The Globalist's Top Books of 2012
From the legacy of British colonialism and the possibility of Hitler's assassination to Turkey's role in the Arab Middle East and Afghanistan's cotton fields, The Globalist Bookshelf crisscrossed the world and spanned centuries of history in 2012. As a year-end special, we present ten of the best books featured on The Globalist this year (along with five others for good measure).
1.
Ghosts of Empire: Britain's Legacies in the Modern World
By Kwasi Kwarteng
Excerpt: How has the British and U.S. to desire to control Iraqi oil shaped the country's recent history?
2.
Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else
By Chrystia Freeland
Excerpt: Why have Americans been so tolerant of the rising gulf between rich and poor?
3.
By Hedrick Smith
Excerpt: Why has the American Dream slipped out of the reach of more and more of the middle class?
4.
Waging War on Corruption: Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power
By Frank Vogl
Excerpt: How can transparency help end the fleecing of resource-rich countries by their corrupt leaders?
5.
Economics After the Crisis: Objectives and Means
By Adair Turner
Excerpt: Why do economists — and the policymakers who heed their advice — need to reconsider the conventional wisdoms of their profession?
6.
Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity
By Lester Brown
Excerpt: What can be done to help those on the lower rungs of the global economic ladder cope with rising food prices?
7.
The Economics of Enough: How to Run the Economy as If the Future Matters
By Diane Coyle
Excerpt: What policies should governments focus on to ensure that future generations live at least well as the current generation?
8.
Borrow: The American Way of Debt
By Louis Hyman
Excerpt: What is "patriotic" about cutting taxes for the rich? And how is the middle class "empowered" by piling up mountains of debt?
9.
By Robert D. Kaplan
Excerpt: Will water make Turkey a greater power in the Arab Middle East in the 21st century than it was in the 20th?
10.
Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power
By Andrew Nagorski
Excerpt: How did Hitler's relationship with a young American woman change history in the 20th century?
Hitlerland
Hitler’s rise to power, Germany’s march to the abyss, as seen through the eyes of Americans—diplomats, military, expats, visiting authors, Olympic athletes—who watched horrified and up close. By tapping a rich vein of personal testimonies, Hitlerland offers a gripping narrative full of surprising twists—and a startlingly fresh perspective on this heavily dissected era.