Authors: Daniel Altman, Alan Sklar (Narrated by), Alan Sklar
ISBN-13: 9781400134298, ISBN-10: 1400134293
Format: Compact Disc
Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc.
Date Published: May 2007
Edition: Library Edition
Daniel Altman received his PhD in economics from Harvard and went on to advise the British government on immigration, crime, and drug regulation. He has written for "The Economist "and "The New York Times," where he was among the youngest-ever members of the editorial board, and is now a columnist for the "International Herald Tribune," He splits his time between New York, Hong Kong, and Buenos Aires.
ALAN SKLAR has narrated over 75 audiobooks and earned numerous awards for his work. He has also provided the voice for thousands of corporate and medical videos, as well as many radio and TV commercials. He lives with his wife in New York.
What if you could look behind the headlines of the global economy to see how it really worked? Now you can. In Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy, Daniel Altman teaches us how the billions of decisions made by individuals can and do change the future. Connected is part travel guide, part owners manual-an absorbing, accessible, and essential road map for every citizen of the global economy in the twenty-first century.
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 2007 Reed Business Information