Product Description
Fourth Revised Edition. People in poverty face challenges virtually unknown to those in middle class or wealth--challenges from both obvious and hidden sources. The reality of being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns attention away from opportunities taken for granted by everyone else. If you work with people from poverty, some understanding of how different their world is from yours will be invaluable. Whether you're an educator--or a social, health, or legal services professional--this breakthrough book gives you practical, real-world support and guidance to improve your effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Since 1995 A Framework for Understanding Poverty has guided hundreds of thousands of educators and other professionals through the pitfalls and barriers faced by all classes, especially the poor. Carefully researched and packed with charts, tables, and questionaires, Framework not only documents the facts of poverty, it provides practical yet compassionate strategies for addressing its impact on people's lives.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent tool for educators.......2007-10-03
I just went to a one-day workshop on Ruby Payne's book and found it to be extremely valuable. I teach in a school of 2500 students, 30% of whom live in poverty. This book was an excellent tool to teach the concept that students living in poverty (especially generational poverty) often live by a different "code" than the middle class. With that said, our public educational system is largely based on the middle class code, which these students may have a hard time fitting into. Payne gives a great overview of the issues that impoverished students MAY be facing, and I don't think her work can be taken as an "all or nothing" view. Obviously, not every person reacts that same way to any given situation. However, Payne's information opened my eyes to the disparities in my classroom, and gave me a great deal of insight into students' behaviors.
This book does not perpetuate poverty--it gives educators invaluable tools to reach out to and engage our students who are living with the realities of poverty every day.
Everyone should read this book.......2007-09-23
This book is almost a workbook. It presents the culture of poverty in a way that is easy to understand and helpful to all. This should be required reading for teachers.
Beware Ruby Payne.......2007-09-18
This book perpetuates the institutionalized racism and classism that creates students who are unsuccessful in schools. Payne, whose "research" is anecdotal at best, completely unverified at worst, suggests that teachers teach to poverty, instead of fighting the social injustices that cause it. She works from the deficit theory of poverty, which has been widely discredited since the 60s, and her anecdotal examples are racist stereotypes.
This book makes white, middle-class teachers think they understand poverty, when in reality, the advice she gives teachers perpetuates poverty and does nothing to address the complex causes of it. Ruby Payne is laughing all the way to the bank.
A must read for any type of educator/counselor.......2007-09-12
This book presents a comprehensive view of the way people in different areas of society think; what things are important to them, where their priorities lie. It has tools for working within the area the student or client lives and ways to facilitate movement from one area to the next.
Classist drivel.......2007-08-28
I honestly can't believe that school districts pay a great deal of money for Ruby Payne's books and programs. While they may have slick packaging, scratch the surface and you will find damaging anecdotes that stereotype those living in poverty. Under the guise of helping to understand and improve the lives of these individuals, it serves to portray them as coming from a culture that is deficient and must be fixed to fit "our" mold. In addition, it proposes that there is a "culture of poverty". This theory has been disproved.
Save your money. Or, better, yet, by something by Jonathan Kozol.
BTW, there's a reason she self-publishes...
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Essayist and cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich has always specialized in turning received wisdom on its head with intelligence, clarity, and verve. With some 12 million women being pushed into the labor market by welfare reform, she decided to do some good old-fashioned journalism and find out just how they were going to survive on the wages of the unskilled--at $6 to $7 an hour, only half of what is considered a living wage. So she did what millions of Americans do, she looked for a job and a place to live, worked that job, and tried to make ends meet.
As a waitress in Florida, where her name is suddenly transposed to "girl," trailer trash becomes a demographic category to aspire to with rent at $675 per month. In Maine, where she ends up working as both a cleaning woman and a nursing home assistant, she must first fill out endless pre-employment tests with trick questions such as "Some people work better when they're a little bit high." In Minnesota, she works at Wal-Mart under the repressive surveillance of men and women whose job it is to monitor her behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse. She even gets to experience the humiliation of the urine test.
So, do the poor have survival strategies unknown to the middle class? And did Ehrenreich feel the "bracing psychological effects of getting out of the house, as promised by the wonks who brought us welfare reform?" Nah. Even in her best-case scenario, with all the advantages of education, health, a car, and money for first month's rent, she has to work two jobs, seven days a week, and still almost winds up in a shelter. As Ehrenreich points out with her potent combination of humor and outrage, the laws of supply and demand have been reversed. Rental prices skyrocket, but wages never rise. Rather, jobs are so cheap as measured by the pay that workers are encouraged to take as many as they can. Behind those trademark Wal-Mart vests, it turns out, are the borderline homeless. With her characteristic wry wit and her unabashedly liberal bent, Ehrenreich brings the invisible poor out of hiding and, in the process, the world they inhabit--where civil liberties are often ignored and hard work fails to live up to its reputation as the ticket out of poverty. --Lesley Reed
Book Description
Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generositya land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.
Customer Reviews:
interesting perspective.......2007-10-17
I read this years ago but came across it again while packing. I have an awful memory but for some reason this book has stayed with me. I work and go to school so reading about her experiences with being a server and cleaning brought back memories (not good ones). I enjoyed reading about her struggles on getting by and having to deal with her family while she was away. She is a journalist so that had made me feel like jumping into that career even more so at the time. I do however feel like she cheated during her "investigation," because she had ran out of money or needed something from her "previous" life. I must also add that she made good points about working for certain big companies and how corporate places treat their employees. I don't know if her book would pertain to how things are today but I'm sure some things never change.
A Necessary Read.......2007-10-14
Some Amazon Online customers disagree with my fondness for Nickel and Dimed. Various readers consider the author to be elitist and sheltered. These people consider comments such as, "I am, of course, very different from the people who normally fill America's least attractive jobs," to be arrogant. However, these comments can also be interpreted as Ehrenreich's admittance of her obvious differences from most low-wage workers, as well as her ability to give credit to her newfound co-workers. This reader goes on to criticize the author's choice of locations; Florida and Maine especially, because as he claimed, they will always be more expensive than most places. This is not necessarily factual. It will always be difficult- virtually impossible- to squeak by when earning $2.73 per hour plus tips at a low-traffic restaurant. This is inevitable whether the restaurant is in Key West, Florida (a supposedly "rich" city) or a rural area, where the cost of living will require other fees. Yet another complaint from this reader is that Ehrenreich is racist in her statement, "My worry that the Latinos might be hogging all the crap jobs and substandard housing for themselves." On the surface, this comment absolutely sounds racist. Throughout the entire book, though, Ehrenreich systemically drops these types of comments with the intention of a) being sarcastic and b) exemplifying how easy it is to develop stereotypes of people (i.e. oppressing others) when you, yourself, are oppressed. As seen, the author cannot be blamed for these particular wrongdoings.
An Important Read.......2007-10-09
For anyone who did not have to struggle through a minimum wage job as an adult, this book is for you. Way too many Americans think people can survive on minimum wage. This will humble that opinion and identify your misconceptions.
Good read.......2007-10-05
I had to read this book for class and i must say it was a good read. extremely easy to read and equally funny.
Thank you.......2007-09-30
I got it in time for class, actually ahead of time. Fast delivery, great price, item was exact.
Amazon.com
It began with a simple $27 loan. After witnessing the cycle of poverty that kept many poor women enslaved to high-interest loan sharks in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus lent money to 42 women so they could purchase bamboo to make and sell stools. In a short time, the women were able to repay the loans while continuing to support themselves and their families. With that initial eye-opening success, the seeds of the Grameen Bank, and the concept of microcredit, were planted.
After earning a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Yunus returned to Bangladesh to settle into a life as a professor. But a famine in 1974 ravaged the country, leading Dr. Yunus to alter his thinking and his life profoundly: "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall?.... Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me." Armed with little more than a lofty dream to end the suffering around him, he started an experimental microcredit enterprise in 1977; by 1983 the Grameen Bank was officially formed.
The idea behind the Grameen Bank is ingeniously simple: extend credit to poor people and they will help themselves. This concept strikes at the root of poverty by specifically targeting the poorest of the poor, providing small loans (usually less than $300) to those unable to obtain credit from traditional banks. At Grameen, loans are administered to groups of five people, with only two receiving their money up front. As soon as these two make a few regular payments, loans are gradually extended to the rest of the group. In this way, the program builds a sense of community as well as individual self-reliance. Most of the Grameen Bank's loans are to women, and since its inception, there has been an astonishing loan repayment rate of over 98 percent.
Banker to the Poor is an inspiring memoir of the birth of microcredit, written in a conversational tone that makes it both moving and enjoyable to read. The Grameen Bank is now a $2.5 billion banking enterprise in Bangladesh, while the microcredit model has spread to over 50 countries worldwide, from the U.S. to Papua New Guinea, Norway to Nepal. Ever optimistic, Yunus travels the globe spreading the belief that poverty can be eliminated: "...the poor, once economically empowered, are the most determined fighters in the battle to solve the population problem; end illiteracy; and live healthier, better lives. When policy makers finally realize that the poor are their partners, rather than bystanders or enemies, we will progress much faster that we do today." Dr. Yunus's efforts prove that hope is a global currency. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty--micro-credit--has become the classic text for a growing movement.
In 1983 Muhammad Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of Bangladesh with miniscule loans. He aimed to help the poor by supporting the spark of personal initiative and enterprise by which they could lift themselves out of poverty forever. It was an idea born on a day in 1976 when he loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two people living in a tiny village. They were stool makers who only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's loan helped them break the cycle of poverty and changed their lives forever. His solution to world poverty, founded on the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, is brilliantly simple: loan poor people money on terms that are suitable to them, teach them a few sound financial principles, and they will help themselves.
Yunus's theories work. Grameen Bank has provided 3.8 billion dollars to 2.4 million families in rural Bangladesh. Today, more than 250 institutions in nearly 100 countries operate micro-credit programs based on the Grameen methodology, placing Grameen at the forefront of a burgeoning world movement toward eradicating poverty through micro-lending.
Customer Reviews:
Turning Inspiration into Action.......2007-10-05
Not wanting to repeat the accolades mentioned in the reviews posted I would like to instead share how reading this book and meeting Yunus was a catalyst to some actions I took both on a personal and professional level. The intent is not self promotion or to showcase my efforts. Instead, I am providing ideas and addressing those of you who may find, as I did, that after finishing the last page you are left with a desire to do something. The dilemma was what could I do ......I am not a bank or live in a developing country. I did give copies of the book to friends, colleagues and family but I wanted to do something more concrete. Well, with micro finance "on my radar" I took some actions both on a personal and professional level that I hope are making a difference and are in some ways increasing the visibility and awareness of micro financing.
First a little background and comments on the book.....I had the great honor of meeting Muhammad Yunus shortly after he received the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 at an event in Paris sponsored by Planet Finance. Yunus is truly an inspirational person, charismatic in a subtle way, who has touched the lives of many. His enthusiasm is contagious. The book Banker to the Poor is a fascinating read.... humorous, touching and informational as it traces the evolution of the micro finance model from concept (starting with Yunus lending the equivalent of $27 to stool makers) to what it is today with over 7.2 million clients. What resonates with me is the idea of lending versus aid dumps from the World Bank, UN, NGO's and charity organizations. I don't want to discount the millions given as direct charity to the needy but the concept of micro finance creates a sense of pride and responsibility not to mention innovation and creativity. Micro finance can also generate incremental improvement versus charity or outright donations which, in many cases dries up, is short term and results in dependence instead of empowerment.
Some actions I took:
* I became aware of KIVA (www.kiva.org) an organization that facilitates micro loans (as little as $25) from individuals like you and I to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. These individuals are in fact showcased on the site where you can see a picture and read about the entrepreneur you have chosen. KIVA is founded by an impressive team of "Social Entrepreneurs". Using technology, KIVA brings the lenders and borrowers together and provides an online community for lenders who are also showcased on the site. Involving my daughter (10) in the decision process we are lending to an entrepreneur in Samoa, so she can buy timber to improve her greenhouse for her flower business.
* As President of my alumni association (Thunderbird) I organized an event around Micro Financing with the Managing Director of Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency, as a guest speaker.
* At a university in Paris I run a project based course involving teams of MBA students. Proposing a project related to micro finance the students were enthusiastic and completed a study on micro finance in Europe.
* Professionally, I work with individuals in career transition and entrepreneurs in helping them to identify their unique strengths and values and message their brand appropriately both online and offline. Fundamentally, I find that people have a social conscious and want to do something concrete. To this end I suggest lending to a KIVA entrepreneur as a way to concretely incorporate a social conscious into their brand.
* As part of my involvement in a Global Telesummit entitled a Brand You World www.personalbrandingsummit.com I am involved in raising $100,000 in loans for KIVA entrepreneurs in the developing world. Incidentally, Kiva was featured on Oprah and is mentioned in Clinton's book "Giving".
Having shared how I was inspired by reading this book I would be more then interested in hearing how it inspired you and what actions you took.
Bernadette
Bernadette Martin
www.visibilitybranding.com
Enlightening work.......2007-08-12
Muhammad Yunus believed that every human being had a basic right to credit. He believed in the human spirit and peoples' hard work and honesty when given a chance to sustain themselves above poverty. His accomplishments have proven his theory over and over in several countries to millions of people. Micro-lending will surely be a part of the future success in Africa, Asia, and South America. A modified form of Mr. Yunus' model has worked in the USA, unfortunately, we as Americans aren't schooled nor molded to be basic entrepreneurs. We must change our school systems from teaching how to become good employees to how to become entrepreneurs as well. Mr. Yunus' model includes 5 person groups to help each other and support each other when one gets behind in loan repayments and/or family crisis. This is a very important requirement to micro-lending and must not be excluded when trying to duplicate the success of the Grameen Bank.
Thank goodness we have people in our world like Muhammad Yunus to teach us how to treat other human beings.
Poverty should be extinct!.......2007-08-09
This book is a testament to the good one can do to millions of people!
Poverty belongs in museums! One day, thanks to humanitarians like Muhammad Yunus, poverty will be something of the past and totally extinct, and the next generation will wonder how poverty was ever allowed to exist within our midst. Indeed that will be a glorious day!
Professor Yunus recounts his early life living in India, Bangladesh, and then in the United States. He was born in 1940 in British-ruled India. He was one of fourteen children born to devout Muslim parents. His mother was often ill, but despite this, his father never left her. Yunus later obtained a scholarship to study in the States, earned a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, and later became a professor. He once commented to his students, "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall? Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me."
As a young man he was very involved in the independence of Bangladesh when hundreds of thousands died, and many more after Bangladesh declared itself independent. The country was devastated, and stripped of its natural resources. Professor Yunus quickly left the US and headed to Bangladesh in order to help create a government, and thus get international help and support.
He was very concerned about the poor, and decided to help them. He was surprised why banks did not lend them money. Also the majority of the poor couldn't write or read, so they couldn't even fill out the forms required by banks in order to obtain a loan.
Grameen Bank (The name means the "bank of the village") was thus started in 1976 as an experimental project to combat rural poverty by providing credit to the very poor. Professor Yunus loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two stool makers living in a tiny village. These women only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's small loan helped them break the cycle of poverty for good. Throughout the book you'll read of many such success stories.
Professor Yunus faced a lot of obstacles in creating his bank. He was accused by the Muslim clergy (Mullahs) of wanting to destroy Islamic traditions, and of promoting Christian values in Bangladesh. Some of his staff were even threatened. This was due to the fact that the bank encourages women to take loans and work, something of a taboo and highly unacceptable to Muslim women living in Bangladesh. In fact, many women were beaten by their husbands for the mere mention of money, let alone taking a loan. Women were also not encouraged to receive an education or work. Professor Yunus says, "All her life she has been told that she is no good, that she brings only misery to her family, and that they cannot afford to pay her dowry. Many times she hears her mother or her father tell her she should have been killed at birth, aborted, or starved. But today, for the first time in her life, an institution has trusted her with a great sum of money. She promises that she will never let down the institution or herself. She will struggle to make sure that every penny is paid back (65)."
In 1983 Grameen Bank (GB) was officially established. It is unique in that it has reversed conventional banking practices by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust. It promotes credit as a human right. Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty by issuing them with microcredits (very small amounts, like $7, something a conventional bank would never do). It is offered for creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing, as opposed to consumption. It is particularly targeted towards poor women. It provides service at the door-step of the poor based on the principle that the people should not go to the bank; the bank should go to the people. This principal is helpful in a Muslim society where women are not allowed to leave their homes without the approval of their husband, and are not allowed to speak with men.
In order to obtain loans a borrower must join a group of borrowers, with each borrower recommending another. If one member of the group defaults on payment of his loan, then the whole group is denied further loans! However, to encourage destitute members to join, he/she does not have to belong to a group, no saving is necessary, no weekly repayment is necessary, his/her loan terms are decided by him/her, in consultation with his/her mentor.
A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfills the following criteria:
1. The family lives in a house worth at least Tk. 25,000 (twenty five thousand) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor.
2. Family members drink pure water.
3. All children in the family over six years of age go to school or have finished primary school.
4. Minimum weekly loan installment of the borrower is Tk. 200 or more.
5. Family uses sanitary latrine.
6. Family has adequate clothing for everyday use and for winter, and mosquito-nets.
7. Family has sources of additional income, such as a vegetable garden, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money.
8. The borrower maintains an average annual balance of Tk. 5,000 in his/her savings accounts.
9. Family has three square meals a day throughout the year. No member of the family goes hungry any time of the year.
10. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare.
Professor Yunus distrusted dealing with the World Bank. According to professor Yunus, the world bank, with its headquarters away from Bangladesh, does not see poverty, but relies on theories. He also was wary of how they took full control of a country's financial needs.
There were a number of major natural disasters in Bangladesh. The 1998 flood was the worst of all. Half of the country was under flood-water for ten long weeks. Grameen borrowers lost most of their possessions including their houses because of the flood. Soon borrowers started to feel the burden of accumulated loans. They found the new installment sizes exceeded their capacity to repay. Grameen Bank repayment started to show quick decline. This was a good opportunity to design a new Grameen methodology, incorporating all the lessons learnt. As a result, Grameen Bank II was created.
The bank believes that the poor always pay back their loans, unlike the very rich. On some occasions they may take longer time to pay back than it was originally stipulated. Many things can go wrong for a poor person during the loan period. According to professor Yunus, since the borrower is paying additional interest for the extra time, where is the problem?
Grameen Bank has introduced higher education loans for all students who can enter into the higher educational institutions (medical, engineering, etc). Students are made responsible to repay the loans when they start earning. Half the scholarships are reserved for girl students. The remaining 50 per cent is open for both boys and girls. Each year Grameen Bank gives out 3,704 scholarships.
Grameen believes that poverty is not created by the poor; it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. In order to eliminate poverty, all we need to do is to make appropriate changes in the institutions and policies, and/or create new ones.
Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank of Bangladesh won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
As of May, 2007, Grameen Bank had 7.21 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2431 branches, it provides services in 78,659 villages, covering more than 94 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh.
About 3 billion people live on less than $1 per day. Professor Yunus' vision is of eliminating poverty by 2050.
This is really a fascinating book and I highly recommend it.
Great for those interested in poverty relief/development.......2007-08-07
After reading, we bought multiple copies to give away to colleagues working in various capacities in poor areas of the world. Yunus' ideas and experience need to be examined and considered. This is no World Bank/UN/WMF big program aid-dump, but a reasonable, realistic, measured path from poverty to empowerment for the world's poor.
Lateral Banking.......2007-07-03
Learn how limiting entrenched Eurocentric thinking can be. Be inspired by the lateral thinking of Muhammad Yunus! A heartwarming read with just a touch too much description of the complexities of beaurocracy, but a must read nevertheless.
Amazon.com
Celebrated economist Jeffrey Sachs has a plan to eliminate extreme poverty around the world by 2025. If you think that is too ambitious or wildly unrealistic, you need to read this book. His focus is on the one billion poorest individuals around the world who are caught in a poverty trap of disease, physical isolation, environmental stress, political instability, and lack of access to capital, technology, medicine, and education. The goal is to help these people reach the first rung on the "ladder of economic development" so they can rise above mere subsistence level and achieve some control over their economic futures and their lives. To do this, Sachs proposes nine specific steps, which he explains in great detail in The End of Poverty. Though his plan certainly requires the help of rich nations, the financial assistance Sachs calls for is surprisingly modest--more than is now provided, but within the bounds of what has been promised in the past. For the U.S., for instance, it would mean raising foreign aid from just 0.14 percent of GNP to 0.7 percent. Sachs does not view such help as a handout but rather an investment in global economic growth that will add to the security of all nations. In presenting his argument, he offers a comprehensive education on global economics, including why globalization should be embraced rather than fought, why international institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank need to play a strong role in this effort, and the reasons why extreme poverty exists in the midst of great wealth. He also shatters some persistent myths about poor people and shows how developing nations can do more to help themselves.
Despite some crushing statistics, The End of Poverty is a hopeful book. Based on a tremendous amount of data and his own experiences working as an economic advisor to the UN and several individual nations, Sachs makes a strong moral, economic, and political case for why countries and individuals should battle poverty with the same commitment and focus normally reserved for waging war. This important book not only makes the end of poverty seem realistic, but in the best interest of everyone on the planet, rich and poor alike. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
A landmark exploration of the way out of extreme poverty for the world's poorest citizens
Among the most eagerly anticipated books of any year, this landmark exploration of prosperity and poverty distills the life work of an economist Time calls one of the world's 100 most influential people. Sachs's aim is nothing less than to deliver a big picture of how societies emerge from poverty. To do so he takes readers in his footsteps, explaining his work in Bolivia, Russia, India, China, and Africa, while offering an integrated set of solutions for the interwoven economic, political, environmental, and social problems that challenge the poorest countries. Marrying passionate storytelling with rigorous analysis and a vision as pragmatic as it is fiercely moral, The End of Poverty is a truly indispensable work.
Customer Reviews:
The End of Poverty?.......2007-10-16
I recently read Jeffery Sachs' The End of Poverty. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but was excited to pick up at development best-seller- not a common combination! While I usually try to avoid non-fiction when I'm not at school or working, and tend to have a fiction addiction, I think TEOP will find its way onto my 2007 top ten list.
The book does a great job of summarizing most of my four year international development degree, from discussions of absolute versus relative poverty, to the best way to address the issues of environment, health, education and livelihoods in the developing world. And Sachs does it in a way that makes development concepts accessible: he looks at development as a ladder, and those facing extreme poverty have not been able to get their feet on even the first rung. Thus, the requirements of aid can be seen as inputs to help that group reach the bottom of the ladder and begin to work their way up. He also brings down the issues to a single number: $75billion dollars a year until 2025, at which point he believes that all human kind could be on the development ladder and extreme poverty would be eliminated. Hence, the End of Poverty!
Situated, as he is, in the heart of American development politics and economics, Sachs was also able to do a good job of explaining the successes and deficiencies of his country's aid contributions. Like the discussion in the previous post, this has helped to give me a more detailed view of America's role in the development world, which I find really interesting. He called on a number of American thinkers and activists to give power to his arguments for the potential of the end of extreme poverty. Paraphrasing Martin Luther King, Jr, Sach's says "The bank of international justice is not bankrupt," and explains how people like King, Gandhi, and Mandela "transformed the impossible into the inevitable." While many people think ending poverty is impossible, and that we in the West can't afford it, Sachs is busy making us realize that we can, and we should.
His point is obviously more and better action, which is heralded over and over again by poverty activists like Bono, Angelina Jolie or Bob Geldof. But the good thing about Sachs is that he manages to mainstream his ideas about aid and development, and introduce them in more conservative economic circles than would usually listen to the rockstar rolemodels. In his final "to do list", Sachs calls everyone to "make a personal commitment," something I believe in very strongly. He ends the book with this quote:
Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills- against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence...Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. -- Robert Kennedy
Passionate, but conveniently ignores historical reality.......2007-10-15
Sachs passionately promotes the Millenium Development Goals devised by the UN and pleads that if the developed economies of the world commit the resources they've promised these goals will be met. The book is well written and very engrossing.
Unfortunately, much of what Sachs promotes does not relate well with historical reality. The UN and its associated aid agencies have consistently developed grandiose goals which are never met, mainly because the personnel developing the goals are not the same ones determining the contributions and don't determine their objectives based on financial limitations. Sachs does not indicate how the developed world's contributions will be more effectively managed than in the past. Also, since it's apparent the developed world is not going to provide the funding required by the MDGs, he provides no suggestion on how the MDGs can be scaled to provide the most effective use of resources. It's an all or nothing proposition.
Sachs links too many items simply to dollar figures and fails to take into account ethnic conflicts, religous and societal beliefs, as well as any of a number of other factors that can derail aid providers' well-intentioned efforts. He brushes aside poor governance in Africa by stating there are a select few other countries around the world that are even worse. Poor governance and corruption prevent development regardless if it's the worst in the world or not.
Regardless, Sachs does promote a number of ideas that are valid and likely to be successful, such as malaria nets and debt relief to countries that have shown they have taken steps to govern their finances in an acceptable manner, especially if applied and monitored separately and not part of a comprehensive plan to fix everything at the same time.
This book should be read with William Easterly's "White Man's Burden", as Easterly provides the counterpoint to Sach's big Planner approach to foreign aid, and suggests that a more market-based approach, with limited, clearly defined goals would provide a better use of the limited resources available to aid providers.
Smarter than I'll ever be, but still..........2007-10-12
Sachs makes some great points but spends way too much time patting himself on the back. He really has amazing ideas, if you can put that stuff in the back of your mind. He focuses a TON on the successes he's had, and tends to gloss over the countries and economies he made mistakes with. But it's a captivating read- you'll want to pick yourself up and change the world.
Read with a grain of salt. .......2007-10-05
This book covers some concepts that at face value and first read - especially people like me who are not economists - seem quite enlightening. But the more you read, the more you have to question how it seems that the view he presents is a seemingly simplistic solution to what is in reality a complex problem. One of the reviews on here talked about how it is not "infrastructure" that is key to solving the problems, but rather an access to market. I'd have to agree. Companies are not flocking to sub-Saharan Africa to utilize the labor there. Companies are moving to China and India. This is not a simple matter of infrastructure, but a matter of economic policy and much more.
The book points to some villages in rural Africa where things appear to be improving - a choice village or two where Jeffrey Sachs and the Earth Institute at Columbia pour in their resources (these are subsequently called Millennium Villages to coincide with the Millennium Development Goals) - and it makes you think that he might possibly be making some sense. However, what about generalization to a whole country? Of course if you take all your resources, all the scientific knowledge accessible to you from the Earth Institute, and then some, and pour these into a village, what village will not transform? But is it sustainable? Is it generalizable to the whole country? Change needs to occur at the policy/governmental level concurrently, in order for real success and improvement.
While this book may be interesting, it is important to remember that it is not THE way; it is A way, and along with it, it has its flaws. Ask some other economist what they think - I did, and got an earful. The opinion was that Jeffrey Sachs is just recycling his ideas that he used decades back during the 80s, and that to counter this viewpoint, I must read William Easterly. I'm sure there are others out there to read. But again, one good read does not solve all the world's ills. If you don't have access to an economist, read ALL the reviews on here because there are some other points that need to be considered. And I don't appreciate the impression I get that ideas for solving poverty in places like sub-Saharan Africa comes from a simplistic seemingly-enlightened Westernized view of "this is what is wrong with Africa".
We need to end poverty.......2007-09-28
The book is great. It puts the poverty of the world, including America into light. It lets the reader know that poverty can be ended in our lifetime. It is very serious topic and book. We have the opportunity to end poverty, but will we be the generation that sits by and watches our fellow humans starve and die of disease or not?
The book got to me in a very timely manner and was inexpensive.
Average customer rating:
- A Beautiful Book, but a Shallow Gospel
- Moving and Inspiring
- Rock Superstar Bono Emerges As Major Theological Force
- A sense of longing
- Inspiring.
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Book Description
"The one thing, on which we can all agree, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality." --Bono
This small book, based upon the speech given by Bono at the 2006 NPB, delivers an inspiring and powerful message. Here, in Bono's own words, is a reflection on his own faith and a challenge to people of all faiths to reach across boundaries and come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call "the least of these."
Customer Reviews:
A Beautiful Book, but a Shallow Gospel.......2007-09-30
The content of this short book is actually a speech Bono gave at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. in 2006. Bono makes his case for justice for Africa, outlining his own personal story, the religious motivation for giving, and what he ultimately desires out of the politicians he is addressing - a commitment to devote 1% of the fiscal budget to Africa.
The pictures in this book are beautifully provocative and captivating. The words can be so, too. But don't be too quick to embrace Bono's point of view. This is social gospel to the core. Bono combines tidbits from Islam, Judaism, Christianity... whatever fits the bill, really... to advocate for the poorest of the poor. And while so much of his message about poverty is true (e.g. "There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response") the basis and the context are all wrong.
I'm still figuring out what it means to live as a privileged young American in a world that is full of suffering and poverty and need. And I can only admire Bono for his Africa advocacy. I am so thankful that light is being shed on those who need our help. And I am confident that God can and does work through all of this. I don't even have a problem with Christians aligning themselves with the ONE campaign, because it stands for what we should be standing for - justice and generosity and love.
But that ends with doctrine and theology. I think Bono is preaching a shallow gospel, a cheap gospel, based on the pluralistic gods of this age. He is not preaching Christ crucified. He is preaching God in the slums. And while that is a valuable message, it doesn't compare to the most explosive message of all - Christ Jesus came to this earth to save sinners, of whom I am the very worst.
Moving and Inspiring.......2007-09-28
Bono is not only one of the biggest names in Rock and Roll history, but one of the world's best known philanthropists. His work in Africa is truly inspiring. This beautifully designed book incorporates the provocative speech he made at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington with some of the powerful and moving pictures that Bono himself took on one of his many trips to Africa. This is a great speech with a great message, and presented as it is in this way, makes it a great book and excellent conversation starter.
Rock Superstar Bono Emerges As Major Theological Force.......2007-09-08
This book documents the emergence of Rock superstar Bono as a major theological force in the interest of ending extreme poverty in Africa, where six thousand die of AIDS each day. He is becoming the Martin Luther King of Africa aid relief.
"There is a continent--Africa--being consumed by flames. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did--or did not do--to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do." This quote is accompanied by the words FREEDOM and EQUALITY repeated numerous times in the form of a map of Africa.
Bono updates Isaiah 58:9-11 to report on the presence of God in today's world. "God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both of their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."
Bono founded the advocacy group DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) in 2002. It is a member of ONE, the Camapaign to Make Poverty History. In 2006 he launched Product (RED) to engage businesses in the fight against AIDS. He lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife and four children.
Bono wants the United States to give an additional one percent of its federal budget annually to end world poverty. Beside a picture of a barely clothed African child, Bono says "Where you live should no longer determine whether you live." He adds, "We hear that call in the One Campaign, a growing movement of more than two million Americans left and right together, united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live."
Bono eloquently summarizes more of his agenda, "Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market--that's a justice issue. Holding children ransom for the debts of their grandparents--that's a justice issue. Withholding the life-saving medicines out of defeerence to the Office of Patents--that's a justice issue. And while the law is what wwe say it is, God is not silent on the subject."
Bono is of both Protestant and Catholic ancestry in a land deeply divided by literal warfare over the differences between these religions. "Religion often gets in the way of God, " Bono says. "I was cynical. Not about God, but about God's politics."
Bono was called to action by concept of the millennial year of 2000 being a Jubilee year, "an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They (the advocates of a Jubilee year) had the audacity to renew the Lord's call--and they were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty."
This is a book to stir people to action by man who, the publisher notes, "has brought about tremendous change--billions of dollars in debt relief have been forgiven and thousands of lives have been saved. But more than that, he has opened our eyes to the dignity, beauty, and strength of this continent. His eloquence when speaking about Africa at the National Prayer Breakfast inspired this book. My hope is that it will inspire you as well."
This is a book that does stir people to action, that ought to be read by people who want ideas on how to use their time and money to solve major problems facing the world. Bill Clinton, active in raising money and public consciousness for African relief in the years since he left the White House, describes this book as "Inspirational words from a man of faith and action. Bono's message is one of unparalled hope and challenge. He goes where others don't and makes us want to follow."
A rock star as an international moral leader? It is an unusual concept to be sure. But Bono says, "When churches started deomonstrating on debt, governments listened--and acted. When churches started organizing, petitioning, and even that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying on AIDS and global health, governments listened and acted.
"I'm here (at the National Prayer breakfast) today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.
"Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who God is or if God exists--most will agree that if there is a God, God has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives."
Bono notes the intense interest in poverty in the scriptures. "It's not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. That's a lot of airtime, 2,100 mentions." He praises our country for doubling aid to Africa, tripling funding for global health, putting 900,000 people onto life-saving anti-viral drugs and providing 11,000,000 bed nets to protect children from malaria.
"Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud. But here's the bad news. There is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the respons. And finally, it's not a questions about charity after all, is it? It's about justice."
Bono works to incite his audience to action. "But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice. It makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties; it doubts our concern; it questions our commitment."
This is book that is moving, provocative, and insightful. The greater its audience, the greater will be the world's response to one of the great international challenges of our time.
A sense of longing.......2007-08-28
I saw this book this spring and knew I had to buy it. One, because Bono is someone I admire greatly. Of course I am bummed that the speech in this book was delivered at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast, and seeing as how I have strong connections with the organizers I'm sad I didn't actually get to be there. Two, because I had saved this speech on my computer but never took the time to read the whole thing. And three because while I read it I had an immediate longing to go to Africa. To go there and knowingly have my heart broken, but knowing God's heart is breaking when a baby is born into poverty. To experience the pain and heartache, but also the joy that is thriving in these people.
Inspiring........2007-07-16
I found this book to be interesting, inspiring, heartbreaking and wonderful. As usual Bono is well spoken, deliberate, engaging and to the point.
Book Description
From one of the world's best-known development economists—an excoriating attack on the tragic hubris of the West's efforts to improve the lot of the so-called developing world
In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Man's Burden is his widely anticipated counterpunch—a brilliant and blistering indictment of the West's economic policies for the world's poor. Sometimes angry, sometimes irreverent, but always clear-eyed and rigorous, Easterly argues that we in the West need to face our own history of ineptitude and draw the proper conclusions, especially at a time when the question of our ability to transplant Western institutions has become one of the most pressing issues we face.
Customer Reviews:
Accurate assessment, poor presentation.......2007-10-15
This book makes the very accurate argument that pumping more money into foreign aid is not the answer to the Third World's problems. He correctly notes that:
a. Market-based approaches to aid are more effective than top-down planning.
b. Currently, aid providers often overlap in their efforts, reducing overall effectiveness, and are not held responsible for the success or failure of their efforts.
c. The goals of aid are often so broad that it is difficult to determine what works and what doesn't. Foreign aid is usually more cost-effective with projects that have a single, well-defined goal.
d. No feedback mechanism exists for receivers of aid, receivers have no say in how aid money is distributed or utilized, and not independent analysis of aid providers is ever performed.
e. Aid currently focuses on development, but a lot of development requires money for maintenance and this aspect is frequently not funded.
f. In the case of AIDS, too much money is spent on extending the lives of people that are HIV-positive, while not enough is done to prevent additional cases. This is the least effective way of dealing with the problem.
Unfortunately, Easterly presents his arguments in a somewhat haphazard manner. The book is written in short burst sub-chapters, with macro-level discussions intermixed with individual-level stories that struggle to blend into a single coherent argument. Thus, while the ideas presented suggest a 5-star rating for this book, the presentation and readability pull it down to 4-stars.
This book is best read with Jeffrey Sach's "The End of Poverty", which provides the opposite, big-Planner aspect of foreign aid.
Frustrating and Illuminating.......2007-09-03
I found The White Man's Burden frustrating and illuminating at the same time. I was frustrated by the fact that despite masses of foreign aid little seems to have helped Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the other areas known as "the Rest". It was illuminating in that William Easterly oes such a good job of analyzing the reasons why so much good will and so much money have accomplished so little.
Basically, Westerners who seek to help the rest of the world have largely been Planners, Easterly's term for people and organizations who think the way to help others is to help them become more like themselves. Despite historic, cultural, religious, and a host of other differences, the West tries to improve the Rest by trying to make it into a New West. On the other hand, there are the Searchers, who try to find ways to help and to help the Rest help itself. Unfortunately, too many agencies and too many powerful people are Planners, and far too few are Searchers. Easterly dissects the failures of the Planners and compares them with the successes of Searchers in a scholarly, well researched manner that leaves room for the occasional witticism.
As I read The White Man's Burden I recognized so many of the same problems that I, as a public school teacher, face dealing with bureaucracies full of Planners, who think the way to solve a problem is to come up with a big overall Scheme and throw tons of money around, usually unsuccessfully. Easterly has performed a valuable service by revealing the problem and identifying the solutions. Maybe someday the Searchers will be in charge!
A Wake-up call for the Aid-Industry.......2007-08-07
William Easterly gives, in his book, The White Man's Burden, an important contribution to the debate on foreign aid to developing countries. As a counterpart to economist Jeffrey Sachs and the World Bank's utopist policies, most of all suitable to give the West and their politicians a clean conscience - this book gives more realistic and down-to-earth suggestions to what really could work and what is possible to accomplish. It also calls for greater UN/World Bank/ NGO accountability towards the poor and not only towards donors...A "must-read" for all involved in foreign aid and other citizens alike.
Skip Part 3.......2007-07-26
In this book, William Easterly does an excellent job of critiquing the West's efforts at foreign aid and why they have been so unsuccessful despite constant efforts over the past decades. He draws on his extensive experience with the World Bank and knowledge of the practices of other aid agencies to build a solid foundation for his argument. His claims that the grand plans of agencies simply do not address the real problems that the poverty face and that their efforts are simply not working are well founded.
However he divides the book into 4 parts, the first an introduction and the second a more detailed critique of development agencies. The fourth section presents his conclusions about the future of foreign aid and suggestions about how to make it more effective. But in part 3 he strays from the topic of direct foreign aid to address other ways that he claims that West has tried to aid the Rest. The section consists of 2 chapters. The first chapter addresses a proposed idea that Western powers take over certain sections of the developing world as a sort of economic protectorate. The idea is not clearly outlined but Easterly is immediately opposed to it because it sounds sort of like colonialism. He then analyzes decolonization for examples of why colonialism was bad for the developing world and, by analogy, so will these economic protectorates. His analysis of decolonization hinges on the fact that the colonial powers left behind countries with artificial boundaries that grouped antagonistic ethnic groups together and led to warfare and rivalry that hindered the country's development. However, he gives examples in which he twists historical facts to support his thesis, presenting colonial powers in an exclusively negative light. His treatment of the partition of India at their independence is the best example. As India was achieving independence from Britain, Muhammad Jinnah, the leader of the Muslims of India, pushed for a separate Muslim state, against the wishes of Gandhi and Nehru. He claimed that India will come to be dominated by Hindus and the Muslims would suffer under such a situation. The actual point of independence was overseen by Lord Mountbatten, sent in by Britain to peacefully bring about independence. The creation of Pakistan was the result. Unfortunately Pakistan would encompass a number of ethnic groups, including Sikhs, Baluchis, Pashtuns as well as Muslim Indians, who were uncooperative and led to Pakistan being an underdeveloped state. All of this is presented well by Easterly in the chapter. However his final take is that the problems of Pakistan are Mountbatten's fault for allegedly grouping all the ethnic groups together in that country. But Pakistan was Jinnah's idea who was doing something that Easterly would have advocated, separating 2 mutually antagonistic ethnic groups into separate states so that each could control their own destiny. Easterly twists historical facts in order to put Britain (a.k.a. the West) in a negative light. This attitude and distortion of history characterizes the entire chapter. Moreover his critique of colonialism says nothing the possible success of the proposed economic protectorates. Colonies were focussed on the economic development of the mother country. The economic protectorates would theoretically (and the whole idea was only a theory at the time of writing) focus on the economic development of the Third World.
The second chapter of the section does not fare much better. He addresses military interventions into developing countries, positing them as attempts to bring development to a country by bringing peace. However his detailed critique of them never presents them as economic development measures. Many of them were simply peacekeeping missions just to stop people from killing each other or undertaken as a means of national security. They were nothing more than political moves and should not be used as an example of the West's failure at development.
Overall this section simply reveals Easterly's biases and shows that he has stepped far outside his area of expertise. The section is misplaced and should have been deleted from the book altogether. It only detracts from an otherwise well-written and carefully thought out critique of foreign aid. In all I agree with his critique and his belief that the West needs to abandon its grand plans and listen to the world's poor to find out how we can address their needs more specifically.
Incidentally, I found one point where Easterly does not follow his own advice. At one point he is talking with a South African woman diagnosed with HIV, who will likely die within a few years, who, instead of resigning herself to her fate, is working as hard as she can to ensure a good life for her children. He asks what the biggest problem the country faces is. She answers "No jobs". Easterly then turns back to the reader with a twinkle in his eye and uses her unwillingness to give up as a call for better aid. But she didn't say she wanted aid, did she? She wants jobs. The real problem that all the developing world faces is a lack of economic investment. They need jobs so that they have a better chance of standing on their own in the future. What was that idea about economic protectorates?
Very informative, unfortunately too much detail.......2007-06-22
Prof. Easterly knows what he is writing about as he spent many years with the World Bank. His basic thesis is, that the aid to developping countries does not lack funding, but the funds are applied very inefficiently. The "customers" of the help agencies are not the needy poor, but the "rich" donor countries and their citizens. Hence aid is applied to please these customers, rather than pleasing the poor. In other words, he applies market logic to explain the reasons for failure.
The only draw back to the book is its length. After some time, the book starts repeating itself, and the details become onerous for the interested lay person. (Who, except the specialist really cares about some fine differences between World Bank IMF and the various UN agencies?)
Even though I did not finish the book for that reason, I highly recommend it to anybody, who wants to know, why his aid money does not seem to work.
Amazon.com
Amid his efforts to expose the Russian mob, Robert I. Friedman learned from the FBI that "the most brilliant and savage Russian mob organization in the world" had put a $100,000 price on his head. Reading Red Mafiya, it's not hard to see why: this is a brave book about a troubling subject. Friedman, a freelance journalist, describes the research behind it: "I ventured into the Russians' gaudy strip clubs in Miami Beach; paid surprise visits to their well-kept suburban homes in Denver; interviewed hit men and godfathers in an array of federal lockups; and traveled halfway around the world trying to make sense of their tangled criminal webs, which have ensnared everyone from titans of finance and the heads of government to entire state security services." Their racket involves heroin smuggling, weapons trafficking, mass extortion, and casino operation, among other activities. "Blending financial sophistication with bone-crunching violence, the Russian mob has become the FBI's most formidable criminal adversary, creating an international criminal colossus that has surpassed the Colombian cartels, the Japanese Yakuzas, the Chinese triads, and the Italian Mafia in wealth and weaponry," writes Friedman. They've even penetrated professional hockey, as Friedman shows in an eye-opening chapter ("Federal authorities have come to fear that the NHL is now so compromised by Russian gangsters that the integrity of the game itself may be in jeopardy").
Red Mafiya benefits from a breezy narrative in detailing a master criminal operation whose influence on the United States is growing rapidly. Russian mobsters already have siphoned off millions of dollars in foreign aid meant to prop up their country's economy--and they may have a more direct impact on American national security concerns in the years ahead: "The Russian mob virtually controls their nuclear-tipped former superpower," writes Friedman. Now, there's a scary thought. Lifting the Iron Curtain seems to have been a mixed blessing: it let freedom in, and organized crime out. --John J. Miller
Book Description
"In North America alone there are now thirty Russian crime syndicates operating in at least seventeen U.S. cities, most notably New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver. The Russians have already pulled off the largest jewelry heist and insurance Medicare frauds in American history, with a net haul exceeding $1 billion. They have invaded North America's financial markets, orchestrating complex stock scams, allegedly laundering billions of dollars through the Bank of New York, and coolly infiltrating the business and real estate worlds.
"The Russians didn't come here to enjoy the American dream," New York state tax agent Roger Berger says glumly. "They came here to steal it." -From the Introduction From an award-winning investigative journalist comes an astonishing exposi of Russian organized crime, its growing power in the United States, and its terrifying implications for the rest of the world.
In the past decade, from Brighton Beach to Moscow, Toronto to Hong Kong, the Russian mob has become the world's fastest-growing criminal superpower. Trafficking in prostitutes, heroin, and missiles, the mafiya poses an enormous threat to global stability and safety. The black-market corruption of the Brezhnev era proved the perfect breeding ground for organized crime. Beginning in the 1970s, Soviet ?migr?s--including a large number of felons and murderers the USSR was happy to get rid of--began arriving in the United States and quickly established themselves as a major criminal force in New York, Las Vegas, and elsewhere. But it was the breakup of the Soviet Union that made the
Russian mob what it is today. In a weakened, impoverished Russia, it quickly became the dominant power. And it has now spread to every corner of the United States, infiltrating its banks and brokerage firms--and American law enforcement is just waking up to this enormous problem. No journalist in the world knows more about the Russian mob in America than Robert Friedman. At great risk to himself, he has made connections with a number of top criminals who have gone on record about their activities for the first time. The result of his discoveries is a revelation: the Red Mafiya is everywhere. The implications--for law enforcement, the economy, foreign policy, for the American people themselves--are staggering."
Customer Reviews:
Good information, poorly organized.......2007-10-04
An account of the Russian Mafiya is an daunting task that requires a great deal of research. While I have no doubt that many of the statements in this book are true, the book suffers from a terrible lack of organization. It seems as though Friedman decided to write this book in a stream-of-conscious format. The format problem is damaging to the credibility of the book because it can confuse readers.
The evolution of the Russian Mafiya, which is located at the conclusion of chapter 5, should really open the book. Instead, Friedman jumps right into a prison interview with little primer before the important text. The main thesis alleges that the KGB stashed much of the money after the fall in the Soviet Union in as many places as possible. Among these places was organized crime, which has been diversifying since the 1970's. The problem was exacerbated when the Soviet Union fell. And because many of these Russian are Jewish, they seek asylum in Israel.
One of the move informative chapters discusses the extortion practices that mafiya associates exhibited with Russian NHL player. The media seems woefully unaware of any problem. This chapter is toward the middle of the book, sandwiched between prison interviews, illegal schemes, and biographies of members. The format left me with little frame of reference or time line regarding this developing problem. The book could benefit from a return to an editor.
Very Factual and in NO WAY anti semitic........2007-08-07
Contrary to some of the comments mentioned by those giving this book low marks; this book is extremely accurate and in NO WAY anti semitic. Some stated that this book was anti semitic because it did not talk about the good side of the Russian-Jew Imagre. NEWS FLASH!!! This book is about the Russian Mob! The book is about BAD GUYS! Who says the author has to talk about the honest and good Russian-Jew imagre?? Secondly those who said the content was embellished or un-believable obviously do not have any knowledge on the subject of the Russian Mafia. Myself being involved in law enforcement at the state and federal level for 23 years, I can attest that nothing is sensationalized in this book. As for the person who claimed to have been written about in the book.. GIVE ME A BREAK!
for lack of "0" star option.......2007-04-29
Bottom line: this is not what you'd expect - 90's Russian mafia in the West stories. I was duped into... by the title 7 years ago... and pissed of by the good reviews which I saw now.
The great robbing of Russia and the spill-overs into the world have nothing to do with the hoodlum stories of this book.
Publishers do that: once a topic gets media attention... publish anything related.
CRAP!
Quite Shocking!.......2006-10-07
This is quite shocking of how the mafia is able to buy off members of both major political parties in the U.S. along with other Western nations such as Israel. I would also recommend reading Double Cross about Sam and Chuck Giancana the two mafia bosses whom had the Kennedys in their pockets.
Inciteful and Highly Readable.......2006-05-12
A real eye-opener. Friedman writes about some pretty ruthless, cruel people. I don't know how the author could have possibly obtained all the information that he did; he is a brave man. I hope he's still alive, and will be amazed if he is, given the nature of the people about whom he has written. Friedman describes Russian Mafiya types operating in Toronto, near to where I live -- very unnerving. Mind you, if you live in NYC, Miami, Denver, San Francisco or Los Angeles, you are not alone...
Book Description
The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market? It's where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense entrepreneurial capabilities and buying power. You can learn how to serve them and help millions of the world's poorest people escape poverty.
It is being done-profitably. Whether you're a business leader or an anti-poverty activist, business guru Prahalad shows why you can't afford to ignore "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP) markets.
In the book and accompanying CD videos, Prahalad presents...
Why what you know about BOP markets is wrong A world of surprises-from spending patterns to distribution and marketing
Unlocking the "poverty penalty"
The most enduring contributions your company can make Delivering dignity, empowerment, and choice-not just products
Corporations and BOP entrepreneurs Profiting together from an inclusive new capitalism
"C. K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they dobusiness in developing countries if both sides of that economic equation areto prosper. Drawing on a wealth of case studies, his compelling new bookoffers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect,Microsoft
"The Bottom of the Pyramid belongs at the top of the reading list forbusiness people, academics, and experts pursuing the elusive goal ofsustainable growth in the developing world. C. K. Prahalad writes withuncommon insight about consumer needs in poor societies andopportunities for the private sector to serve important public purposes whileenhancing its own bottom line. If you are looking for fresh thinking aboutemerging markets, your search is ended. This is the book for you." Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State
"Prahalad challenges readers to re-evaluate their pre-conceived notionsabout the commercial opportunities in serving the relatively poor nations ofthe world. The Bottom of the Pyramid highlights the way to commercialsuccess and societal improvement--but only if the developed worldreconceives the way it delivers products and services to the developingworld." Christopher Rodrigues, CEO, Visa International
"An important and insightful work showing persuasively how the privatesector can be put at the center of development, not just as a rhetoricalflourish but as a real engine of jobs and services for the poor." Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Customer Reviews:
Saving the World.......2007-10-02
The author loves his TLA's (3 letter acronyms)! I wish someone had told me how technical this book was; those with an MBA will get the most out of it. But I love Prahalad's outlook and creativity. Perhaps with a little advice I can take my ideas and come up with a formal business plan.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and anecdotal evidence is not proof.......2007-06-24
Last year this book became a best seller hit among the developmental community at Washington, D.C., to the point that all bookstores at Metro DC run out of it. With notorious and well publicized praising comments from Madeleine Albright, Bill Gates and the like, I bought it too, but just to discover all the frenzy was undeserved from the viewpoint of poverty eradication.
Undoubtedly Mr. Pralhad's research demonstrates there are plenty of opportunities to do good business among the poor at the BOP (bottom of the pyramid), for them to benefit from the products and services not available now, and for some of them to go out of poverty by becoming entrepreneurs (market penetration is always limited). I agree on these conclusions, as commented extensively by the previous reviewers, and without a doubt this book will become a reference in many Business Schools. But to assert that this strategy will eradicate poverty and bring development is plain sophistry. As Carl Sagan said "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".
Why sophistry? Regarding the poverty eradication claimed by Mr. Prahalad I will try to highlight some of the main flaws in his rationale and lack of sufficient evidence:
1. Despite the consideration of several cases from around the Third-World, most of the discussion and arguments to build the framework are related to India, excessively. The conditions of the poor in Latin America are quite different, and often, they have better public services available to them. On the other hand, many African countries have worst conditions. So you can not reach valid conclusions based solely on a country with such unique cultural and ethnical conditions. For doing business the cases are fine, especially for India or China because they are such huge markets at the BOP.
2. Wealth creation is hugely overestimated. Poor entrepreneurs and their immediate family will undoubtedly benefit from these new economic activities, but the framework lacks an explanation about how these oases of welcomed capitalism will trickle-down to the rest of their neighbors and poor villages. The implicit assumption is that everybody at the BOP has to become an entrepreneur for this strategy to work, because by just having access to affordable consumer products it seems very unlikely that poverty will be eradicated. The proposed framework is just good for doing business and for the poor to have access to new services and products, but where is the sustainable "fishing industry" for the rest of the poor population? The cases are very unique, islands of excellence, and with limited potential for a population the huge size of the BOT to bail out of poverty in significant numbers.
3. The analysis lacks the historical, cultural, legal and socio-economical background for a given country or region, and this consideration is fundamental for a proper analysis on sustainable development. Even when Mr. Pralhalad correctly identifies lack of education, corruption and the size of the informal sector as barriers for development and doing business, he then oversimplifies a lot on how to overcome these key issues, and again, an isolated Indian case is used as the magic formula to solve the problem through information technology. In fact, at the end of Chapter 6, within the conclusions, he recognizes that the illustrations he provides "are but islands of excellence in a sea of deprivation and helplessness". As the development community knows well, these successful stories are very hard to replicate. In Latin America we have the outstanding cases of Chile, Uruguay and Costa Rica. In Brazil, we have the cases of the Southern states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. All of them very developed as compared to their neighbors (in terms of income, education, health, etc.), but despite all efforts, no one has successfully reproduced these islands of excellence at a scale that makes a difference.
4. An example will help to understand how superficial the cases are from a point of view of development and poverty eradication. The Brazilian case of "Casas Bahia" lacks the consideration of the socio-economic environment of the country, especially the case omits to mention key characteristics of the financial and credit markets (for those interested in this particular case from the point of view of business, I recommend you read "Samuel Klein e Casas Bahia: Uma trajetoria de Sucesso", Novo Seculo, 2005, this is a real and really impressive business success story). Mr. Klein successfully, by trusting the poor, built an empire that today is still one of the few option many mid- and low-income families have to buy the first computer for their children going to college in Brazil. But, let's see why the market share for credit cards is only 4%, and why it is not a real threat for Casas Bahia own financial system as stated in the book, as well as why there is not much in here to help eradicat poverty in Brazil. Annual inflation today in Brazil is in the order of 3-4%, and the Brazilian currency, the "Real" have been steadily revaluating against the dollar for the last 3 years. However, interest rates in Brazil are sky-high, a legacy of the hyper-inflation times of twenty years ago. Interest rates for well-known international credit cards are 9-11% per month, which compounded translates to an annual rate close to 180%, regardless of whether you're poor or rich. Today retail chain stores of this type charge around 3% per month, embedded in the price of the consumer products, so the consumer doesn't know up-front the real price. This translates to a compounded rate of 43% per year. Often if you try to pay upfront, there is no discount. So where is the real benefit for the poor? Or are they just getting every day more indebted, and spending money on fat interests that they could have used to buy more or better food or better health services for their kids. I do not see where poverty eradication fits in this case. Obviously Brazil has a problem of lack of real competition in the capitalist sense; even the branches of American Banks doing business in Brazil charge these exorbitant rates. As a reference for the readers, you can buy a 30Gb iPod in Brazil for the "reasonable" amount of US$1,000, payable in 12 installments, and for the high price we also have to thank the federal government high taxes on almost everything. Coming back to the case, as an additional "benefit", you only can make the payments in person at stores of the retail chain, just to make sure the poor are tempted every month and come back for more when they are close to payback that debt. That's why there is a 77% of clients who make reapeat purchases as the book reports. Not surprisingly the case description mentions the criticism "that Casas Bahia simply exploits the poor and charges them exorbitant interest rates", but neglects to present a due explanation of why this is not truth, and simply disregards the cristicism.
5. Finally, Mr. Prahalad is extremely optimistic. At he end of Chapter 6 and in his own words: "I have no doubt that the elimination of poverty and deprivation is possible by 2020". This prophecy speaks by itself about the reliability of the analysis. And again, let's remember that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. All the book presents is anecdotal evidence, which is not proof as any scientist knows, and the framework presented has no predictive power, much less to assert that poverty will end by 2020.
Unquestionably an excellent business book, and a very innovative one, but just for that, business. That's why to me it only deserves 3 stars. On the other hand, not much value-added in there for doing real sustainable development across the board, as the author insinuates and some of the readers think, and certainly not much for real poverty eradication. For that outrageous addition to the book's title I took the other 2 stars. The "Erradicating poverty through profits" part of the book's title should be erased, so the book really deserves the 5 stars most reviewers gave to it (and as the previous reviewer rightly complained, the cases were really awfully edited for the paperback edition, even with repeated sentences). Definitely this book is not recommended if you are serious about new ideas for sustainable development. For a real book on that subject, read the recently publicated "The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It" by Paul Collier, though its scope refers mainly to very poor African countries, it is an example of a serious and proper approach to the problem of eradicating poverty. To understand the complexities of promoting development, you may also read "Making Globalization Work" by Joseph Stiglitz. These two books will clearly ilustrate why "The Fortune at the BOP" is not a book on development, and absolutely, no Nobel Prize is deserved.
Hardcover and tradepaperback are different!!!.......2007-04-13
Here is a note I sent to the editor after buying the tradepaperback version.
Your editorial staff has done something so dumb I am astounded! (Also really $%^& mad.) The hardcover and trade paperback versions of CK Prahalad - The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, are NOT the same. I assigned readings from this book to my class of 100 students. They went and bought the book and found that the case studies aren't there. On closer investigation I see that you shortened the case studies and renamed the chapters. Unfortunately the editing on the shortening is terrible and I simply can't ask my students to read such badly written material.
You did several things wrong
1) You sell two books with identical titles and covers, which have different content
2) You edited very very badly
3) You did this on an award winning book with high visibility
As far as I can tell there is no way for anyone to figure out that the content is different except in the very rare case that they own both versions.
This is a black mark on the Wharton name. What were you thinking?
-james
at last a pragmatic approach to develpment.......2007-01-09
Prahalad'book "the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid" demonstrates the importance to get the people we are "supposed" to help to get involved. The bottom up approach is in line with William Shaffeerly and David Bornstein books where the people are key to any lasting development. The top down approach a la Jeffrey Sacks are fine for the politicians but did not bring much results after all these years. It is time for a change in approach and the Nobel Price to Dr. M.Yunus is very encouraging.
Magical .......2006-08-29
FBP is an intriguing concept and the model can be scaled up or down in size in all parts of the world. The book serves as a wake up call to businessmen across the world.
Amazon.com
The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all.
"As a culture, the United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and is therefore uncertain about the solutions," he writes. Though he details many ways in which current assistance programs could be more effective and rational, he does not believe that government alone, nor any other single variable, can solve the problem. Instead, a combination of things are required, beginning with the political will needed to create a relief system "that recognizes both the society's obligation through government and business, and the individual's obligation through labor and family." He does propose some specific steps in the right direction such as altering the current wage structure, creating more vocational programs (in both the public and private sectors), developing a fairer way to distribute school funding, and implementing basic national health care.
Prepare to have any preconceived notions about those living in poverty in America challenged by this affecting book. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
“Nobody who works hard should be poor in America,” writes Pulitzer Prize winner David Shipler. Clear-headed, rigorous, and compassionate, he journeys deeply into the lives of individual store clerks and factory workers, farm laborers and sweat-shop seamstresses, illegal immigrants in menial jobs and Americans saddled with immense student loans and paltry wages. They are known as the working poor.
They perform labor essential to America’s comfort. They are white and black, Latino and Asian--men and women in small towns and city slums trapped near the poverty line, where the margins are so tight that even minor setbacks can cause devastating chain reactions. Shipler shows how liberals and conservatives are both partly right–that practically every life story contains failure by both the society and the individual. Braced by hard fact and personal testimony, he unravels the forces that confine people in the quagmire of low wages. And unlike most works on poverty, this book also offers compelling portraits of employers struggling against razor-thin profits and competition from abroad. With pointed recommendations for change that challenge Republicans and Democrats alike,
The Working Poor stands to make a difference.
Customer Reviews:
must read.......2007-09-30
This was an excellent book. A real eye opener into a whole other world. I'm giving it to my college student daughter, to make sure that she graduates. The last book that inspired me in the same way was Barbara Ehrenreich's Nine to Five. This is journalism at its best, excellent writing, excellent research. I only hope that its message gets through.
well researched.......2007-08-06
I found Working Poor to be well-researched, and I prefer it's tone to Nickel and Dimed. Shipler was thorough and balanced in his view of the poor in America. In the various stories, Shipler takes us into the psyche of the "working poor", showing the different circumstances that allowed these individuals to remain, or get into poverty.
Phenomenal.......2007-05-14
If you've ever taken pause to consider what makes the world go round as it relates to commercial or economic pursuits, you owe it to yourself to read this book.
It's a great start, but...........2007-03-08
Let me start by saying what I liked and appreciated about this book before I go on to say what I didn't. First of all, it's great that most of the focus has been placed on individual families and circumstances. He's not just rattling off statistics; he's actually taking you to the living rooms and workplaces of real human beings and for the most part letting them tell their own story. It is also clear that Shipler does not have a political agenda; he acknowledges the failings of both the left and right to address this issue on pretty equal terms. The author is not blaming the individuals in question entirely for their situations, nor is he completely blaming society or "the system;" rather, he shows in an extrodinarily clear and sober manner the variety of circumstances which cause poverty and which continually leave those afflicted in its grasp.
The main problem that I have with this book is that I feel it left out a lot of people and a lot of problems that could have easily been addressed. For one, most of the people in the book are urban minorities, and that seems to be where most of the focus lies. There's not a lot of emphasis on the rural poor (with the notable exception of migrant farm workers) among whom circumstances are quite different and in many ways even harder than those of the urban poor. In addition, Shipler is constantly noting the lack of education among poor people but doesn't ever mention the fact that ever-rising and insane tuition costs prevent many perfectly capable *middle-class* people of getting to college in the first place, thus rendering them just as poor as the people who started out that way. (Financial aid actually favors the very poor, and the middle class are often left in the limbo of "too much income to qualify, not enough money to pay out of pocket" and the only way to go is through financially crippling student loans.)
I also wanted to say something about the Earned Income Credit, because it is something that Shipler thoroughly sings the praises of throughout the book. First of all, it's not that easy to get it. As a personal example, from 1999-2005, even though I made hardly any money and should have qualified, I did not because I was under 25 (a stipulation that Shipler neglects to mention.) This year, I am 25, but I still did not qualify because I had gotten married. (Which is another big issue Shipler neglects to mention: the marriage penalty.) If you are married you have to make an absurdly low amount of money to qualify, so if you both work full time like good Americans without taking any other government money (which you wouldn't qualify for anyway unless you have children), even if you both make minimun wage and are barely scraping by, you still wouldn't qualify. So it's really not the panacea that he makes it out to be.
There are a lot of other relevant issues that Shipler never brings up. For example, why does someone who makes $15,000 per year have to pay the same percentage of their income to Social Security as someone who makes $75,000 per year? What about all those people on Social Security, anyway? Why are people without health insurance forced to pay for someone else's Medicare? Why doesn't a high school diploma mean anything anymore? There are a billion questions that, as a poor person, I wanted answers to, which is the very reason I bought this book. But there is so much emphasis in here about one very specific type of poor person (urban minority female with way too many children) who also happens to be the most stereotypical kind of poor person, without giving everyone else who is struggling to survive a very equal voice. But like I said at the beginning, this book is a good starting point. If you are poor, or have ever been poor, you may not get as much out of it as a wealthier person. If you have a lot of money or are otherwise quite comfortable financially, please read this book. It may not give you the entire picture of poverty in America, but it will put a real human face on the problem.
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!.......2007-01-28
This should be required reading for everyone in this country. This book does what "Nickle and Dimed" could only dream of doing. This is not some man just trying on poverty to see how it feels. Shipler gets down to the bare bones of poverty and details the web of causes and effects. Speaking as someone that's been to hell and back when it comes to poverty this book was spot on in detailing the vast array of circumstances that all rely on and influence each other. He does well to point out that poverty is a mix of bad circumstances and bad choices and that it's all a painful cycle. He also does a great job at illustrating the way the working poor live not only paycheck to paycheck, but crisis to crisis and disconnect notice to disconnect notice.
Not only does Shipler highlight all the gritty details of the life of the working poor he outlines very reasonable and more importantly POSSIBLE solutions to combat poverty. His solutions are more common sense and can be done if everyone gets on board to recognize the problem and agree to work on solving it.
We will never get rid of poverty, some people will always make the negative choices that keep them poor. But there is no excuse for such a wealthy country to build it's empire on the backs of the poor and then refuse to let them in the door.
Read this book, then pass it on. You will learn more than you ever thought you could about the people that you never thought to notice.
Customer Reviews:
Difficult Topic Handled with Sensitivity.......2007-10-12
Writing about how Nepalese girls are sold into slavery and taken to India to be forced into a life of prostitution is no easy matter -- especially in a YA book. Given the topic, Patricia McCormick manages not only to pull it off, but to pull it off with sensitivity.
McCormick is a writer's writer, and the calibre of wordsmithing is a cut above your average YA fare. She first conjures the natural beauty of mountainous Nepal, even though her protagonist, a thirteen-year-old girl named Lakshmi, is dirt poor. Then, for contrast, she describes the claustrophobic penury and filth of Lakshmi's city captivity. In Nepal, our young protagonist lives with her Ama and her evil stepfather (a twist on the Cinderella motif). It is he who ultimately gambles what little they have away and heartlessly sells his stepdaughter into slavery (she assumes she is going off to be a maid and bravely vows to send what she earns home so her Ama can install a tin roof on their hut).
After a grueling trip into India, Lakshmi slowly discovers what's up and refuses to partake, but is drugged and forced to acquiesce. There are two scenes where it is clear what is happening, yet McCormick is anything but brutal and ugly while describing these brutal and ugly acts against an innocent child. Nevertheless, a mature and sensitive reader is called for, and the book is recommended more for high school aged readers and adults.
Written in free verse, an increasingly popular style of writing in the YA trade, SOLD will move you and anger you -- exactly McCormick's intent. It's beautifully written and worth all of the accolades it has received (it is a National Book Award finalist). Highly recommended.
Sold!.......2007-09-21
This book tells the story of a young Lakshmi. She lives in poverty, and longs to help suppport her family. One day, she finds that her stepfather is shipping her away with her new "aunt." She is excited and nervous about leaving her family to make money. She makes a long journey across Nepal, and is finally turned in to Mumtaz, her new employer. She is shown her room which she finds filled with beds. It is later that night that she realizes she has been sold into prostitution against her will. How will she escape?
This is Patricia McCormick's second novel, and an amzing book. I would reccommend it to anyone over the age of ten. This book hurls you straight into Nepal and the surrounding area, providing a vivid view of Lakshmi's world. Sold is full of courage and hope. It is a powerful read.
Read this book, share it with your children.......2007-09-21
This book is an eloquent introduction to the shame of the exploitation of children for sex. I have been involved in ending global female exploitation for 30 years. This short, accessible book is the best I have read to create understanding and awareness of this complicated problem. It is a first person narrative written in a simple style. In following the story of one girl, the book deftly explains how this horrible practice occurs and resists eradication. Parents may want to read the book first, but it is appropriate for most teen and adult readers. The sexual descriptions are not graphic or salacious, but focus on the impact on the victim. The wealth of details about life in the mountains and the heroine's journey are fascinating and open a door for American readers to a life far removed from our own experience, a life of beauty and poverty. The author carefully keeps her story from becoming too painful too read, while never flinching from sad realities. Read this in your book club, share it with your daughters, and also with your sons.
A life-changing book........2007-09-17
I read this book recently. It affected me very much. I now want to go to Calcutta to help these innocent girls. It is a horrifying story, but the truth is that the things that happen in this book are happening right now. And many girls do not have the happy ending like Lakshmi does.
Sold Book.......2007-09-08
Transaction & product were fine but it turned out it was not the right book I needed.
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