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legrandvent's review against another edition
5.0
Bob Harris has managed to write a book that is simultaneously written at a certain time but also contains timeless wisdom. A person could easily read this book 10 years from now and have their faith in humanity restored again, just like mine has been, and then resolve to take action.
If you’re disheartened with the state of the world, feeling alone, or sorry for yourself, or think that you can’t make a difference, read this book.
Thank you Bob for brightening my view if the world and for going the distance to truly understand how Kiva loans do good.
I am inspired to step up my Kiva efforts up because of you.
If you’re disheartened with the state of the world, feeling alone, or sorry for yourself, or think that you can’t make a difference, read this book.
Thank you Bob for brightening my view if the world and for going the distance to truly understand how Kiva loans do good.
I am inspired to step up my Kiva efforts up because of you.
claritybear's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fun and fascinating read, things I never thought I'd say about a book on international micro-financing. Harris is an engaging writer who keeps the reader entertained throughout while educating you on any number of things involving world poverty, history, and the work of numerous NGO's involved in micro-loans and micro-funding. I'd recommend it to anyone in the world of non-profits, local or international.
kelseystamey's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant, inspiring, lightly humorous. A must read for anyone. Towards the end, even this cynical reader felt a few brief moments of hope for this crazy, messed-up world.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
5.0
Bob Harris was writing an article on the world's most luxurious hotels. Appalled at the waste he saw and the gulf between the lives of the richest and the poorest--Bob decided to take the fees he earned and do something good with it. He researched and began loaning funds out through Kiva and other micro-lending organizations. He then traveled the world and met some of the real individuals who are recipients of those funds to hear their stories and find out how those relatively small loans can make a huge difference downstream.
In his book International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time, Harris connects the story to his own background--from roots in Appalachian poverty his own parents moved up for a better opportunity. He describes the long hours his own father put in--and how he sees that and his mother time and again reflected in these hard working individuals around the world.
He also tells the bigger story of micro lending in the book--of Kiva and other organizations--their successes and failures. This is as much a travelogue of the world's poorest regions. He does it with humor and respect for those he meets (except in a couple cases the individuals are not told that he was their benefactor).
I've been a big fan myself of Kiva, and also organizations like D-Rev and Room to Read that are on the ground solving real problems.
In this vein, here are other books I would recommend on globalization and giving back:
Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
An economics professor chases the economics of a simple t-shirt around the world and it's effect on the economy--from it's creation in a factory to a used clothing economy in Africa.
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood
John Wood left his career at Microsoft to start and fund Room to Read and libraries all over the world.
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedmann
Friedmann explains the economics of globalization.
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Diamond explains how history and resources has benefited some groups over others.
The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist
Lessons on how to give back.
Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Ehrenreich joins the working poor working for minimum wage to show the endless cycle of poverty.
sweetvireo's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a quick and inspiring read.
I had been lending on Kiva.org (my lender page:http://www.kiva.org/lender/feliciakulp) for almost two years before I read this book. I had often wondered what impact my loans really had on the lives of the people I loan to. After I read the book, it only made me want to lend more. To date (October 2014), I have loaned 185 times (not to 185 people; I have loaned to at least three people twice). I always await the 17th of every month so that I can lend again.
I'm sorry that I don't have more to say. Maybe it's because I need to get up for work in 6 hours. But overall, the book was great. I learned a lot about world history (more 20th century-oriented than World History AP ever taught), laughed, cried, and learned that my loans on Kiva.org matter. That's why I loan on Kiva. To know that I can help make someone else's life a little easier.
I had been lending on Kiva.org (my lender page:http://www.kiva.org/lender/feliciakulp) for almost two years before I read this book. I had often wondered what impact my loans really had on the lives of the people I loan to. After I read the book, it only made me want to lend more. To date (October 2014), I have loaned 185 times (not to 185 people; I have loaned to at least three people twice). I always await the 17th of every month so that I can lend again.
I'm sorry that I don't have more to say. Maybe it's because I need to get up for work in 6 hours. But overall, the book was great. I learned a lot about world history (more 20th century-oriented than World History AP ever taught), laughed, cried, and learned that my loans on Kiva.org matter. That's why I loan on Kiva. To know that I can help make someone else's life a little easier.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
5.0
This review can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com or Amazon.com as part of the Vine program.
carolynf's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars may be a bit much but I really liked the intro chapter and sort of liked the rest of the book. At the beginning the author talks about his job working for Forbes Traveller in which he had to write reviews of super ritsy hotels and restaurants. While that was fun and all, the wealth he saw became sickeningly ostentatious - Dubai was the breaking point. At the same time he was noticing the day laborers and sex workers who failed to win the "birth lottery" and get the right time, place, and family that would allow them to rise out of poverty, let alone drink $7000 whiskeys. This dissonance got him interested in microlending, and he started traveling around visiting Kiva clients. While he is certainly enamored of Kiva he isn't paid by them and he does address several criticisms of microlending as well. He is good about explaining the historical and social issues of the places that he visits, and towards the end of the book also talks about Kiva's branching out to US entrepreneurs - to the dismay of some. Altogether it was an interesting read and a good reminder about how living sustainably so that you can help others is more noteworthy than pursing a lavish lifestyle.
ktcarlston's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book. Before I even started reading it I planned on loving this book . . . and it just wasn't everything I wanted. I really loved aspects of it but there was not enough narrative about the people regarding how the Kiva loans have helped make a difference. Or rather, the narrative provided didn't make them come alive for me. I expected to be drawn into this book as much as I was with Half the Sky - but it just didn't happen. I would still heartily recommend it - but it just didn't have the oomph that I wanted.
oceanlistener's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It was a bit too sappy at times, but overall Harris write very well about situations it's hard to comprehend in a meaningful way (war, genocide, crushing poverty, etc). He also intentionally points out- and then avoids- many pitfalls of Westerners writing about the developing world (including using terms like "Westerner" and "Developing World").
There's a good overview of why microlending works, the situations where it doesn't work and why, and how it will have to evolve in the future. Worth a read if you're interested in global-type issues.
There's a good overview of why microlending works, the situations where it doesn't work and why, and how it will have to evolve in the future. Worth a read if you're interested in global-type issues.
cheryl6of8's review against another edition
4.0
I can only ditto a lot of what ResQgeek and Ixion have said. (See BookCrossing comments at http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11729899 with the caveat that my entry below is repeated there). I loved all of the little stories in this book and how they stand alone. It did get a bit preachy at times, but since I happen to agree with most of what he is preaching, that was okay with me. A++ for effort (okay, so the second "+" is for his efforts on behalf of the BeckysHugs Kiva team, of which I am proud to be a member, but it is a great reflection of his effort throughout the project). Also, I appreciate the fact that in reading this book and talking about the experience of reading it with friends I have had more occasion to discuss Kiva and MFIs.
However, I must agree with Ixion -- the footnotes! Oh, the humanity! I am a lawyer, which means I was trained to read footnotes as I go along for important information and links to other sources, and to know which ones are valuable and which ones are not. Still, I have to read them all. In quite a few places, this made the reading of the book itself slower. Some of them were great and humorous and should remain in the final polished version. Many of them should just be referenced in the Sources at the end. And the rest should go into the main narrative. And the final polished version should have another pass through the proofreader as well for typos, missing/repeated words, and punctuation. B for execution.
I will say that I really enjoyed the travel aspects and all the people I got to meet and the lifestyles and cultures I learned about. And I liked the way it all came full circle on many levels, which is not something Harris could possibly have planned or have executed if he did plan it. The references to the early experiences of his parents made me wonder if Kiva does any lending in the US -- so I was quite pleased to see an exploration of that as well. This book reinforced my belief in microfinance as a path to change and hope for many and I was pleased to see that Kiva is basically the global gold standard (I got it right when I got involved with Kiva -- yay me! -- thanks largely to ResQgeek.) In some ways, though, I do wish the gold standard were a little more flexible and less like a "bank", having just received word that one of my loans in the Philippines might go into default status because of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). My immediate reaction was "no sweat -- can I give them some more money?" but I do realize that part of the MFI world is lending not giving, which is empowering in a different way. I may just look to join the FoBH team as well, and will certainly consider some of the great and innovative forms of finance and types of business discussed in the book.
Glad to have had a chance to read it and finding it appropriate that I finished reading it on Thanksgiving Day.
However, I must agree with Ixion -- the footnotes! Oh, the humanity! I am a lawyer, which means I was trained to read footnotes as I go along for important information and links to other sources, and to know which ones are valuable and which ones are not. Still, I have to read them all. In quite a few places, this made the reading of the book itself slower. Some of them were great and humorous and should remain in the final polished version. Many of them should just be referenced in the Sources at the end. And the rest should go into the main narrative. And the final polished version should have another pass through the proofreader as well for typos, missing/repeated words, and punctuation. B for execution.
I will say that I really enjoyed the travel aspects and all the people I got to meet and the lifestyles and cultures I learned about. And I liked the way it all came full circle on many levels, which is not something Harris could possibly have planned or have executed if he did plan it. The references to the early experiences of his parents made me wonder if Kiva does any lending in the US -- so I was quite pleased to see an exploration of that as well. This book reinforced my belief in microfinance as a path to change and hope for many and I was pleased to see that Kiva is basically the global gold standard (I got it right when I got involved with Kiva -- yay me! -- thanks largely to ResQgeek.) In some ways, though, I do wish the gold standard were a little more flexible and less like a "bank", having just received word that one of my loans in the Philippines might go into default status because of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). My immediate reaction was "no sweat -- can I give them some more money?" but I do realize that part of the MFI world is lending not giving, which is empowering in a different way. I may just look to join the FoBH team as well, and will certainly consider some of the great and innovative forms of finance and types of business discussed in the book.
Glad to have had a chance to read it and finding it appropriate that I finished reading it on Thanksgiving Day.