A friend of mine, who I met while studying in Lyon, and who is currently working in DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) for charities told me about two new books :
– the age of turbulence, Alan Greenspan, former FED chairman during an eternity. (I didn’t start to read this one) All I can say is that it seems to be romanticized, more like a novel rather than a textbook. Of course, always interesting to get an in-depth analysis and an in-depth point of view of Greenspan. But I am always a little bit skeptical when a book is too romanticized. Of course, for the other hand, that’s always more captivating to read a novel than a textbook. Well, I might be to formalist and intellectual. Shame on me ! The book is about the Greenspan’s version of financial history in the direct aftermath of 9/11.
– The world is flat. Not really the kind of book I am often speaking about on my website because this one is more about interconnectedness of modern economies than finance. I read the first chapters then the last ones. This book is dealing with the emergence of the internet and its impact on world affairs. It deals mostly with outsourcing. Call centers are treated very well on this book, but not only call centers. The focus is India and the capacity of India workforce to outsource activities that were formerly implemented in rich economies like EU, US and Japan. Nice book to learn that everyone can hire a personal assistant for 2500$ per month to do your job (including report writing, summary of documents, project planning (so to say difficult tasks) while you’re just sleeping (thanks to the different time zones). When you just wake up, you can enjoy the work done while eating breakfast ! Even MEP (Member of European parliament) should hire personnal assistants from India. Of course, I am joking. But it sounds like this is question worth asking when you realize the huge workload of MEP’s assistants.