Black Box Thinking

Ha-Joon Chang's 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism turns received economic wisdom on its head to show you how the world really works.In this revelatory book, Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our times and shows us an alternative view of the world, including:There's no such thing as a 'free' marketGlobalization isn't making the world richerWe don't live in a digital world - the washing machine has changed lives more than the internetPoor countries are more entrepreneurial than rich onesHigher paid managers don't produce better resultsWe don't have to accept things as they are any longer. Ha-Joon Chang is here to show us there's a better way.'Lively, accessible and provocative ... read this book'Sunday Times'A witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy'Observer'The new kid on the economics block ... Chang's iconoclastic attitude has won him fans'Independent on Sunday'Lucid ... audacious ... increasingly influential ... will provoke physical symptoms of revulsion if you are in any way involved in high finance'Guardian'Important ... persuasive ... an engaging case for a more caring era of globalization'Financial Times'A must-read ... incisive and entertaining'New Statesman Books of the YearHa-Joon Chang is a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge. He is author of Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, which won the 2003 Gunnar Myrdal Prize, and Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World. Since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, he has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, and a vocal critic of the failures of our economic system.

Superb' - Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add UpMoney is essential to the economy and how we live our lives, yet is inherently worthless. We can use it to build a home or send us to space, and it can lead to the rise and fall of empires. Few innovations have had such a huge impact on the development of humanity, but money is a shared fiction: a story we believe in so long as others act as if it is true.Money is rarely out of the headlines – from the invention of cryptocurrencies to the problem of high inflation, extraordinary interventions by central banks and the power the West has over the worldwide banking system. In Money in One Lesson, Gavin Jackson answers the most important questions on what money is and how it shapes our world, drawing on vivid examples from throughout history to demystify and show how societies and its citizens, both past and present, are always entwined with matters of money.‘A highly illuminating, well-researched and beautifully written book on one of humanity’s most important innovations’ – Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator, Financial Times

Cheese is a metaphor for what you want in life - be it a good job, a loving relationship, money or possessions, health or spiritual peace of mind. And the maze is where you look for what you want - the organization you work in, or the family or community where you live. This book shows how to anticipate change, adapt quickly, enjoy the change and be ready for more, so that you suffer from less stress and enjoy more success in life.