by Gordon Brown
Rating: 4.5 ⭐
• 2 recommendations ❤️
Brown speaks both as someone who was in the room driving discussions that led to some crucial decisions and as an expert renowned for his remarkable financial acumen. No one who had Brown’s access has written about the crisis yet, and no one has written so convincingly about what the global community must do next in order to climb out of this abyss. Brown outlines the shocking recklessness and irresponsibility of the banks that he believes contributed to the depth and breadth of the crisis. As he sees it, the crisis was brought on not simply by technical failings, but by ethical failings too. Brown argues that markets need morals and suggests that the only way to truly ensure that the world economy does not flounder so badly again is to institute a banking constitution and a global growth plan for jobs and justice.Beyond the Crash puts forth not just an explanation for what happened, but a directive for how to prevent future financial disasters. Long admired for his grasp of economic issues, Brown describes the individual events that he believes led to the crisis unfolding as it did. He synthesizes the many historical precedents leading to the current status, from the 1933 London conference of world leaders that failed to resolve the Great Depression to the more recent crash in the Asian housing market. Brown’s analysis is of paramount importance during these uncertain financial times.As Brown himself said of his ideas for the future, “We now live in a world of global trade, global financial flows, global movements of people, and instant global communications. Our economies are connected as never before, and I believe that global economic problems require global solutions and global institutions. In writing my analysis of the financial crisis, I wanted to help explain how we got here, but more important, to offer some recommendations as to how the next stage of globalization can be managed so that the economy works for people and not the other way around.”
In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter within days of her birth, Gordon Brown shares the passionately-held principles that have shaped and driven him, reminding us that politics can and should be a calling to serve. Reflecting on the personal and ideological tensions within Labour and its successes and failures in power, he describes how to meet the challenge of pursuing a radical agenda within a credible party of government. He explains how as Chancellor he equipped Britain for a globalized economy while swimming against the neoliberal tide and shows what more must be done to halt rising inequality. In his behind-the-scenes account of the financial crisis and his leading role in saving the world economy from collapse, he addresses the question of who was to blame for the crash and why its causes and consequences still beset us. From the invasion of Iraq to the tragedy of Afghanistan, from the coalition negotiations of 2010 to the referendums on Scottish independence and Europe, Gordon Brown draws on his unique experiences to explain Britain’s current fractured condition. And by showing us what progressive politics has achieved in recent decades, he inspires us with a vision of what it might yet achieve today. Riveting, expert and highly personal, this historic memoir is an invaluable insight into our times.
by Gordon Brown
Rating: 3.7 ⭐
When the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe in 2020, it created an unprecedented impact, greater than the aftermath of 9/11 or the global financial crisis. But out of such disruption can come a new way of thinking, and in this superb new book former UK prime minister Gordon Brown offers his solutions to the challenges we face in 2021 and beyond. In the book, he states that there are seven major global problems we must global health; climate change and environmental damage; nuclear proliferation; global financial instability; the humanitarian crisis and global poverty; the barriers to education and opportunity; and global inequality and its biggest manifestation, global tax havens. Each one presents an immense challenge that requires an urgent global response and solution. All should be on the world’s agenda today. None can be solved by one nation acting on its own, but all can be addressed if we work together as a global community. However, Brown remains optimistic that, despite the many obstacles in our way, we will find a path to regeneration via a new era of global order. Yes, there is a crisis of globalisation, but we are beginning to see the means by which it might be resolved. Crises create opportunities and having two at once shouldn’t just focus the mind, it might even be seen as giving greater grounds for hope. In Seven Ways to Change the World , Brown provides an authoritative and inspirational pathway to a better future that is essential listening for policy makers and concerned citizens alike.
'Offers hope and good sense in equal measure' Ian Bremmer 'A sensible plan for reform that can help us create a fairer and more equitable world' Sheryl Sandberg Problems are mounting. We face sputtering growth, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, poor policy responses, increasing nationalism and a decline in global co-operation. But a permacrisis need not be permanent. In this book, three of the most internationally respected and experienced thinkers of our time, Gordon Brown, Mohamed A. El-Erian and Michael Spence, writing with Reid Lidow, explain where we’ve gone wrong and set out what could be done to bring about a brighter future for generations to come. They look beyond today’s headlines and political rhetoric to offer a bold, big-picture vision and nuanced, achievable solutions for fixing our broken approaches to growth, economic management, and governance. The world is changing. What that change looks like is up to us.
What is it that makes some men and women take difficult decisions and do the right thing against the odds when easier and far less dangerous alternatives are open to them? Why is it that some people - like the undercover military heroes working for SOE in Occupied France or the passengers of the United 93 flight on 9/11 - have the courage to dare?To answer these questions, Gordon Brown explores the lives of eight outstanding twentieth-century figures. Starting with Edith Cavell, who nursed the wounded of World War I in Belgium and helped Allied soldiers escape back to England, he goes on to consider the Protestant pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who in 1940 returned to Nazi Germany from New York to lead the Christian opposition against the Nazi regime, and the wealthy businessman Raoul Wallenberg, who left neutral Sweden in 1944 for Budapest to try to save the lives of Hungarian Jews. All three paid the ultimate price.Telling the stories of America's great civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy - who, after his brother's assassination, remade himself as a politician of compassion -and Nelson Mandela, the heroic leader of South Africa's struggle to liberate itself from apartheid, he considers great courage over a long period against daunting odds. And then there is the legacy of Dame Cicely Saunders, who changed the way we care for the dying by founding and leading the Hospice Movement. Finally, in case we were to think that great courage is a thing of the past, he explores the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, who for twenty years - much of that time under house arrest in Rangoon - has led her country's democratic opposition to military dictatorship, and continues to do so today.
My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharing is a highly personal account of Gordon Brown's Scotland, the nation he was born in, and our Britain, the multinational state that the Scots, English, Welsh and Northern Irish have created and share.Laying bare his family's ancestry over 300 years of the Union and explaining how it shaped his background, Brown charts what it was like growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s, and explains the influence of religion, education and Scotland's unique industrial structure on the shaping of his and Scotland's identity. He sets out the dramatic economic, social and cultural changes of the past fifty years and the vastly different prospects his children will face, demonstrating that a sense of Scottish national identity has always remained strong and how Scottish institutions have always fiercely guarded their independence.The referendum should not be seen as a battle between Scotland and Britain, he argues, but one between two visions of Scotland's future: one that sees Scotland prosper with a strong Scottish Parliament that is part of the UK, and one that severs all the political links Scots have with the UK. Brown puts forward his proposal for a constitutional settlement that could unite the country, and argues that in tune with Scotland's history of deep engagement with the wider world - as inventors, explorers, traders, missionaries, business leaders and aid workers - the best future for Scots is not to leave Britain, but to continue to shape it.
ADMINISTRATION OF WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES, 5th edition walks the reader through wills, trusts and estates using the most up-to-date material and an engaging writing style. Whether it's celebrity wills, marginal key term definitions, extensive review materials, or visual illustrations, ADMINISTRATION OF WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES, 5th edition has what readers need to succeed. Plus, the Fifth Edition is national in scope while going in-depth on a state-by-state basis as well. And with an abundance of case studies included in the text, readers can see how legal issues are applied in real world settings.
by Gordon Brown
Rating: 3.4 ⭐
Who's right and who's wrong in the debate on Britain's future in Europe - and what are the key facts? Former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, sets out the patriotic case for remaining in Europe. Starting from Winston Churchill he tells the story of Britain's relationship with the European Union and asks how, in a fast-changing world, it can make us more prosperous, safe and secure. Does Europe help or hinder us in creating jobs, managing our economy, improving our environment and tackling terrorism and mass migration? Remaining in Europe, argues Brown, gives us the best balance between the autonomy we desire and the cooperation we need. Britain is better off leading Europe, not leaving it.
James Maxton was Britain's most charismatic socialist politician of the interwar period, seen by many as a potential prime minister. MP for Bridgeton in Glasgow from 1922 till his death in 1946, Maxton was intimately involved in the strikes of Red Clydeside, and his career straddled the great events that shaped modern Britain—two wars, the General Strike and Great Depression, the Means Test and Hunger Marches, and the rise of the Labour Party. In this biography, Brown depicts one of the great periods in the history of the Labour Movement.
In these eleven stories of courage in the Second World War, Prime Minister Gordon Brown marks the unforgettable heroism of British men and women who fought to overcome tyranny. Some are accounts of decisive action taken in the searing heat of battle while others are of innovative, strategic thought and endurance in the face of dangers met day after day. Tribute is paid to heroes such as John Bridge, a physics teacher turned mine- and bomb-disposal officer, and to the bravery of clandestine operatives like Major Hugh Seagrim in occupied Burma and Violette Szabo in France. Simply and directly told, these inspiring stories celebrate the extraordinary courage of an exceptional generation.
An updated edition of the classic traveler's guide to the main whisky-producing areas of Scotland, with full details on the distilleries and a narrative on whisky's culture and history. Attractively illustrated with 220 color photos.
"This book is about people in all parts of Britain who have given me a fresh insight into the needs and aspirations of our country, what is great about it now and how it can become greater in the future. It is the story of Britain’s everyday heroes: the kind of heroes who live next door, and in the next street, and throughout our neighborhoods – the kind of heroes we might ourselves become."In Britain’s Everyday Heroes, Gordon Brown tells the stories of ordinary people whose willing commitment to a cause or a community has informed and inspired him. The stories tell of a real Britain neither flawless nor broken down but caring, innovative, passionate, and determined. He tells of the woman who has been the inspiration behind community reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the leader of a campaign tackling gang culture in Manchester. Of the innovator transforming the way we use the Internet as a tool of democracy and the campaigner who has established the World’s first Fairtrade Town. Of councillors leading local regeneration efforts and public servants going far beyond the parameters of their job. Of a new generation of social entrepreneurs proving that successful business can benefit communities. Of the creative pioneers who brought the arts to a deprived housing estate, gardening to the refugees, and opera to the homeless. And of the carers, mentors, coaches, and volunteers he has met who give of themselves quietly, every day, never expecting praise or recognition. Royalties from sales of the book will go the the charity Community Links.
John Smith died in May 1994, less that two years into his leadership of the Labour Party. In this biography, some of those people closest to Smith express their feelings about the man. His widow, Elizabeth, writes about how his life in politics and devotion to the Labour Party shaped their family life, and about the faith that enabled her husband to keep up the fight when times were troubled. By drawing together some of his writings and speeches, Smith's close friend and political colleague, Gordon Brown, examines the passions and purposes of the man. This book also contains an assessment of John Smith as a politician and leader by journalist and broadcaster James Naughtie, who knew Smith well, having watched him since his time as Devolution Minister in the 1970s. He puts Smith's life in perspective, examining his background and the political times in which he moved.
Dream Not Small Dreams: Speeches 2007–2010 brings together Gordon Brown's major speeches since he became Prime Minister on June 27, 2007. The collection covers a broad range of themes from the defining issues of his premiership—the global economic crisis and climate change—to nuclear proliferation, the Middle East, the UK’s special relationship with the USA, and civil liberties, as well as domestic issues such as citizenship, immigration, and health. Brown's aspirations and ambitions can be clearly identified in the speeches, as he covers domestic and foreign policy and responds to the events that have shaped his period in office so far. The speeches also reveal how the Prime Minster has successfully met the objectives he set himself on his appointment three years ago. Organized thematically, with each chapter containing one or more of the key speeches made by Gordon Brown on the major challenges he has had to confront as Prime Minister, Dream Not Small Dreams is an engrossing and enlightening anthology. Including contributions from a number of distinguished figures such as Barack Obama, Kofi Annan, and Mikhail Gorbachev, it provides an insight into how Gordon Brown is viewed by his international colleagues and the high regard they have for him.
by Gordon Brown
Rating: 3.5 ⭐
A Handbook of Fine Brandies by Gordon Brown
Aimed at the general reader and covering a broad range of topics, from Britishness and fairness, through the economy and public services, to child poverty and environmental issues, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to discover what motivates Gordon Brown, and what his vision is for a modern, forward-looking Britain. Though varying in tone and style, the Chancellor's speeches stand as an integrated whole—as those of very few politicians do—because they reflect long thought and a coherent view of Britain, of our responsibilities to one another as citizens, and of Britain's role in the world. Prefaced by short introductions by leading figures including Kofi Annan, Helen Clark, Linda Colley, Ralph Dahrendorf, Al Gore, Alan Greenspan, Nelson Mandela, Wangaari Maathai, Trevor Phillips, J. K. Rowling, Jonathan Sacks, Derek Wanless, and Sir Magdi Yacoub, they reflect a formidable and widely read intellect, trained in the analytic skills of the historian but also—and far more importantly—inspired by a vision of what the political process can achieve for our society and our nation.
Raise your glass to Classic Spirits of the World, the first comprehensive, fully-illustrated, independent guide to the eminently drinkable products of the ancient art of distillation. As connoisseurship of wines from around the world has spread in recent decades, so, too has interest in and production of world-class spirits. Covered in this volume are whiskeys from fourteen countries, brandies from Armagnac to Armenia, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, aquavit, schnapps, bitters, and liqueurs from every corner of the globe. This is the only handbook combining generic information about each type of spirit with a country-by-country survey of hundreds of brands, from the best-sellers to the finest handcrafted spirits. The thorough text includes everything from anecdotal histories of the producers to tasting notes, and is supported by photographs ranging from bottle labels to the raw materials used in distillation and the final product.Classic Spirits begins with a general history of distillation, including both methods and materials used. Each chapter discusses a specific spirit, beginning with its history and production methods, then cataloging major brands by country of origin. Novice and expert alike will appreciate the extensive glossary, index of brand names, and general index. The brandies of France, tequilas of Mexico, and bourbons of the U.S. are all written about and photographed with the same intelligent flair, and the levels of information (from ingredients and manufacture to history and taste) are distilled to create an intoxicatingly informative blend.
by Gordon Brown
Rating: 5.0 ⭐
THE BASICS OF WIRE WRAP A perfect guide to wire wrapping, tools, skills and techniques to make simple and beautiful wire wrap jewelry like pendant rings and necklacesWire wrapping is a fast and easy skill that will take your jewelry craft to the next level. A little wire, a few simple tools, and some brightly colored beads are all you need to start creating your own intriguing fashion statements! By adding new wires to basic links, you can alter simple shapes into complex and fascinating focal designs.This perfect guide to wire-wrapping jewelry entails all the basic information you need to know about wire wrapping. These information The concept of wire explains the activities and techniques involved in wire wrapping .The tools and supplies required for wire pictures and description of the basic tools like wires, pliers and other essential tools for wire wraping and their uses.Guide to buying wire wrapping tells you what to look out for when buying tools and the the best tool you need for a particular design of jewelry.Tips for making simple jewelry as a beginner : Guide beginners using picture illustrations to make jewelries like a pendant, ring and necklaces. To get these information for a quick movement to become a professional jewler, make your order by clicking on the BUY-Now botton.