From: Rakesh Bhandari (bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU)
Date: Tue May 15 2007 - 17:44:35 EDT
Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy (Hardcover)
by Daniel Altman (Author)
(
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Altman's overview of the world's economic workings is useful and
informative, though surprisingly dutiful considering the author's promise
of a "whirlwind tour." Moving briskly between topics—pegged to an
hour-by-hour timeline gimmick—he discusses many concepts: exchange rates,
trade deficits, international deals, currency markets, corruption,
financial derivatives, technological innovation, the importance of oil.
While addressing the outsized role of the U.S., Altman offers valuable
glimpses of key foreign economies and leaves us with a solid understanding
of how they fit into "the world trading system." "If you want to cope with
connectedness," journalist Altman writes, "you have to be as connected as
you can—in other words, you have to pay attention to what's happening in
the rest of the world." Granted, anyone who's already paying attention
will find much of the book's information somewhat remedial. And Altman's
attitude toward globalization is so studiously evenhanded and
argument-free that the reader may long for the glossy zeal of an advocate
like Thomas Friedman or a detractor like Lou Dobbs. Still, as global
macroeconomic primers go, this is a quick read that reminds us that we're
all in this together—and that many of us have an awful lot to learn to
keep up with the global economy. (May 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.
Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics and Finance, Yale University; Chief
Economist, MacroMarkets LLC; and author of Irrational Exuberance
"Altman's book offers a Wall-Street-smart and yet deeply intellectual
understanding of our amazingly complex and dynamic world economy."
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
* Hardcover: 304 pages
* Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (May 1, 2007)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0374135320
* ISBN-13: 978-0374135324
* Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
* Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
* Average Customer Review: based on 3 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,213 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
(Publishers and authors: Improve Your Sales)
* In-Print Editions: Audio CD (Audiobook,CD) | Audio Cassette
(Audiobook,MP3 Audio) | All Editions
Besides blurbs on credit markets & currency, stock markets, and oil, the
book has 14 chapters as follows:
1. When does working together really work?
2. Can governments make global markets more competitive?
3. Do multinational companies bring progress or problems abroad?
4. What determines the global economic pecking order?
5. Who really controls the world's money supply?
6. What does corruption cost?
7. How important are financial markets to economic growth?
8. Is the financial system becoming more vulnerable to the actions of a few?
9. Which comes first, political or economic stability?
10. Can the United States set the global economy's rules?
11. Is immigration a luxury or a necessity?
12. Does it help the economy when ideas have owners?
13. Can a poor country get rich too quickly?
14. Do disruptive shocks help the economy in the long term?
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu May 31 2007 - 00:00:08 EDT