Book Reviews
We review books focused on issues ranging from economic history and management practices to theology and pragmatic business concerns. These comprise a mix of recently published books and books published over the course of the last thirty years or so which we think should not be forgotten.
We generally do not review books that may be regarded as “classics” (on the basis that they are already well known) or books that are aimed solely at an academic or other specialist audience (since our aim is to assist the non-specialist who want seriously to think through current issues).
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Bryan Cutsinger: ‘False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947’ by George Selgin
False Dawn offers an even-handed assessment of President Roosevelt’s New Deal and its legacy, examining the extent to which it helped to end of the Great Depression.
Gordon Bannerman: ‘Creditworthy: A History of Consumer Surveillance and Financial Identity in America’ by Josh Lauer
Recounting the historical evolution of systematic credit surveillance in the United States, this informative, immaculately researched, well-written book highlights the enduring presence of trust and integrity, despite the revolutionary effects of advanced technological capability.
Andrew Fincham: ‘Profit: An Environmental History’ by Mark Stoll
The aim of Profit: An Environmental History is to trace the environmental aspects of capitalism’s growth through human history, but the book lacks clear data points or any clear definition of profit, while leaving the reader with a somewhat rushed feel.
Anne R. Bradley: ‘Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World’ by Alison Taylor
In Higher Ground, Alison Taylor offers sound practical advice on how to navigate the choppy waters of business leadership in the 21st century, reminding us that one firm cannot do everything and that political battles are divisive, yet perhaps returning to the basics is the best course to steer.
Andrew Baughen: ‘Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America’ by Erik Baker
In Make Your Own Job, Erik Baker examines the ways in which an entrepreneurial work ethic became so embedded in America that it was adopted as assumed wisdom for all, rather than the choice of a few.
Noreen Herzfeld: ‘In AI We Trust: Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms’ by Helga Nowotny
Calling for new ethos in emerging AI research and development, 'In AI We Trust' argues that as we become increasingly dependent on predictive algorithms and their illusion of control, we will slide into a future that is largely determined by our past.
Marta Rocchi: ‘Everyone’s Business: What Companies Owe Society’ by Amit Ron and Abraham A. Singer
Everyone’s Business presents a well-structured but complex analysis of the responsibilities that businesses have towards the democratic societies in which they exist, and applies principles of democratic business ethics to practices by which democracy is potentially undermined.
Andrew Packman: 'Our Least Important Asset' by Peter Cappeli
Our Least Important Asset argues that a decline in the quality of management on the part of large firms is attributable to the mechanics and importance attributed to financial accounting, but while the book makes some useful recommendations for reform, the analysis suffers from significant flaws.
Edward Carter: ‘The Economics of the Parables’ by Robert Sirico
In The Economics of the Parables, Robert Sirico explores the economic and commercial setting of many of Jesus’s parables, considering the universal economic assumptions at play within the stories themselves with a view to enriching the reader’s engagement with them, but without trying to use the parables as the basis for instruction about economic policy or business practice.
Neil Jordan: ‘Is Your Work Worth It? How to Think About Meaningful Work’ by Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas
In Is Your Work Worth It? Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas address the question of what makes work worthwhile, rather than specifically meaningful – meaningful work being the subject of their book in this area (The Meaning and Purpose of Work). Naturally, the meaningfulness or otherwise of work is considered in this volume, but […]