http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...comu2-20/102-6410338-0588144?v=glance&s=books
Has anyone else read it yet? Has there been a topic about it I missed?
Has anyone else read it yet? Has there been a topic about it I missed?
End of Poverty (forward by Bono)
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schnazdoodle
The Fly
I read about his writing an intro to this book from a TIME article last week on ending poverty... I haven't seen any threads about it though...
This book will be ONE of the definite books on ways in which to end extreme poverty in the world.
Jeff Sachs is ONE of the pre-eminent economists of our time and his achievements are many and indisputable.
He is the economist who taught Bono much of what he knows today regarding debt cancellation and ways in which extreme poverty CAN BE ALLEVIATED from our world.
I've had my copy of this book on pre-order from Amazon.com - I hope to get it soon.
Bono calls Jeff Sachs "my professor".
Here is an article about Jeffrey Sachs from last year which made quite a furor when it came out (I agree with Sachs):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3869081.stm
Africa 'should not pay its debts'
Africa's development goals are not being met
A special adviser to the United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has said African countries should refuse to repay their foreign debts.
Mr Annan's economic adviser Jeffrey Sachs first called on developed countries to cancel Africa's debts.
But failing that, he said Africa should ignore its $201bn (£109bn) debt burden.
Economic analysis, he said, had shown that it was impossible for Africa to achieve its development goal of halving poverty if it had to repay the loans.
"The time has come to end this charade," he said.
"The debts are unaffordable. If they won't cancel the debts I would suggest obstruction; you do it yourselves."
'A serious response'
"Africa should say: 'thank you very much but we need this money to meet the needs of children who are dying right now so we will put the debt servicing payments into urgent social investment in health, education, drinking water, control of aids and other needs,'" he told the BBC's World Business Report.
Mr Sachs insisted that such a response was serious and responsible, providing that the money was used transparently and channelled only into urgent social needs.
And he denied that it would bar African countries from accessing money from the capital markets in the future.
"They won't be able to access those markets anyway until the debt is forgiven, he explained, adding that there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to borrow again provided the forgiveness was negotiated in a cooperative manner.
Mr Sachs is special adviser to Kofi Annan on global anti-poverty targets.
Reluctance He made his comments at a conference on the eve of a summit of the heads of state of the African Union in Ethiopia.
How much progress has been made on debt relief?
At-a-glance
He called on the developed world to double aid to Africa to $120bn a year in order to meet commitments made in 1970.
There is some sympathy in some of the rich donor countries for the idea of debt cancellation.
The British Chancellor of the Exchequer or finance minister Gordon Brown, did float the idea before the recent summit of the G8 major powers in the United States, although there has been no decision and some creditor countries do have a history of reluctance on debt relief issues.
But none would be likely to welcome a unilateral decision by the poor countries themselves simply to stop paying their debts, which are owed mainly to international organisations such as the World Bank and to rich country governments.
Jeff Sachs is ONE of the pre-eminent economists of our time and his achievements are many and indisputable.
He is the economist who taught Bono much of what he knows today regarding debt cancellation and ways in which extreme poverty CAN BE ALLEVIATED from our world.
I've had my copy of this book on pre-order from Amazon.com - I hope to get it soon.
Bono calls Jeff Sachs "my professor".
Here is an article about Jeffrey Sachs from last year which made quite a furor when it came out (I agree with Sachs):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3869081.stm
Africa 'should not pay its debts'
Africa's development goals are not being met
A special adviser to the United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has said African countries should refuse to repay their foreign debts.
Mr Annan's economic adviser Jeffrey Sachs first called on developed countries to cancel Africa's debts.
But failing that, he said Africa should ignore its $201bn (£109bn) debt burden.
Economic analysis, he said, had shown that it was impossible for Africa to achieve its development goal of halving poverty if it had to repay the loans.
"The time has come to end this charade," he said.
"The debts are unaffordable. If they won't cancel the debts I would suggest obstruction; you do it yourselves."
'A serious response'
"Africa should say: 'thank you very much but we need this money to meet the needs of children who are dying right now so we will put the debt servicing payments into urgent social investment in health, education, drinking water, control of aids and other needs,'" he told the BBC's World Business Report.
Mr Sachs insisted that such a response was serious and responsible, providing that the money was used transparently and channelled only into urgent social needs.
And he denied that it would bar African countries from accessing money from the capital markets in the future.
"They won't be able to access those markets anyway until the debt is forgiven, he explained, adding that there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to borrow again provided the forgiveness was negotiated in a cooperative manner.
Mr Sachs is special adviser to Kofi Annan on global anti-poverty targets.
Reluctance He made his comments at a conference on the eve of a summit of the heads of state of the African Union in Ethiopia.
How much progress has been made on debt relief?
At-a-glance
He called on the developed world to double aid to Africa to $120bn a year in order to meet commitments made in 1970.
There is some sympathy in some of the rich donor countries for the idea of debt cancellation.
The British Chancellor of the Exchequer or finance minister Gordon Brown, did float the idea before the recent summit of the G8 major powers in the United States, although there has been no decision and some creditor countries do have a history of reluctance on debt relief issues.
But none would be likely to welcome a unilateral decision by the poor countries themselves simply to stop paying their debts, which are owed mainly to international organisations such as the World Bank and to rich country governments.
diamond
ONE love, blood, life
looks like a good book.
Jeff Sachs seems to a good man.
I need to check this book out.
db9
Jeff Sachs seems to a good man.
I need to check this book out.
db9
verte76
Blue Crack Addict
I need to get this book. I've been having hassles with Amazon.com, it took me three months to get one of my orders.
Last edited:
Marie Clare
Babyface
Mar 17th 2005
From The Economist print edition
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
By Jeffrey D. Sachs
Debt and development
Economics
To be sure, the virtues of the book vastly outweigh its failings, just as the virtues of Mr Sachs dwarf his. Book and man are brilliant, passionate, optimistic and impatient. But Mr Sachs is not, as he sometimes appears to think, the developing countries' only hope. And he tends too often to accuse people who disagree with him of bad faith. Many of his economic conclusions are contested. Some people who are less keen than he is to spend more on aid may care just as much about poverty. Not everybody who thinks that corruption is widespread in Africa, and that corruption renders aid ineffective, is racist. “Pessimism about Africans' ability to utilise aid is very deep, reflecting an amazing reservoir of deep prejudices. I have heard those prejudices for years and have come to expect them, always with sadness.”
Not just with sadness, actually: people who disagree with Mr Sachs also make him angry, weary and disgusted. The author believes he is fighting not merely error but also widespread immorality. That is an odd stance for a man to take, who has himself often been unfairly accused of caring nothing for the “victims” of his policies.
The book is mostly clear and hard-headed about what works in promoting economic development. But it is briefly marred by some pretty soft-headed stuff about the evils of unilateralism, the war in Iraq and the moral and intellectual failings of the Bush administration. Mr Sachs states these views as though they follow from his hard-learned economic wisdom—which of course, whether right or wrong, they do not. On the other hand, Mr Sachs is far too kind to anti-globalisation activists, applauding their fervour and conviction while gently disagreeing with their policy ideas, which in fact he regards as ignorant and ruinous (why not extend the same courtesy to the Bush administration?).
And, frankly, it is difficult to forgive his invitation to Bono to write the introduction to the book. Describing his experience of campaigning with Mr Sachs, the Irish rock singer recalls, “I would enter the world of acronyms with a man who can make alphabet soup out of them. Soup you'd want to eat. Soup that would, if ingested properly, enable a lot more soup to be eaten by a lot more people.” Sorry, even if it sells more copies of this otherwise outstanding book, publishing such drivel cannot be right.
From The Economist print edition
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
By Jeffrey D. Sachs
Debt and development
Economics
To be sure, the virtues of the book vastly outweigh its failings, just as the virtues of Mr Sachs dwarf his. Book and man are brilliant, passionate, optimistic and impatient. But Mr Sachs is not, as he sometimes appears to think, the developing countries' only hope. And he tends too often to accuse people who disagree with him of bad faith. Many of his economic conclusions are contested. Some people who are less keen than he is to spend more on aid may care just as much about poverty. Not everybody who thinks that corruption is widespread in Africa, and that corruption renders aid ineffective, is racist. “Pessimism about Africans' ability to utilise aid is very deep, reflecting an amazing reservoir of deep prejudices. I have heard those prejudices for years and have come to expect them, always with sadness.”
Not just with sadness, actually: people who disagree with Mr Sachs also make him angry, weary and disgusted. The author believes he is fighting not merely error but also widespread immorality. That is an odd stance for a man to take, who has himself often been unfairly accused of caring nothing for the “victims” of his policies.
The book is mostly clear and hard-headed about what works in promoting economic development. But it is briefly marred by some pretty soft-headed stuff about the evils of unilateralism, the war in Iraq and the moral and intellectual failings of the Bush administration. Mr Sachs states these views as though they follow from his hard-learned economic wisdom—which of course, whether right or wrong, they do not. On the other hand, Mr Sachs is far too kind to anti-globalisation activists, applauding their fervour and conviction while gently disagreeing with their policy ideas, which in fact he regards as ignorant and ruinous (why not extend the same courtesy to the Bush administration?).
And, frankly, it is difficult to forgive his invitation to Bono to write the introduction to the book. Describing his experience of campaigning with Mr Sachs, the Irish rock singer recalls, “I would enter the world of acronyms with a man who can make alphabet soup out of them. Soup you'd want to eat. Soup that would, if ingested properly, enable a lot more soup to be eaten by a lot more people.” Sorry, even if it sells more copies of this otherwise outstanding book, publishing such drivel cannot be right.
BostonAnne
Refugee
It was on display at my local bookstore and I tried to read the forward but I had my kids with me. The part I read has left me wanting to finish. 
I am adding this book on to my wish list.
I am adding this book on to my wish list.
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