"What does compassionate capitalism look like? Mark Pendergrast shows us in this enlightening story of tribal life, opium, missionaries, market trends, a Thai antiques dealer, a mining entrepreneur and coffee." Abigail Carroll, author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal
The Akha hill tribe of Thailand has a long, tumultuous history. Politics, economics, violence, prejudice, and deforestation consistently worked against the Akha's desire to move away from their dependency on opium production and create a stable future for their children. That all changed in 2006 when prominent businessman John Darch met entrepreneur Wicha Promyong. Their meeting resulted in the establishment of an equal partnership business venture that goes beyond Fair Trade: the Doi Chaang Coffee Company. Beyond Fair Trade tells the story of the growth of this unique partnership, its successes and challenges, and the people behind it.

Now fully updated, the classic account of how a bottle of sweetened caramel-colored soda water became synonymous with American capitalism
For God, Country and Coca-Cola is the unauthorized history of the great American soft drink and the company that makes it. From its origins as a patent medicine in Reconstruction Atlanta through its rise as the dominant consumer beverage of the American century, the story of Coke is as unique, tasty, and effervescent as the drink itself. With vivid portraits of the entrepreneurs who founded the company-and of the colorful cast of hustlers, swindlers, ad men, and con men who have made Coca-Cola the most recognized trademark in the world-this is business history at its best: in fact, "The Real Thing."

Why is it that business in Silicon Valley is again flourishing while along Route 128 in Massachusetts it continues to decline? The answer, Sexanian suggests, has to do with the fact that despite similar histories and technologies, Silicon Valley developed a decentralized but co-operative industrial system while Route 128 came to be dominated by independent, self-sufficient corporations. The result of more than 100 interviews, this analysis highlights the importance of local sources of competitive advantage in a volatile world economy.

A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of the sea—revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world’s waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human. The Sea and Civilization is a mesmerizing, rhapsodic narrative of maritime enterprise, from the origins of long-distance migration to the great seafaring cultures of antiquity; from Song Dynasty human-powered paddle-boats to aircraft carriers and container ships. Lincoln Paine takes the reader on an intellectual adventure casting the world in a new light, in which the sea reigns supreme. Above all, Paine makes clear how the rise and fall of civilizations can be linked to the sea. An accomplishment of both great sweep and illuminating detail, The Sea and Civilization is a stunning work of history.

During the late eighteenth century, innovations in Europe triggered the Industrial Revolution and the sustained economic progress that spread across the globe. While much has been made of the details of the Industrial Revolution, what remains a mystery is why it took place at all. Why did this revolution begin in the West and not elsewhere, and why did it continue, leading to today’s unprecedented prosperity? In this groundbreaking book, celebrated economic historian Joel Mokyr argues that a culture of growth specific to early modern Europe and the European Enlightenment laid the foundations for the scientific advances and pioneering inventions that would instigate explosive technological and economic development. Bringing together economics, the history of science and technology, and models of cultural evolution, Mokyr demonstrates that culture—the beliefs, values, and preferences in society that are capable of changing behavior—was a deciding factor in societal transformations.
Mokyr looks at the period 1500–1700 to show that a politically fragmented Europe fostered a competitive “market for ideas” and a willingness to investigate the secrets of nature. At the same time, a transnational community of brilliant thinkers known as the “Republic of Letters” freely circulated and distributed ideas and writings. This political fragmentation and the supportive intellectual environment explain how the Industrial Revolution happened in Europe but not China, despite similar levels of technology and intellectual activity. In Europe, heterodox and creative thinkers could find sanctuary in other countries and spread their thinking across borders. In contrast, China’s version of the Enlightenment remained controlled by the ruling elite.
Combining ideas from economics and cultural evolution, A Culture of Growth provides startling reasons for why the foundations of our modern economy were laid in the mere two centuries between Columbus and Newton.

The word
means rebirth, and the most obvious example of this phenomenon was the regeneration of Europe's classical Roman roots. The Renaissance began in northern Italy in the late 14th century and culminated in England in the early 17th century. Emphasis on the dignity of man
(though not of woman) and on human potential distinguished the Renaissance from the previous Middle Ages. In poetry and literature, individual thought and action were prevalent, while depictions of the human form became a touchstone of Renaissance art. In science and medicine the macrocosm and
microcosm of the human condition inspired remarkable strides in research and discovery, and the Earth itself was explored, situating Europeans within a wider realm of possibilities. Organized thematically, the
covers all aspects of life in Renaissance Europe:
History; religion; art and visual culture; architecture; literature and language; music; warfare; commerce; exploration and travel; science and medicine; education; daily life.

A Course in Game Theory presents the main ideas of game theory at a level suitable for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, emphasizing the theory's foundations and interpretations of its basic concepts. The authors provide precise definitions and full proofs of results, sacrificing generalities and limiting the scope of the material in order to do so. The text is organized in four parts: strategic games, extensive games with perfect information, extensive games with imperfect information, and coalitional games. It includes over 100 exercises.

Explore the historical and political forces that created the Jewish state, influence the unrest in the Palestinian territories, shape the peace process, and affect Israel s security today. Learn about the diversity of the land and the people, the significance of the Law of Return, and Israel s importance to America s interests. Get the facts you need to understand Israel today, and discover how Israel matters to you.
Includes source material, portraits of young Israelis, maps, charts, discussion questions, class projects, glossary, and a timeline. The author, Dr. Mitchell G. Bard, is a leading authority on U.S.-Middle East policy.

How to turn intellectual property into an indispensable source of competitive advantage
Mark Blaxill and Ralph Eckardt have consulted for companies that are highly efficient, full of hard workers and smart managers—yet barely able to eke out a profit. They’ve also worked in undisciplined, mismanaged companies that generate huge margins year after year. The key to sustainable profits, they realized, was intellectual property. Yet most managers are unable to see the power of IP because they were trained to focus on more tangible factors.
This book is about turning invisible assets into an unbeatable edge. With the right IP and the right strategies, companies can command premium prices, increase market share, sustain lower costs, and even generate income directly. Without it, their products are undifferentiated and they can compete only on price.
The authors teach readers a new way to see their invisible assets, analyze them, and build a business around them. Unlike other books that focus on the legal and technical issues of IP, this one is totally practical.
Blaxill and Eckardt include fascinating case studies, ranging from golf balls (did Titleist steal technology from Bridgestone?) to Facebook (can it sustain its lead against new social networks?). They also look at a dozen mainstream companies in a wide range of industries, such as Toyota, Procter & Gamble, and IBM.

海量的数学书，哪些值得我们认真读，哪些读后让我们对数学有更好的认识，这些对门外汉、学生、年轻的学者和专家都是非常需要解决的问题。季理真教授的新作《二十世纪伟大的数学书――个人之旅》（great mathematics books of the twentieth century: a personal journey）在这个问题上为我们带来了极大的便利。本书比较全面收列了二十世纪以来最有影响的数学书并恰当地加以简评和引述其他评论。本书收列的书目范围之广，数量之大令人吃惊，这需要作者广阔的视野、艰辛的工作，并花大量的时间请教很多不同方向的专家。本书的作者完成了一项很有意义的工作，本书定会让喜爱数学的读者受益。

What is economics fundamentally about? Some say 'money'. But that only applies, at a stretch, to macroeconomics. Others say 'incentivised choices'. Through a review of the history and methodology of economics, with special concentration on the past 60 years, the book shows why the second answer is more accurate. But this leads straight into another problem: psychologists study choices too. So how is economics different from psychology? The book explains this, by showing how economics is really about groups or populations of people. In clearly distinguishing economics from psychology, the book criticizes the current popular wave of behavioural economics, showing how many studies under that label confuse economics with psychology. But if economics is about structures of group response, then how is it different from sociology? The book shows how and why economics and sociology are currently converging, perhaps ultimately to form a single unified discipline fed by two distinct historical tributaries.