Global Finance

Economic sanctions dominate the landscape of world politics today. First developed in the early twentieth century as a way of exploiting the flows of globalization to defend liberal internationalism, their appeal is that they function as an alternative to war. This view, however, ignores the dark paradox at their core: designed to prevent war, economic sanctions are modeled on devastating techniques of warfare.

Climate change is the world’s biggest problem. It affects every human being on Earth, and it’s going to fundamentally alter every human institution and way of life, from business and economics to politics to spirituality, religion, culture, and identity. But, as big as it is, climate change is not “the end of history.” In fact, it’s just the beginning of a new phase of the history of humanity, one that presents opportunities as well as challenges. Being ready to ride this wave of change is the true calling of our times.

Addison Wiggin and William Bonner, astute observers of the global financial arena, take an informative look at surviving a modern market meltdown.

With the collapse of investment banks, trillion-dollar-plus government bailouts, and decimated retirement portfolios, it's never been more important to understand the "new rules" of making money. Faced with the reality that "investing will never be the same again," Fiscal Hangover may well be the most important audio book you'll listen to this year.

Where Am I Eating? shows how what we eat affects the lives of the people who produce our food, and explores the global food economy including workers' rights, the global food crisis, fair trade, and immigration. Where Am I Eating? does not argue for or against the globalization of food but personalizes it by observing the hope and opportunity, and sometimes the lack thereof, that the global food economy gives to the world's poorest producers.

Gupta and Wang explain how many MNCs view China and India solely from the lens of off-shoring and cost-reduction, and focusing their marketing strategies on only the top 5-10% of the population. This is a missed opportunity. China and India are the only two countries that constitute four realities that are strategically crucial for the global enterprise.

Zombie Banks tells the story of how debtor nations and failing institutions are damaging the long-term prospects of the global economy. Author Yalman Onaran, a veteran Bloomberg News reporter and financial banking-sector expert, examines exactly what a zombie bank is and why they are kept alive. He also discusses how they hurt economic recovery and what needs to be done in order to restore stability.

All the experts agree: The 21st century belongs to China. Given America's looming insolvency and the possibility of the collapse of the US dollar, who can doubt that China is poised to take over the role of economic superpower? Written by political economist and leading financial journalist James Gorrie, this audiobook offers a highly controversial, contrarian view of contemporary China. Drawing upon a wealth of historical and up-to-the-minute data, Gorrie makes a strong case that China, itself, is on the verge of an economic crisis of epic proportions.

An unforgettable portrait of the emerging world's entrepreneurial dynamos Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky is the story about that top one percent of people who do more to change their worlds through greed and ambition than politicians, NGOs, and nonprofits ever can.

With Investing Without Borders, author Daniel Frishberg - a financial professional with more than 30 years of experience in the industry - shows you how to break from the pack and build a winning portfolio. The investor in the old economy didn't think critically about changing economic or political conditions around the world. He never really had to. He was lulled to sleep by the enduring dominance of the US economy. This audiobook teaches you to be an awake and aware investor, ready for the changing financial environment.

For anyone looking for a practical blueprint for creating an additional stream of home-based income, Double Your Income with Network Marketing is for you. This book offers a fresh look at the home-based business industry, offering an original step-by-step plan for home-business success that includes a detailed look at the network marketing industry. By combining specific, turnkey strategies with inspiring stories of successful home-based entrepreneurs, listeners will move through the author's "success blueprint" learning.

How China Loses tells the story of China's struggles to overcome new risks and endure the global backlash against its assertive reach. Combining on-the-ground reportage with incisive analysis, Luke Patey argues that China's predatory economic agenda, headstrong diplomacy, and military expansion undermine its global ambitions to dominate the global economy and world affairs.

The second volume of William T. Vollmann's epic book about the factors and human actions that have led to global warming begins in the coal fields of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Over the course of four years, Vollmann finds hollowed out towns with coal-polluted streams and acidified drinking water; makes covert visits to mountaintop removal mines; and offers documented accounts of unpaid fines for federal health and safety violations and of miners who died because their bosses cut corners to make more money.

The world is awash with economic information. Governments release reports. Pundits give their interpretation on television. And the stock market may go its own way, confusing everyone. How can you better understand what it means for you? Big Picture Economics, a new book by award-winning columnist and futurist Joel Naroff and veteran journalist Ron Scherer, says the thread that ties everything together is "context".

Hidden beneath the surface of the internet, a new, stark reality is looming - one that cuts to the very heart of our endless debates about the impact of AI. Anthropologist Mary L. Gray and computer scientist Siddharth Suri team up to unveil how services delivered by companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Uber can only function smoothly thanks to the judgment and experience of a vast, invisible human labor force. These people doing "ghost work" make the internet seem smart. An estimated 8 percent of Americans have worked at least once in this "ghost economy".

The new world of results-driven aid that could put an end to extreme poverty. Drawing on two decades covering global development as editor in chief of Devex, Raj Kumar explores how nontraditional models of philanthropy and aid are empowering the world’s poorest people to make progress.

What if you could travel forever while radically advancing your career? College. Graduation. Work a nine-to-five job, save up and retire on a pension. This isn’t the correct path for everyone. Nor should it be. Global Career: How to Work Anywhere and Travel Forever is an audiobook for your backpack, a step-by-step blueprint to travel the world, build a successful career others wish they had, and build a life that most people only dream of.

In this landmark work, acclaimed historian Joshua Freeman has created an epic portrait of a nation both galvanized by change and driven by conflict. Beginning in 1945, the economic juggernaut awakened by World War II transformed a country once defined by its regional character into a uniform and cohesive power and set the stage for the United States’ rise to global dominance. Meanwhile, Freeman locates the profound tragedy that has shaped the path of American civic life.

The subprime mortgage crisis has already wreaked havoc on the lives of millions of people, and now it threatens to derail the U.S. economy and economies around the world. In this trenchant book, best-selling economist Robert Shiller reveals the origins of this crisis and puts forward bold measures to solve it.

In Connectography, visionary strategist Parag Khanna travels from Ukraine to Iran, Mongolia to North Korea, Pakistan to Nigeria, and across the Arctic Circle to explain the unprecedented changes affecting every part of the planet. He shows how militaries are deployed to protect supply chains as much as borders, and how nations are less at war over territory than engaged in tugs-of-war over pipelines, railways, shipping lanes, and Internet cables. The new arms race is to connect to the most markets.