Want to know what books Larry Summers recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Larry Summers's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
The debate on globalization has reached a level of passionate intensity that inhibits rational discussion. In this book, one of the world's foremost economic commentators explains how globalization works and why it makes sense. Martin Wolf confronts the charges against globalization, delivers a devastating critique of each and outlines a more hopeful future. more The debate on globalization has reached a level of passionate intensity that inhibits rational discussion. In this book, one of the world's foremost economic commentators explains how globalization works and why it makes sense. Martin Wolf confronts the charges against globalization, delivers a devastating critique of each and outlines a more hopeful future. less 
Larry SummersWolf’s book makes, in the most effective way I have seen, the classical economic arguments for openness. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
2
The best known and most highly regarded book on financial crises
Financial crises and speculative excess can be traced back to the very beginning of trade and commerce. Since its introduction in 1978, this book has charted and followed this volatile world of financial markets. Charles Kindleberger's brilliant, panoramic history revealed how financial crises follow a nature-like rhythm: they peak and purge, swell and storm. Now this newly revised and expanded Fourth Edition probes the most recent "natural disasters" of the markets--from the difficulties in East Asia and the... more The best known and most highly regarded book on financial crises
Financial crises and speculative excess can be traced back to the very beginning of trade and commerce. Since its introduction in 1978, this book has charted and followed this volatile world of financial markets. Charles Kindleberger's brilliant, panoramic history revealed how financial crises follow a nature-like rhythm: they peak and purge, swell and storm. Now this newly revised and expanded Fourth Edition probes the most recent "natural disasters" of the markets--from the difficulties in East Asia and the repercussions of the Mexican crisis to the 1992 Sterling crisis. His sharply drawn history confronts a host of key questions.
Charles P. Kindleberger (Boston, MA) was the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT for thirty-three years. He is a financial historian and prolific writer who has published over twenty-four books. less 
Marc FaberHe describes very well how these manias occur and what the symptoms are of manias in terms of excessive speculation, overleverage, borrowing, fraud, embezzlement, high trading volumes, and so forth. (Source)
Charles MorrisKindleberger’s great virtue is that he was both a respected economist and a student of human nature, and he knew that human nature could never be bottled up in an economic model. His book is a terrific narrative of a series of bubbles, going back to pre-industrial days – the Dutch tulip craze, the South Sea bubble, and so forth.. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
3
John Maynard Keynes | 4.12
A new edition of the seminal text by the father of modern economics.
First published in 1919, John Maynard Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace created immediate controversy. Keynes was a firsthand witness to the negotiations of the Paris Peace Conference, as an official representative of the British Treasury, and he simultaneously sat as deputy for the chancellor of the Exchequer on the Supreme Economic Council. In these roles, he was able to perceive with great clarity the tenor and perspective that would come to shape Europe after the First World War.... more A new edition of the seminal text by the father of modern economics.
First published in 1919, John Maynard Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace created immediate controversy. Keynes was a firsthand witness to the negotiations of the Paris Peace Conference, as an official representative of the British Treasury, and he simultaneously sat as deputy for the chancellor of the Exchequer on the Supreme Economic Council. In these roles, he was able to perceive with great clarity the tenor and perspective that would come to shape Europe after the First World War. What he saw disturbed him greatly, and eventually he resigned from both these roles, convinced that there was no longer any way to avoid an unjust peace treaty.
After his resignation, Keynes began work on The Economic Consequences of the Peace, which argues that the peace made at the end of World War I was an unfair, dehumanizing one for Germany and the other vanquished countries. Keynes’s warning proved prophetic when Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power fourteen years later as a direct result of the disastrous economic condition in Germany. Keynes’s predictions helped cement his status as one of history’s leading economists. His works are essential reading today for anyone who wishes to understand modern governments and economies. This edition also includes an introduction from former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker, who elegantly contextualizes the continuing relevance of Keynes’s work to contemporary society. less Larry SummersIt’s among the dozen—perhaps half-dozen—most influential economics books that have ever been written. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
4
Joseph E. Stiglitz | 4.03
When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of... more When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. less 
Leah LizarondoThese books propelled me to want to work on a social enterprise and underscored my passion for making a difference in food policy. I believe we can build an innovative company that has deep social impact. That we can use the same mindsets that single bottom-line companies have to build successful triple and quadruple bottom-line companies. It is the holy grail -- for your work to present the... (Source)
Larry SummersGlobalization and its Discontents is a book that anyone looking for a rounded set of perspectives on globalization should read. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
5
Between 1820 and 1990, the share of world income going to today's wealthy nations soared from twenty percent to almost seventy. Since then, that share has plummeted to where it was in 1900. As Richard Baldwin explains, this reversal of fortune reflects a new age of globalisation that is drastically different from the old.
In the 1800s, globalisation leaped forward when steam power and international peace lowered the costs of moving goods across borders. This triggered a self-fueling cycle of industrial agglomeration and growth that propelled today's rich nations to dominance. That... more Between 1820 and 1990, the share of world income going to today's wealthy nations soared from twenty percent to almost seventy. Since then, that share has plummeted to where it was in 1900. As Richard Baldwin explains, this reversal of fortune reflects a new age of globalisation that is drastically different from the old.
In the 1800s, globalisation leaped forward when steam power and international peace lowered the costs of moving goods across borders. This triggered a self-fueling cycle of industrial agglomeration and growth that propelled today's rich nations to dominance. That was the Great Divergence. The new globalisation is driven by information technology, which has radically reduced the cost of moving ideas across borders. This has made it practical for multinational firms to move labor-intensive work to developing nations. But to keep the whole manufacturing process in sync, the firms also shipped their marketing, managerial, and technical know-how abroad along with the offshored jobs. The new possibility of combining high tech with low wages propelled the rapid industrialisation of a handful of developing nations, the simultaneous deindustrialisation of developed nations, and a commodity supercycle that is only now petering out. The result is today's Great Convergence.
Because globalisation is now driven by fast-paced technological change and the fragmentation of production, its impact is more sudden, more selective, more unpredictable, and more uncontrollable. As The Great Convergence shows, the new globalisation presents rich and developing nations alike with unprecedented policy challenges in their efforts to maintain reliable growth and social cohesion. less 
Satya NadellaIn this look at how telepresence and telerobotics will increasingly let people cross international borders from the comfort of their own homes, Nadella sees analogies to Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, especially as the technology matures and its cost comes down. (Source)
See more recommendations for this book...
Don't have time to read Larry Summers's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
