The End of Poverty

Hey, for all of you who are concerned about global issues, I totally recommend Jeffrey Sach's The End of Poverty. This book has completely upset my mind over the past few months and helped me understand more about the issue of extreme poverty in the world. Now, many nay-sayers saw this book when I was reading it and commented "the end of poverty - yeah, right!", or "hmmm. the end of poverty. that sounds like Bono's favorite book", or _____ you fill in the blank on things people might say when they don't understand the issue. Or better yet, when they want to ignore it.

I was introduced to the book when one of my students gave it to me as a gift. He bought it in Delhi and was very thoughtful to bring it back from his study abroad assignment. Until I visited India last year I had never really given much thought to the serious issue of poverty and how it affects global politics, health, education, and culture. Sachs has writen a great book for the average Westerner who doesn't know that much about how we as a developed society either help or hurt the poor of the world.

I won't be so bold to say that now I understand everything about poverty, what causes it, or how to fix it. But this book really made me think. And every once in a while, shouldn't we be reading something that makes us think?? It's a good read. Check it and let me know what you think...