The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy

Based on the endorsements for this book I assumed I would be getting an in depth description of how international finance worked and maybe a clue as to why so many were worried about trade deficits and the possible demise of the dollar.

Instead, what I got was more boosterism about free trade, globalization, and entrepeneurship - and warnings to politicians to not mess with this glorious world. No nuance. Very shallow.

Why it received so many prominent endorsements is a mystery to me. Rather than educating, the book just promotes political viewpoints.
I would not like to see free trade disrupted, but I have read all his arguments a hundred times before.

The book is an almost timely look behind the scenes at the world's financial bubbles. It was published after the subprime crisis but before the collapse of Wall Street's investment community. The author attempts to justify the continued practices of this community while calling for inspired attempts to regulate it. He has no real suggestions on how this could be done. He defends the system as moving people out of poverty in great numbers defined by those who no longer live on less than $1 a day. I would suggest that living on $2 a day is no less a reasonable definition of poverty.

The world is curved is filled with easily understood facts and figures but will astound the unknowing person. We are being kept in the dark by the drive by media and this book will shed light on our faultering economy. This is a good read.

If you wish to understand globalization and the global economy,
this book is for you. Well written, wordy in parts, but a good
reference as well.

First, the con: Smick is totally full of himself.

Pro: Very readable introduction to modern (up through Bear Stearns) international finance. To borrow the author's favorite metaphor, he channels a wide and deep river of facts, theories, opinions to describe the impact of the global ocean of money that surges through the financial world and influences everything.

My financial background: None. I can't speak to it's suitability for experts, but it's accessible to the motivated lay person.