The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

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Customer Reviews:

Thought Provoking [Posted on 2008-09-15]
I really enjoyed this book. Paul Collier has taken what is a very complex issue and presented it in a concise view of the situation of the "Bottom Billion" which many of us do not really understand. Collier and his colleagues have done an enormous amount of research and analysis and have distilled that into a compelling read for anyone who worries about what's happening to our world.

To me, the book shed light on the difficulty faced by the "Bottom Billion" and how, with the best of intentions, Aid organisations, the World Bank, IMF, European Union, USA, regional bodies etc can still not achieve an improvement in the lives of these people. Coordination is the key, and that is far easier said than done - and I am just wondering how the author is working to get this "Bottom Billion" discussion tabled. It would be great to follow any progress made - and I hope, for the sake of a billion lives, there is progress.

Development economics that we can all understand [Posted on 2008-10-17]
This book summarizes a career's worth of research in a format that both explains issues and makes suggestions in a way that does not require economics jargon translation. It is the best work I've seen that describes the effect of individual and combined local and world factors on the plight of the 'bottom Billion" mainly in land locked African nations. Without assigning blame Collier recounts the history, economic, geographic, social and leadership factors that trap these nations and make those of us committed to helping them so perplexed about why aid has not worked. He offers suggestions for growth that leave some room for optimism. What raises the work above well written editorial to convincing evidence is that Colliers's writings and suggestions are based upon consolidation of research results (that he briefly cites at the end of the work) over a long period covering the measured influence of many factors . Besides the pithy and well drawn content the writing is clear , straightforward and entertaining making it enjoyable to read.

Full of hope [Posted on 2008-10-31]
This book gives great insight on how complex nations really are and that there is a soulution for every problem. Terrific reading.

thoughtful quick read [Posted on 2008-11-17]
surpasses older books on the subject; a fluid easy read yet not superficial; combines a compassionate belief that we ought to help those in extreme poverty with a critical analysis of the failings of current development aid.

Helping Others for Dummies [Posted on 2008-11-22]
1. The content is substantive and occasionally provocative, but the writing's off-putting - didactic, repetitive, pedantic, occasionally patronizing - and altogether too much devoted to the personal pronoun.
2. On second thought - after reading the 1st 98 pages - I realized it was not written for me. It's written for people at government aid agencies, NGO's, World Bank, OECD, etc. who may be well-intentioned but who lack common sense about how the world works - foolish or clueless do-gooders. This book should be sub-titled "HELPING OTHERS FOR DUMMIES".

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