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Longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award Wealth and power on the trail of the super-rich In 2012, Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista was the eighth richest man in the world, his $30bn fortune built on Brazil's incredible natural resources. By the middle of 2013 he had lost it all, engulfed in scandal. Brazillionaires is a fast-paced account of Batista's rise and fall: a story of helicopter flights, beach-front penthouses and high-speed car crashes. Along the way, it tells the parallel story of Brazil itself, a country caught in the cycle of boom and bust, renewed hope and dashed promise; a country where the hyper-rich are at the heart of the economy - and where their wealth can buy immense political power. Stefan Zweig said in 1941 that Brazil was the country of the future; Brazilians joke that it always will be. Today, rampant corruption and endemic inequality threaten to derail the new Brazilian Dream. The brazillionaires are the key to understanding that dream; through them Brazillionaires tells the story of their country's past, present and future.
When we think of Brazil, we think of beautiful beaches and beautiful people. It is a tapestry of people from different backgrounds all just having fun. However, this is far from the truth of what is going on Brazil. Despite Brazil being part of the BRIC nations; those with the most potential for growth in the global economy; Brazil is considered economically backwards in many ways. You get an idea of this when you look deeper into its politics and economic policies. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Brazillionaires, a book that truly exposes the dark side of Brazil's rise and arguably its inexorable fall. Enjoy!
A gripping and subversive novel about the slippery nature of truth and the tragic consequences of American idealism … Leonora Gelb came to Peru to make a difference. A passionate and idealistic Stanford grad, she left a life of privilege to fight poverty and oppression, but her beliefs are tested when she falls in with violent revolutionaries. While death squads and informants roam the streets and suspicion festers among the comrades, Leonora plans a decisive act of protest—until her capture in a bloody government raid, and a sham trial that sends her to prison for life. Ten years later, Andres—a failed novelist turned expat—is asked to write a magazine profile of “La Leo.” As hi...
A controversial look at the end of globalization and what it means for prosperity, peace, and the global economic order Globalization, long considered the best route to economic prosperity, is not inevitable. An approach built on the principles of free trade and, since the 1980s, open capital markets, is beginning to fracture. With disappointing growth rates across the Western world, nations are no longer willing to sacrifice national interests for global growth; nor are their leaders able—or willing—to sell the idea of pursuing a global agenda of prosperity to their citizens. Combining historical analysis with current affairs, economist Stephen D. King provides a provocative and engaging account of why globalization is being rejected, what a world ruled by rival states with conflicting aims might look like, and how the pursuit of nationalist agendas could result in a race to the bottom. King argues that a rejection of globalization and a return to “autarky” will risk economic and political conflict, and he uses lessons from history to gauge how best to avoid the worst possible outcomes.
Issa Ibrahim's memoir details in searing prose his development of severe mental illness leading to the accidental killing of his mother, his acquittal by reason of insanity, and his subsequent commission to a mental hospital for nearly 20 years. Raised in an idyllic creative environment, mom and dad cultivating his talent, Issa watches his family's descent into chaos in the drug-crazed late 1980s. Following his father's death, Issa, grief-stricken and vulnerable, develops a drug habit. Within two years he is addicted, psychosis prompting his belief that his mother is possessed and he must exorcise her. Issa receives the insanity plea and is committed to an insane asylum with no release date....
"His admirers called him the "Barnum of Books" and the "Voltaire of Kansas" because of his ability to bring culture and education to the people. R. Alton Lee brings to life Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (1889-1951), a writer-publisher-entrepreneur who was one of America's most significant publishers and editorialists of the twentieth century, if not all time. His company published a record 500,000,000 copies of 2,580 titles and was second only to the U.S. Government Printing Office in the quantity of publications it produced. Lee details Haldeman-Julius's family origins in Russia and his formative years in Philadelphia, where he learned the book trade. As a writer and editor for the Social Democra...
Learn the ins and outs of the social security system in this accessible, easy-to-navigate guide with refreshed, updated information in Social Security 101, 2nd Edition. Too often, writing about social security turns the noteworthy details of the benefits into boring details about regulations or biased political arguments that would put even a diehard bureaucrat to sleep. Social Security 101, 2nd Edition, cuts out the tedious explanations and instead provides a hands-on lesson that keeps you engaged as you learn all you need to know about the federal program that’s been around since the Great Depression. From the history of social security to its likely role in the future, this primer is packed with hundreds of entertaining tidbits and concepts that will keep you on track as you learn how to maximize your benefits. Whether you want to learn about calculating your retirement age or estimating your projected payments, Social Security 101 has all the answers—even the ones you didn’t know you were looking for.
A lawyer and venture capitalist provides a complete, practical guide for dealing with the concrete details surrounding the death of a loved one, from funeral and estate planning to navigating the complexities of online identities. Scott Taylor Smith, a venture capitalist and lawyer, had plentiful resources, and yet after his mother died, he made a series of agonizing and costly mistakes in squaring away her affairs. He could find countless books that dealt with caring for the dying and the emotional fallout of death, but very few that dealt with the logistics. In the aftermath of his mother’s death, Smith decided to write the book he wished he’d had. When Someone Dies provides readers wi...
In 2012, Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista was the eighth richest man in the world, his $30bn fortune built on Brazil's incredible natural resources. By the middle of 2013 he had lost it all, engulfed in scandal. Brazillionaires is a fast-paced account of Batista's rise and fall, and of the rise and rise of the hyper-rich, not just in Brazil but the world over: a story of helicopter flights, high-speed car crashes and beach-front penthouses. But it is also an investigation into a country apparently poised to become a superpower, yet beset by endemic inequality and corruption. Stefan Zweig said in 1941 that Brazil was the country of the future; Brazilians joke that it always will be. Today, despite recent turmoil, that future seems closer than ever. It is the world's seventh-largest economy, companies like Heinz, Budweiser and Burger King are now controlled by Brazilian investors and Rio de Janeiro is hosting the 2016 Olympics. The brazillionaires have ridden the crest of Brazil's wave of progress; through them Brazillionaires tells the story of their country's past, present and future.
If you're going to read one book about Hollywood, this is the one. As co-founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Michael Ovitz earned a reputation for ruthless negotiation, brilliant strategy and fierce loyalty to his clients. He reinvented the role of the agent and helped shape the careers of hundreds of A-list stars and directors, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sean Connery, Steven Seagal, Bill Murray, Robin Williams and David Letterman. But this personal history is much more than celebrity friendships and bare-knuckled deal-making. It's an underdog's story: How did a kid with no connections work his way into the William Morris mailroom, and become the most powerful person in Hollywood? How did a superagent also become a power in producing, advertising, mergers & acquisitions and modern art? And what were the personal consequences of all those deals? After decades of near-silence in the face of intense controversy, Michael Ovitz is finally telling his whole story in this blistering, unforgettable memoir.