Gardens Newsletter *a new kind of garden history ... Filled with fascinating and often surprising details -- P D Smith * Guardian *this is an immensely engaging book. The figures Floud presents, while abundant and obviously carefully uncovered, are so remarkable ... Floud's economic approach may seem an oblique means of interpreting [a landscape] but, trust me, it is surprisingly rewarding -- Robert Leigh-Pemberton * Daily Telegraph *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Asias Reckoning
Book Synopsis''Stunningly good'' Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard, Books of the Year 2017 A Financial Times Best Book of 2017''A shrewd and knowing book.'' Robert D. Kaplan, The Wall Street Journal''A compelling and impressive read.'' The Economist''Skillfully crafted and well-argued.'' Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Financial Times''An excellent modern history. . . . provides the context needed to make sense of the region''s present and future.'' Joyce Lau, South China Morning PostThe dramatic story of the relationship between the world''s three largest economies, one that is shaping the future of us all, by one of the foremost experts on east AsiaFor more than half a century, American power in the Pacific has successfully kept the peace. But it has also cemented the tensions in the toxic rivalry between China and Japan, consumed with endless history wars and entrenched political dynasTrade ReviewA shrewd and knowing book -- Robert D. Kaplan * Wall Street Journal *A compelling and impressive read * Economist *Skillfully crafted and well-argued -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom * Financial Times *An excellent modern history. . . . provides the context needed to make sense of the region's present and future. -- Joyce Lau * South China Morning Post *[A] wide-ranging study of China's re-emergence as a regional power in Asia after a long hiatus, thwarting the designs of other powers, including the United States and Russia. . . . The U.S. [finds itself] firmly ensnared in the so-called Thucydides trap, 'the principle that it is dangerous to build an empire but even more dangerous to let it go.' So it is, and the current leadership appears to be at a loss about what to do or to formulate other aspects of any coherent policy in and toward Asia. . . . Geopolitics wonks will want to give attention to this urgent but nonsensationalized argument. * Kirkus Reviews *The United States, China, and Japan form the power triangle that will shape much of the international politics in the 21st century. Richard McGregor's masterful The Party illuminated one corner of that triangle-China. In this important book he describes how the other two corners have interacted with China since World War II. Lucid, insightful and ominous, as the author describes big trouble ahead -- Eliot Cohen, author of SUPREME COMMANDRichard McGregor's new book is essential reading for anyone worried about the most fraught relationship in Asia-between China and Japan. With extensive experience in and knowledge of both China, Japan, and the United States, McGregor is in a unique position to unpack the relationship and sort through the extensive propaganda and myth-making on all sides. A great read! -- John Pomfret, author of The Beautiful Country and the Middle KingdomMcGregor distills years of meetings with high officials in China and Japan to give a vivid nuanced picture of their relations in the 21st century -- Ezra Vogel, author of Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of ChinaAn in-depth depiction of radical changes and challenges in Japan-China relations in the post-war period, thoroughly researched and rich in storytelling. In the course of tumultuous relations with China, Japan has had to trail blaze in the face of the rise of China. Japan's naked exposure to the unfolding Realpolitik with China at its core is for the first time comprehensively reviewed. -- Yoichi Funabashi, former Editor-in-Chief, Asahi ShimbunA must read for anyone who wants to understand our future. Asia's Reckoning provides a detailed picture of the slow military, diplomatic and economic waltz between China, Japan and the United States that determined the shape of the past half-century. -- Nicholas Stuart * Brisbane Times *A compelling account of the post-war relationship between China, Japan and America, brings to life one of the world's most complicated love-hate triangles. -- Clifford Coonan * Irish Times *McGregor's brilliant book is packed with insights on the complex Sino-Japanese relationship, the gist of that being that past history should be our teacher rather than master. Will a more powerful China learn magnanimity, one wonders. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard, Book of the Year *For journalists taking up new posts in China, the first book I always suggest is Richard McGregor's The Party. I will now add McGregor's new book, Asia's Reckoning, to my list for those headed to the Far East. -- Melissa Chan * Los Angeles Review of Books *In Asia's Reckoning, Richard McGregor provides a cogent and superbly researched guide to the deep forces that undergird China's geopolitical strategy and the attempts of two other great powers in the region, the United States and Japan, to deal with it. -- Peter Tasker * The Mekong Review *McGregor's fascinating narrative of the three countries' relations over 50 years is filled with fresh anecdotes drawn from interviews and newly released archival documents. McGregor has a sharp eye for personalities and policy factions, as well as a firm grasp of geopolitics. -- Andrew Nathan * Foreign Affairs *Richard McGregor has followed up his masterful 2010 book on The Party by focusing on the collisions and the less frequent collusions between the three Pacific powers: China, Japan and the US. Most regional strategic writing is focused on one of the three countries, but McGregor has done immense research in each of them and sets up the story beautifully. -- Rowan Callick * The Australian *McGregor offers a masterful account of the complex fifty-year dance between China, Japan and the United States. -- Graeme Dobell * The Strategist *McGregor has written a magisterial book that combines old-fashioned shoe leather reporting and extensive archival research to hart seven decades of history between the three countries. -- Anna Fifield * Australian Foreign Affairs *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Square and the Tower
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Thank You for Being Late
Book SynopsisTHE NEW INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE WORLD IS FLATWe all sense it: something big is going on. Life is speeding up, and it is dizzying. Here Thomas L. Friedman reveals the tectonic movements that are reshaping our world, how to adapt to this new age and why, sometimes, we all need to be late.''A master class ... As a guide for perplexed Westerners, this book is very hard to beat ... an honest, cohesive explanation for why the world is the way it is, without miracle cures or scapegoats'' John Micklethwait, The New York Times Book Review''Wonderful ... admirably honest ... injects a badly needed dose of optimism into the modern debate'' Gillian Tett, Financial Times''His main piece of advice for individuals, corporations, and countries is clear: Take a deep breath and adapt. This world isn''t going to wait for you'' Fortune''A humane and empathetic book'' David Henkin, The Washington PostTrade ReviewHis most ambitious book - part personal odyssey, part commonsense manifesto ... An honest, cohesive explanation for why the world is the way it is, without miracle cures or scapegoats. And that is why everybody should hope this book does very well indeed -- John Micklethwait * The New York Times *Engaging ... In some senses Thank You For Being Late is an extension of [Friedman's] previous works, woven in with wonderful personal stories (including admirably honest discussions about the nature of being a columnist). What gives Friedman's book a new twist is his belief that upheaval in 2016 is actually far more dramatic than earlier phases. -- Gillian Tett * Financial Times *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Shifts and the Shocks, and one of the most influential writers on economics, a reckoning with how and why the relationship between democracy and capitalism is coming undone We are living in an age when economic failings have shaken faith in global capitalism. Political failings have undermined trust in liberal democracy and in the very notion of truth. The ties that ought to bind open markets to free and fair elections are being strained and rejected, even in democracy''s notional heartlands. Around the world, democratic capitalism, which depends on the determined separation of power from wealth, is in crisis. Some now argue that capitalism is better without democracy; others that democracy is better without capitalism.This book is a forceful rejoinder to both views. It analyses how the marriage between capitalism and democracy has become so fraught and yet insists that a divorce would be an almost unimaginable calamity. Martin Wolf, one of the wisest public voices on global affairs, argues that for all its recent failings - slowing growth, increasing inequality, widespread popular disillusion - democratic capitalism, though inherently fragile, remains the best system we know for human flourishing. Capitalism and democracy are complementary opposites: they need each other if either is to thrive. Wolf''s superb exploration of their marriage shows us how citizenship and a shared faith in the common good are not romantic slogans but the essential foundation of our economic and political freedom.Trade ReviewMartin Wolf has been an incisive commentator on economics and politics for a long time. This book is an excellent and thought-provoking synthesis of his views on democratic capitalism and how to fix it. -- Ben Bernanke, former chair of the Federal ReserveMartin Wolf is one of the deepest thinkers of our times and his latest book is a must-read! He brilliantly analyzes the causes of current crisis of democratic capitalism and presents the reforms needed to successfully rejuvenate it. He rightly calls for a new alliance of reformed democratic capitalist states to protect global peace, inclusive prosperity and the planet against plutocratic populism and tyranny. Hopefully, his words will be carefully read and heeded. -- Nouriel Roubini, Professor, New York UniversityMartin Wolf is a great humanist and a sharp analytical mind. He unfurls here a bracing indictment of democratic capitalism and an inspiring defense of it. To defend the values of freedom and dignity, democracy and capitalism must both be reformed. A necessary book- and a guide -- for our times -- Daniel Ziblatt, Professsor, Harvard University and co-author of HOW DEMOCRACIES DIEMartin Wolf brings together many decades' worth of thought and analysis into this superb synthesis. An important guide for anyone seeking answers to the most difficult questions of our time. -- Anne Applebaum, Atlantic staff writer and author of TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACYMartin Wolf is our wisest, most acute, and most experienced commentator. He has long been an optimist, but no more. He believes that today's market economy is no longer compatible with a stable liberal democracy. As Plato long ago warned, insecurity and fear can be the gateways to tyranny. Wolf's recommendations are smart and sensible and perhaps not too late. A must read for both optimists and pessimists. -- Sir Angus Deaton, Nobel Prize in Economics 2015Martin Wolf has written the definitive account of what ails capitalism and democracy. This staggeringly erudite and beautifully written book is sure to become required reading for anybody who wants to understand how democratic capitalism slid into a deep crisis, why it is worth rescuing, and how to do so. -- Yascha Mounk, Professor, Johns Hopkins University and author of THE GREAT EXPERIMENTThe arrival of this book could not be timelier as the global economy darkens further. Who better than Martin Wolf, with his masterful knowledge of history and understanding of economics, to identify the twin threats of predatory capitalism and demagogic politics and to plot a narrow corridor to escape? It takes someone with a knowledge of the entire forest to isolate the rot at the base of the trees. -- Carmen M. Reinhart, Professor of Economics, Harvard UniversityPassionate, alarmed, wise: Martin Wolf has poured his soul into the book that may be recognized as his masterpiece. In it, he confronts the disturbing truths dismissed by his own complacent generation, and their consequences, with which the young will contend. -- Sir Paul Collier, author of THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISMThe Crisis of Democratic Capitalism will reach a wide and powerful audience. It will be read by world leaders and CEOs. If it convinces some of them to change tack, away from the plutocratic path that national and international economies are currently on, then we should all be grateful. -- William Davies * New Statesman *a cri de coeur ... This book, impressively researched, is ... a mine of information for anybody wanting to know about the forces driving the global economy in recent decades ... Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the others, as Churchill once said. And the same is true of capitalism relative to other forms of economic organisation. Fixing both is the task. -- David Smith * Sunday Times *The book's power lies in Wolf's central perception and the scale of the canvas he uses to illustrate it. The problems he describes - inequality, lack of social mobility, slowing productivity gains, the influence of money over politics, disaffection with democracy - are familiar, but by identifying them collectively as causes of the calamity he foresees, he gives new urgency to the need to address them. -- Emma Duncan * The Times *Martin Wolf is one of the world's most influential economists ... His new book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, is both his magnum opus and an explanation of his crisis of faith. ... Wolf argues that democracy and capitalism are complementary opposites: Opposites because capitalism depends on inequality of rewards while democracy depends on political equality, complementary because they both enshrine the principle of individual choice. But in recent decades this marriage of opposites has been falling apart, most importantly in the supposed standard-bearer of democratic capitalism, the United States. ... a penetrating analysis of Western society's ills -- Adrian Wooldridge * Bloomberg *The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism draws on the wisdom accumulated over his distinguished career... The case he makes is authoritative and compelling. * Economist *The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism will reach a wide and powerful audience. It will be read by world leaders and CEOs. If it convinces some of them to change tack, away from the plutocratic path that national and international economies are currently on, then we should all be grateful. -- William Davies * New Statesman *Martin Wolf shines a light on the doom loop of democratic capitalism ... in his fine new book -- Bill Emmott * Financial Times *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd The Entrepreneurial State
Book Synopsis10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION: UPDATED WITH A NEW PREFACE''Superb ... At a time when government action of any kind is ideologically suspect, and entrepreneurship is unquestioningly lionized, the book''s importance cannot be understated'' GuardianAccording to conventional wisdom, innovation is best left to the dynamic entrepreneurs of the private sector, and government should get out of the way. But what if all this was wrong? What if, from Silicon Valley to medical breakthroughs, the public sector has been the boldest and most valuable risk-taker of all?''A brilliant book'' Martin Wolf, Financial Times''One of the most incisive economic books in years'' Jeff Madrick, New York Review of Books''Mazzucato is right to argue that the state has played a central role in producing game-changing breakthroughs'' Economist''Read her book. It will challenge your thinking'' ForbesTrade ReviewRead her book. It will challenge your thinking * Forbes *One of the most incisive economics books in years * New York Review of Books *This book has a controversial thesis. But it is basically right * Financial Times *
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Penguin Books Ltd Good Economics for Hard Times
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewExcellent, important, disarmingly down to earth . . . they seek to shed much-needed light upon the distortions that bad economics bring to public debates while methodically deconstructing their false assumptions. * Observer *Not all economists wear ties and think like bankers. In their wonderfully refreshing book, Banerjee and Duflo delve into impressive areas of new research questioning conventional views about issues ranging from trade to top income taxation and mobility, and offer their own powerful vision of how we can grapple with them. A must-read. -- Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyCompelling, useful, relevant ... Banerjee and Duflo use extensive data to zoom out and show us a wider view of these human dynamics -- Bill GatesExcellent ... Few have grappled as energetically with the complexity of real life as Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, or got their boots as dirty in the process ... Readers will be captivated * The Economist *A canard-slaying, unconventional take on economics ... invigorating ... a treasure trove of facts and findings about the biggest economic issues of the day * The Times *A magnificent achievement, and the perfect book for our time. Banerjee and Duflo brilliantly illuminate the largest issues of the day, including immigration, trade, climate change, and inequality. -- Cass R. Sunstein, author of How Change HappensBanerjee and Duflo are masters of this terrain . . . Their book is as stimulating as it gets
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Cohan W Why Wall Street Matters
Book SynopsisIf you like your smartphone or your widescreen TV, your car or your pension, then, whether you know it or not, you are a fan of Wall Street.William D. Cohan, bestselling author of House of Cards, has long been critical of the bad behaviour that plagued much of Wall Street in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, and, as an ex-banker, he is an expert on its inner workings as well. But in recent years he has become alarmed by the vitriol directed at the bankers, traders and executives who keep the wheels of our economy turning. Why Wall Street Matters is a timely and trenchant reminder of the dire consequences for us all if the essential role these institutions play in making our lives better is carelessly curtailed.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Anxious Triumph A Global History of
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA brilliant writer with a polymathic range. With The Anxious Triumph, he has produced a magnum opus, an accessible and genuinely global history of the transformative but unstable capitalist phenomenon. ... This is a book for today and tomorrow. -- Harold James * Financial Times *It is hugely erudite: everyone can learn from it. -- Paul Collier * New Statesman *Sassoon offers us a sprawling map, studded with fascinating details. ... It is quirkily brilliant -- Adam Tooze * Guardian *He is no apologist. His comprehensive account of the origins of modern capitalism make clear the human cost of a system of institutionalised greed -- Iain Macwhirter * Herald *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Clear Bright Future
Book Synopsis''Thrilling, brilliant, radical ... an admirable defence of humans against machines'' GuardianA passionate defence of humanity and a work of radical optimism from the international bestselling author of PostcapitalismHow do we preserve what makes us human in an age of uncertainty? Are we now just consumers shaped by market forces? A sequence of DNA? A collection of base instincts? Or will we soon be supplanted by algorithms and A.I. anyway?In Clear Bright Future, Paul Mason calls for a radical, impassioned defence of the human being, our universal rights and freedoms and our power to change the world around us. Ranging from economics to Big Data, from neuroscience to the culture wars, he draws from his on-the-ground reporting from mass protests in Istanbul to riots in Washington, as well as his own childhood in an English mining community, to show how the notion of humanity has become eroded as never before.In this bTrade ReviewIt has quick wit, vivid prose and makes rapid and stimulating connections. Its subtitle sums up its strengths. Fundamentally, Mason believes in the power of agency - the ability to choose to act and shape your own future.—John McTernan, Financial TimesA very interesting book, wide-ranging, insightful and yet still optimistic...some of his glosses on the history of ideas, and their impact on our troubled present, are alone worth the price of the book: he explains, lucidly and persuasively, how the uncertainty principles of quantum mechanics - questionable in themselves - have bled, via post-modernist theory, into the climate of irrationalism and fatalism that fuels Brexit, Putin and Trump.—Ed O'Loughin, Irish TimesClear Bright Future's account of our political predicament is thrilling.—Eliane Glaser, GuardianPaul Mason is doing something remarkable in this book, though it shouldn't be remarkable: he's focusing on the nature of being human, and how this is affected for better or worse by social, economic, and political forces that might seem overwhelming. It's the best analysis of neo-liberalism that I've seen for a long time, and puts our lives in a richly described context. Best of all, it's written with clarity and passion. I hope it'll change many minds.—Philip PullmanAmid the ruins of many modern ideologies, Paul Mason's consistently bracing book offers a guide to a sustainable future - one that we can still shape with a fresh transformational vision of what it means to be free human being. Everyone should read it.—Pankaj MishraAn unshakable humanist faith runs through this book... with his humane stress on the good life, Mason defies the caricature of the Corbyn left as reheated Soviet Communism. Corbynism is also routinely charged with wanting to "take us back to the 1970s." But here its leading thinker engages with tomorrow's economy with an urgency that's not currently matched on the right.—Tom Clark, Prospect
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Econocracy
Book Synopsis''Our democracy has gone profoundly wrong. Economists have failed us. Politicians have lied to us. Things must change. This fearless new book will help make it happen'' Owen Jones''An explosive call for change ... packed with original research ... a case study for the question we should all be asking since the crash: how have the elites - in Westminster, in the City, in economics - stayed in charge?'' Aditya Chakrabortty, Guardian''Utterly compelling and sobering'' Ha-Joon ChangA century ago, the idea of ''the economy'' didn''t exist. Now economics is the supreme ideology of our time, with its own rules and language. The trouble is, most of us can''t speak it.This is damaging democracy. Dangerous agendas are hidden inside mathematical wrappers; controversial policies are presented as ''proven'' by the models of economic ''science''. Government is being turned over to a publicly unaccountable technocratic elite.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd Licence to be Bad
Book Synopsis''It is going to change the way in which we understand many modern debates about economics, politics, and society'' Ha Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don''t Tell You About CapitalismOver the past fifty years, the way we value what is ''good'' and ''right'' has changed dramatically. Behaviour that to our grandparents'' generation might have seemed stupid, harmful or simply wicked now seems rational, natural, woven into the very logic of things. And, asserts Jonathan Aldred in this revelatory new book, it''s economics that''s to blame.Licence to be Bad tells the story of how a group of economics theorists changed our world, and how a handful of key ideas, from free-riding to Nudge, seeped into our decision-making and, indeed, almost all aspects of our lives. Aldred reveals the extraordinary hold of economics on our morals and values. Economics has corrupted us. But if this hidden transformation is so recent, it can be reversed. LiceTrade Review[A] fascinating assault on modern economic orthodoxy... It is a call for us all to put aside our prejudices - some of which have been invented for us, decades ago - and ask, is this what we need? Is it even what we really want? -- Tim Stanley * Daily Telegraph *In this highly enlightening and hugely entertaining book, Jonathan Aldred guides us through the badlands of modern economics, revealing its pitfalls, quicksand, and quagmires. It is going to change the way in which we understand many modern debates about economics, politics, and society. -- Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism and Economics: The User's GuideThis an important and timely book, the best I have recently read on the subject of 'whither economics?' -- Lord Robert SkidelskyAn entertaining, wide-ranging and often challenging argument. Aldred writes exceptionally well and there is much here to agree with ... It's impossible to do justice to the sheer range of issues tackled. -- Paul Johnson * Literary Review *Illuminating ... an unusual approach to critiquing the modern economic canon. -- Paul Collier * Times Literary Supplement *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Adam Smith
Book Synopsis''A superb book'' Financial Times, Books of the YearAdam Smith is now widely regarded as ''the father of modern economics'' and the most influential economist who ever lived. But what he really thought, and what the implications of his ideas are, remain fiercely contested. Was he an eloquent advocate of capitalism and the freedom of the individual? Or a prime mover of ''market fundamentalism'' and an apologist for inequality and human selfishness? Or something else entirely? Jesse Norman''s brilliantly conceived ook gives us not just Smith''s economics, but his vastly wider intellectual project. Against the turbulent backdrop of Enlightenment Scotland, it lays out a succinct and highly engaging account of Smith''s life and times, reviews his work as a whole and traces his influence over the past two centuries.But this book is not only a biography. It dispels the myths and debunks the caricatures that have grown up around Adam Smith. It expTrade ReviewThis splendid book not only presents an excellent introduction to the life and ideas of Adam Smith, but also explains why - and how - Smith's insights can help us solve some of the most difficult social and economic problems of the contemporary world. Smith loved lucidity and relevance, and I think he would have been very happy with Norman's book. -- Amartya SenMasterly ... amid the superficiality and hysterics of modern British politics, an admirably thoughtful brain is lurking -- Edward Lucas * The Times *An important work of revisionist biography with a direct and important impact on the intellectual underpinnings of liberal free-market thought -- Oliver Letwin * Telegraph *Superb ... Norman succeeds in demonstrating the coherence and subtlety of Adam Smith's thought -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times (Books of the Year) *A remarkable and intensely readable book ... a rejoinder to those who fear that the intellectual has disappeared from politics -- John Kay * Financial Times *This book is well-written, well-argued and intensely thought-provoking, and it will rightly raise Smith's posthumous reputation -- Simon Heffer * Spectator *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Bank That Lived a Little
Book Synopsis''A brilliantly readable account, based on exceptional access, of the transformation of the old Quaker bank into a hard-charging capitalist adventurer ... both a thriller and a reminder that business is fascinating because all human life is there'' John Plender, Financial TimesBased on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank that Lived a Little describes three decades of boardroom intrigue at one of Britain''s biggest financial institutions. In a tale of feuds, grandiose dreams and a struggle for supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents, Philip Augar gives a riveting account of Barclays'' journey from an old Quaker bank to a full-throttle capitalist machine. The disagreement between those ambitious for Barclays to join the top table of global banks, and those preferring a smaller domestic role more in keeping with the bank''s traditions, cost three chief executives their jobTrade ReviewHe tells the financial story of our age -- Alec Russell * Financial Times *A brilliantly readable account, based on exceptional access to most of those involved, of the transformation of the old Quaker bank into a hard-charging capitalist adventurer. ... Philip Augar's book is both a thriller and a reminder that business is fascinating because all human life is there. -- John Plender * Financial Times *A riveting and revealing account of how a bank of high moral character with Quaker origins ended up in the sewer thanks to ambition and greed. -- Iain Martin * The Times *Once you start reading Philip Augar's well-researched book, you are captivated. ... What makes The Bank That Lived a Little a must-read is the way in which, in its pages, Barclays comes to embody all that has been, and possibly still is, wrong with the entire banking sector. -- Vicky Pryce * Literary Review *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Talking to Strangers
Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER''Compelling, haunting, tragic stories . . . resonate long after you put the book down'' James McConnachie, Sunday Times Book of the Year The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger''s motives?Using stories of deceit and fatal errors to cast doubt on our strategies for dealing with the unknown, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.Trade ReviewI love this book . . . reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news - the world. Reading this book changed me. * Oprah Winfrey *Fascinating . . . you should read the book . . . He's tackling the dark side of human nature - what do we ever know about other people? -- Sathnam Sanghera * The Times Magazine *Now that practically everybody seems to be spoiling for a fight, I have found Malcolm Gladwell's Talking to Strangers invaluable . . . His moral - to approach new people with caution and humility - has become my motto. * Evening Standard *Taut, provocative, smart . . . Gladwell's cool, playful intelligence has made him one of our leading public thinkers * New Statesman *A book examining the ways we misinterpret or fail to communicate with one another could not feel more necessary . . . the page-turning urgency of a thriller -- Chris Barton * Los Angeles Times *Superb writing. Masterful . . . bears all the marks that have made Gladwell one of the most successful non-fiction authors of his generation. -- Pilita Clark * Financial Times *A dazzling book . . . Gladwell is a rock star of nonfiction . . . ideas are slowly revealed until the reader arrives at a conclusion they didn't expect. Gladwell is advancing ideas and, sure, they are all open to challenge . . . but they are stimulating and convincing - and you won't regret a minute you spend mastering them * The Times *A wonderful provocation which Gladwell delivers like no other, an awakening to just one of the fascinations that lie in ordinary human experience . . . as ever, Gladwell's genius is in the telling. * Spectator *Malcolm Gladwell made his name bringing intellectual sparkle to everyday subjects, and his new book - about how strangers talk to each other - is no exception. -- Sean O’Hagan * Observer *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Power Law
Book SynopsisFrom an award-winning financial historian comes the gripping, character-driven story of venture capital and the world it madeInnovations rarely come from experts. Jeff Bezos was not a bookseller; Elon Musk was not in the auto industry. When it comes to innovation, a legendary venture capitalist told Sebastian Mallaby, the future cannot be predicted, it can only be discovered. Most attempts at discovery fail, but a few succeed at such a scale that they more than make up for everything else. That extreme ratio of success and failure is the power law that drives venture capital, Silicon Valley, the tech sector, and, by extension, the world.Drawing on unprecedented access to the most celebrated venture capitalists of all time, award-winning financial historian Sebastian Mallaby tells the story of this strange tribe of financiers who have funded the world''s most successful companies, from Google to SpaceX to Alibaba. With a riveting blend of storytelling and analysis, The Power Law makes sense of the seeming randomness of success in venture capital, an industry that relies, for good and ill, on gut instinct and personality rather than spreadsheets and data. We learn the unvarnished truth about some of the most iconic triumphs and infamous disasters in the history of tech, from the comedy of errors that was the birth of Apple to the venture funding that fostered hubris at WeWork and Uber to the industry''s notorious lack of women and ethnic minorities.Now the power law echoes around the world: it has transformed China''s digital economy beyond recognition, and London is one of the top cities for venture capital investment. By taking us so deeply into the VCs'' game, The Power Law helps us think about our own future through their eyes.Trade ReviewMallaby, an astute chronicler of modern capitalism, [...]writes with humour and historical sweep... His account is immensely enriched by interviews with most if not all of the rainmakers in venture capital -- Lionel Barber * Prospect *Sebastian Mallaby has done what many people would have thought it impossible to do: write a gripping book about the modern history of venture capital... Well-argued and compelling... A superb introduction to an important subject -- Paul Seabright * TLS *[An] entertaining history... If you want to understand a world in which a handful of coders became richer than most countries, this is an invaluable guide -- Sam Freedman * Sunday Times *In his well-researched book, leavened by lively portraits of leading figures, Mr Mallaby explores the history of the VC industry and the reasons for its vitality -- John Thornhill * Economist *Thoroughly magnificent... Seriously great, and wildly important... It would be difficult to find a more important book than Mallaby's in 2022, and most any year for that matter -- John Tammy * Forbes *Sebastian Mallaby sets off into the world of venture capital and the strange bunch of financiers behind some of the most successful companies. It's a tale of triumphs but also major failures, hubris and jaw-dropping eccentricity -- 'Books to look out for in 2022' * Financial Times *[An] absorbing new history of startup investing -- Liam Proud * Reuters *[Mallaby] brings his trademark mixture of exhaustive research and clear analysis to his most interesting subject so far -- Adrian Wooldridge * Bloomberg *Venture capital has influenced the American economy for over half-a-century now, and finally we have a book of exceptional reporting, analysis and storytelling to bring that history to life. What makes Sebastian Mallaby's The Power Law a classic is how deeply it takes us into VC's defining successes and failures - which are much harder to get anyone to talk frankly about. I'm not sure this is the book of VCs' dreams, but it's what the rest of us have been waiting for -- Charles DuhiggA fascinating journey through the tightly networked world of the venture capitalists who make Silicon Valley tick, from the scrappy dealmakers of the 1960s to the high-flying global investors of today. Filled with eye-opening case studies and vivid personalities, frank in its analysis of the industry's greatest strengths and most dangerous blind spots, The Power Law is essential reading for understanding our tech-driven economy and where it might go next -- Professor Margaret O’Mara, University of WashingtonAs we face urgent man-made existential challenges from climate change to economic inequality, Sebastian Mallaby shows that the capitalists of Silicon Valley are shaping the future in ways few understand. In The Power Law he takes us inside their rarified world, showing the possibilities and shortcomings of their big egos and big bets. Mallaby's deep access enables us to get a rare and unsettling look inside a subculture of unparalleled influence -- Jane Mayer, Chief Washington Correspondent, The New YorkerIf you can read only one book on venture capital, this is the one. The Power Law narrates the evolution of venture capital from its origins in Silicon Valley to its emergence in China by following the ambitious and often idiosyncratic investors who finance risky new ventures while recognizing that success is rare, but transformative. The book is a fascinating read, and illustrates well one of its core themes, that venture capital is a network that straddles and offers the virtues of both markets and corporations -- Professor AnnaLee SaxenianThis book is a powerful combination of careful research and great storytelling. Sebastian Mallaby portrays many of the world's most successful venture capitalists but also shows how the industry has evolved and why it has become a major source of innovation in our economies. Highly informative and fun to read -- Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political ScienceEveryone talks about venture capital. We glorify it, we vilify it, and everywhere outside Silicon Valley envies it. At last we have a storyteller with the intelligence to understand venture capital, the diligence to dig out some astonishing tales, and the eloquence to make the journey of discovery such a pleasure. This is a superb book -- Tim Harford, author of HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD ADD UPIn this fascinating study of venture capitalists, Sebastian Mallaby explains why they invest with the sole purpose of winning the jackpot while the rest of us are advised to invest cautiously. A compelling story of flesh and blood financiers, sprinkled with insights from which all economists could learn -- Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of EnglandHeavyweight and richly detailed, [The Power Law] is both a careering ride through the chaos of startup culture and a sober assessment of how the relationship between founders and their financiers has evolved -- Mike Jakeman * Strategy+Business *A must-read for anyone seeking to understand modern-day Silicon Valley and even our economy writ large... Phenomenally detailed and engaging -- Bethany McLean * Washington Post *A gripping fly-on-the-wall story of the rise of this unique and important industry based on extensive interviews with some of the most successful venture capitalists . . . Mr. Mallaby writes a fast-paced narrative. He also has a journalist's eye for revealing details -- Daniel Rasmussen * Wall Street Journal *Sweeping and authoritative . . . tells an undercovered tale * Financial Times *Sebastian Mallaby is the master of unspooling human drama from financial systems. Here, the venture capitalists are the protagonists. Whether it's financiers scrambling to court a pajama-wearing young Mark Zuckerberg or venture capitalist Bill Gurley's efforts to oust Uber founder Travis Kalanick from the company, the stories are almost Shakespearean in their depictions of ambition, jealousy and ego * NPR Books *
£14.24
