Business & Economics

Explore the ways that money makes the world go 'round in these Business and Economics selections. Ranging from wealth-building self-help advice to philosophical critiques of capitalism, the titles in this Collection explore the role of money and wealth in society and the systems that drive global economies.

Vermeer's Hat

by Timothy Brook

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Globalization

Tags World History, Business & Economics, European History, Chinese Literature, Travel Literature, Arts & Culture

Vermeer’s Hat (2007) is a work of nonfiction by Canadian historian Timothy Brook. The full title of the book, Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World, indicates Brook’s comprehensive outlook—positioning Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter from the city of Delft in the Netherlands known for his use of light and the textual clues that abound in his artwork within the context of his contemporaries and the larger world. Brook uses... Read Vermeer's Hat Summary

Voices from Chernobyl

by Svetlana Alexievich

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, Economics, Death, Grief, Environment

Tags European History, Journalism, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Agriculture, Business & Economics, Food, Education, Grief & Death, World History, Military & War, Poverty, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Russian Literature, Biography

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich is a collection of 35 first-person oral accounts of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union. Originally published in Russian in 1997, the book was translated into English by Keith Gessen in 2005; it has been translated into almost every European language. Alexievich, a Belarusian investigative journalist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for Voices from Chernobyl in... Read Voices from Chernobyl Summary

Walden On Wheels

by Ken Ilgunas

Publication year 2013

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Coming of Age, Animals, Environment, Plants, Objects & Materials, Place, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Beauty, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Travel Literature, Action & Adventure, Biography

... Read Walden On Wheels Summary

Weapons of Math Destruction

by Cathy O'Neil

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Equality, Science & Technology

Tags Business & Economics, Science & Nature, Technology, Technology, Sociology, Politics & Government

In this nonfiction book, data scientist and mathematician Catherine O’Neil’s Weapons of Math Destruction (2016) explores how math-driven models encoded in technology shape many people’s lives and opportunities in the United States. She calls these models weapons of math destruction (WMDs) for their ability to wreak mass havoc on the poor and marginalized peoples of America. This book deals with difficult subject matter, such as socioeconomic oppression, racial discrimination, gender inequality, and discrimination against individuals... Read Weapons of Math Destruction Summary

Whisper Network

by Chandler Baker

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Teamwork, Social Class, Gender Identity, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Masculinity, Femininity

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Business & Economics, Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction

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White Trash

by Nancy Isenberg

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Community, Nation, Justice

Tags Sociology, US History, Social Class, Social Justice, Race & Racism, Business & Economics, World History, Politics & Government

IntroductionIn White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, Nancy Isenberg documents the historical and contemporary disdain of the upper and middle classes in America for the white poor and the resultant staying power of a class hierarchy. Isenberg, an award-winning historian, uses her expertise to contribute this non-fictional work to the academic literature on social class. Originally published in 2016, the book became a New York Times bestseller and was a finalist... Read White Trash Summary

Who Moved My Cheese?

by Spencer Johnson

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Fear, Appearance & Reality, Trust & Doubt

Tags Self-Improvement, Business & Economics, Leadership, Inspirational, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD, is an inspirational advice book on how people and businesses can respond to changing times and situations by learning how to adapt quickly and successfully. The book centers on a parable about two mice and two people who live in a maze and search for cheese—the things each wants in life—and what happens when the cheese they’ve been enjoying disappears. First published in 1998, the book proved... Read Who Moved My Cheese? Summary

Why Liberalism Failed

by Patrick J. Deneen

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Community, Equality, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Environment

Tags Politics & Government, Philosophy, World History, Education, Education, Social Science, Business & Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

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Why Nations Fail

by Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson

Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Community

Tags Business & Economics, Politics & Government, World History, Science & Nature, Sociology

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (2012) is a nonfiction book co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Acemoglu, an MIT economist renowned for his work on political economy, and Robinson, a political scientist and economist, combine their expertise to examine the reasons behind the varying levels of success and failure among nations. This interdisciplinary work, situated at the intersection of institutional economics, developmental economics, and economic history, examines a... Read Why Nations Fail Summary

Why We Buy

by Paco Underhill

Publication year 1999

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Business & Economics

In Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, author Paco Underhill argues that people make purchases not so much because they are useful and sensible but because they are part of a pleasing shopping experience. First published in 2000 and revised for the Internet Age in 2009, Why We Buy became an international bestseller and has been translated into 27 languages. The 2009 Kindle edition (ASIN: B001QA4SY2) is the basis for this guide.Underhill, an environmental... Read Why We Buy Summary

Winners Take All

by Anand Giridharadas

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Equality, Social Class, Justice, Power & Greed, Community, Wins & Losses

Tags Politics & Government, Business & Economics, Social Justice, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Social Class, Sociology, World History

... Read Winners Take All Summary

Wooden

by John Wooden, Steve Jamison

Publication year 1997

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Teamwork, Wins & Losses, Perseverance

Tags Sports, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Biography

... Read Wooden Summary