The Ages of Globalization

Through the arc of human history, globalization has produced good and ill, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University Jeffrey D. Sachs writes in this astute study. Travel and trade started with migrations from Africa to Europe and Asia, Sachs explains, and globalization has accelerated ever since. He finds that cross-cultural linkages gave humanity the written word, widespread prosperity and countless YouTube videos. But it also spawned slavery, war and vast damage to the planet.

Kirkus Reviews found this “an authoritative account of our shared, increasingly interdependent human journey.” Foreign Affairs noted that “Sachs makes a powerful case that the globalizing forces creating our increasingly interdependent world are deeply rooted in the human condition and…are here to stay.” And Ian Goldin, co-author of Age of Discovery, said Sachs “provides an unparalleled explanation of human development.”