Book Reviews

Globalization, the process of growing interconnectedness, is not a new phenomenon. All that’s new is the ease and speed of the connections. In his book, Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, follows the exploits of historical traders, preachers, adventurers and warriors in shaping our world, and identifies their modern counterparts at work today. The categories provide insights into globalization’s ongoing process, and Paul Freedman, chair of the Department of History at Yale University, points out how Chanda’s background as an international journalist allows for perceptive observations at both the personal and global levels. Describing Chanda’s analysis as both exciting and sobering, Freedman also ponders why globalization has failed to penetrate some of the poorest places of the world, emphasizing that, despite unprecedented opportunities, the world is still inequitable.

Michael Mandelbaum analyzes the US role as the world’s sole superpower, providing global security as a government service. The US may not continue that role for long though. The biggest threat comes not from rival countries but rather the US public, no longer willing to pay the costs. In this review, Susan Froetschel highlights the author’s approach to understanding the US role in the world order.

In the lead up to the invasion of Iraq - and especially with the difficulties the US has encountered since - there is a renewed interest in the historical experience of past imperial efforts. Not surprisingly, the publication of British historian Niall Ferguson’s provocative history of the British Empire has aroused special interest. In this review of the book, noted historian and World Systems theorist Immanuel Wallerstein focuses on Ferguson’s defense of the British Empire.

One of the major agents of globalization - the multinational corporation - has been alternately portrayed as global villain and global economic booster. In “Global Inc.”, a new “atlas of the multinational corporation” by Medard Gabel and Henry Bruner, companies with an extensive global reach are subjected to a more objective critical eye. In this review article, Nayan Chanda highlights the authors’ somewhat surprising data and assesses the book’s significance for globalization studies.