The Case Against the Global Economy
Edited by Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith Sierra Club Books, 1996, 550 pages, $16 (paper).

This is an anthology, 43 chapters by a wide variety of people in various fields—economics, agriculture, human rights, the environment—that covers the field brilliantly. Most anthologies are uneven and repetitive; this one is constantly fascinating and horrifying. The best place to start a study of globalization.

When Corporations Rule the World
By David C. Korten Kumarian Press, 1996, 376 pages, $19.95 (paper).

Korten spent many years with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and came to his views the hard way. He has seen what works in development, what doesn’t, and why. And he is not afraid to tackle sacred cows. While many critics of corporations and the mad dash toward globalization speak of "sustainable growth" or "smart growth," Korten argues forcefully and persuasively that growth itself is the problem. Must reading.

One World, Ready or Not, The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism
By William Greider Touchstone, 1997, 528 pages, $15 (paper).

Greider is a correspondent for Rolling Stone, and a skilled political and economic reporter. In this sprawling tome, he analyzes many of the developments and issues that have brought everyone to Seattle, for a wide variety of reasons.

International Investor Rights and Local Economic Development
By Robert K. Stumberg and William Schweke Corporation for Enterprise Development, 1999, 141 pages, available at www.cfed.org

Should our food crops be genetically engineered so they can resist pesticides? Has anyone asked you that question before? This is a good place to begin learning about what the American press generally calls "transgenic" crops and the Europeans refer to as "genetically modified organisms."

Masters of Illusion, The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations
By Catherine Caufield Henry Holt, 1996, 432 pages, $27.50 (cloth).

The distinguished author of In the Rainforest and Multiple Exposures turns her telescope on the World Bank and carefully and painstakingly lays bare its crushing failure to alleviate world poverty. All you need to know about the World Bank and more.

Whose Trade Organization: Corporate Globalization and the Erosion of Democracy
Public Citizen, 1999, 229 pages $18.50 (paper)