The World's Banker


Sebastian Mallaby's The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations is a financial biography book. British journalist Mallaby is a highly ranked member of the Council on Foreign Relations, working in international economics.

Summary

Mallaby follows a formula in his books, using each chapter to focus on a different geographic concern related to the world bank during the tenure of J.D. Wolfensohn.
  • Preface: The Prisoner of Lilliput
  • Chapter One: A Tale of Two Ambitions - concerns the outlook of U.S. president after the attacks.
  • Chapter Two: “World Bank Murderer”
  • Chapter Three:The Renaissance President
  • Chapter Four: A Twister in Africa
  • Chapter Five: Mission Sarajevo
  • Chapter Six: Narcissus and the Octopus
  • Chapter Seven: The Cancer of Corruption
  • Chapter Eight: Uganda's Myth and Miracle
  • Chapter Nine: A Framework for Development
  • Chapter Ten: From Seattle to Tibet
  • Chapter Eleven: Waking Up to Terror
  • Chapter Twelve: A Plague upon Development
  • Chapter Thirteen: Back to the Future
  • Chapter Fourteen: A Lion at Carnegie
  • Afterword: regarding the appointment of successor Paul Wolfowitz

Reception

"Mallaby gives us a sophisticated, evenhanded take on the bank's last decade of development efforts."
"Mallaby, a Washington Post editorial writer, provides a sympathetic yet critical assessment of the World Bank under Wolfensohn's leadership, crediting him for bringing the bank much closer to its developing-country clients but faulting him for trying to take on too wide a scope of activity without a clear and manageable set of priorities."

Editions

  • The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, October, 2004. Hardcover USA. 1st ed. pages: 432.
  • The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, October 2004. Paperback. 1st ed. pages: 432.
  • The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, April 25, 2006. Hardcover USA. 2nd ed. pages: 496.
This edition features a new afterword by the author that analyzes the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as Wolfensohn's successor at the World bank.