Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.1532
EAN: 9780300119749
ISBN: 0300119747
Label: Yale University Press
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: September 06, 2006
Publisher: Yale University Press
Sales Rank: 49662
Studio: Yale University Press

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Why is the World Bank so successful? How has it gained power even at moments in history when it seemed likely to fall? This pathbreaking book is the first close examination of the inner workings of the Bank, the foundations of its achievements, its propensity for intensifying the problems it intends to cure, and its remarkable ability to tame criticism and extend its own reach. Michael Goldman takes us inside World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., and then to Bank project sites around the globe. He explains how projects funded by the Bank really work and why community activists struggle against the World Bank and its brand of development. Goldman looks at recent ventures in areas such as the environment, human rights, and good governance and reveals how--despite its poor track record--the World Bank has acquired greater authority and global power than ever before. The book sheds new light on the World Bank's role in increasing global inequalities and considers why it has become the central target for anti-globalization movements worldwide. For anyone concerned about globalization and social justice, "Imperial Nature is" essential reading.




Rating: - A description and critique of 'World Bank' practice
This book provides a history of the 'World Bank' and a description and critique of its major operating practices. According to Goldman the 'World Bank's operations often fail to achieve their stated goals, and may do more harm than good.
Goldman analyzes the way the agenda of the major fund- providers for the World Bank, the leading industrial states impinges upon the operation of the 'Bank'. He describes the World Bank philosophy which places emphasis on green environentalism and capitalist ... Read More

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Rating: - Good Introduction to the Bank
Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature is a wonderful introduction to the methods, practices and history of the World Bank. It is well written and very easy to read and comprehend. It is arranged logically and most questions that a reader with little prior knowledge of the bank would have are answered early on. The book uses both general history and contemporary examples to explore the evolution of the bank's purpose and methodology. However Goldman tends to make generalizations without expounding on ... Read More

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Rating: - Solid framework of World Bank
Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature provides a concrete basis for the understanding of the World Bank's infrastructure and policies. Not only does Goldman explain how the World Bank functions, but he gives specific examples of projects from around the world such as the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Goldman attempts to explain how the bank achieves its powerful status and remains a dominant structure worldwide. A passage reads, "From this perspective, the World Bank functions by borrowing capital from a global ... Read More

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Rating: - A Different Angle
Imperial Nature by Michael Goldman provides a good source of information about the World Bank. This book doesn't require the reader to have prior knowledge about the World Bank and it is not overwhelming in terms of how much information is presented. It presents the history of the Bank and allows the reader to understand its structure and functions. Goldman's goal was to show the negative aspects of the World Bank's influence in the world. He is a valid candidate to write about this subject because he made ... Read More

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Rating: - What Happens Next?
Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature: The World bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization takes the stance of the activists that frequently protest at world bank meetings claiming the bank's development projects do more ham than good in developing countries. The book offers more insight into the World Bank than is normally available to such anti-bank activists, however, because Goldman was able to spend a significant amount of time within the bank itself. Goldman gives a unique historical ... Read More

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