As an author, I’ve learned that most readers take out of a book what they bring to it. We all have our pre-existing worldview and it is rare for us to alter it. So I was struck by this comment by Ian Bright on a book I reviewed here last month, [amazon_link id=”0691158681″ target=”_blank” ]The Great Rebalancing: Trade, Conflict and the Perilous Road Ahead for the World Economy[/amazon_link] by Michael Pettis. Ian writes: “I have now read Pettis book. It is as good (even better) than you outlined….. the book challenges much of the way I think about things.”

[amazon_image id=”0691158681″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Great Rebalancing: Trade, Conflict, and the Perilous Road Ahead for the World Economy[/amazon_image]

As his comment notes, the recent FT review of the book was somewhat unfair. It says the author ignores the importance of history, and gives the impression that this weakens the argument. I don’t agree. Anyway, it addresses the overall pattern of global imbalances so it would be a monster task to embed that in an informative history of the world’s major trading blocs.

If you are interested in the global economy and believe yourself to have an open mind, I urge you to read it. It’s ideal for students too because it sets out so clearly the operation of the accounting identities of the balance of payments.