We Connect People to Information ...

Additional Resources

The following books are good resources for more information about the global economy and the tools and abilities needed to succeed in it.

Lifelong Learning

cover of Five Minds

Howard Gardner (2006) Five Minds for the Future, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press

Howard Gardner, known throughout the world for his theory of multiple intelligences, suggests there are five abilities absolutely necessary for 21st century life and learning:

  1. The Disciplinary Mind (the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history; and at least one professional craft)
  2. The Synthesizing Mind (the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines into a coherent whole and to communicate that integration to others)
  3. The Creative Mind (the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions and phenomena)
  4. The Respectful Mind (an awareness and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups)
  5. The Ethical Mind (the fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen)

Understanding Globalization

cover of The World is Flat cover of The Lexus and the Olive Tree

We recommend two books by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas Friedman: The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (2007) and The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (1999). In both of these important books, Friedman discusses political, social and cultural upheavals that accompany globalization.


Preparing Students

cover of Derek Bok's book

Derek Bok, past and interim president of Harvard University, recently published Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More (2006), which examines the role of the university in preparing young people for the global economy. He voices concerns about the disconnection between college and career.


Business Models of the Global Economy

cover of The Long Tail

In his book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (2006), Chris Anderson argues that online global markets with virtual shelf space and distribution at no cost has begun a business revolution where low-selling niche products (represented by the long-tail of a statistical curve) allows individuals "unlimited and unfiltered access to culture and content of all sorts." In other words, large-scale business models that depend on one or two hugely-profitable products will evolve into small-scale business models that depend on narrow, segmented niche products with low sales volume to make up an overall market that exceeds the "bestsellers."


Cross-Cultural Understanding

cover of After Terror cover of Islam Under Seige

Akbar Ahmed examines the global demographics of Muslims, exploring possibilities of tolerance, respect and cooperation in a diverse world in After Terror and Islam Under Siege


cover of The Dignity of Difference

Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the main body of Orthodox synagogues in the United Kingdom, emphasizes the common history of Jews, Christians, and Muslims from Adam to Abraham in The Dignity of Difference.