Reviews

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail by Paul Polak

statman's review against another edition

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2.0

Definitely a little bit different reading than what I usually do. I did find the book to be extremely repetitive, with the same phrases and words appearing over and over again in every chapter. Perhaps that was by design to make the point. The main premise is that you can't get people out of poverty via donations. Rather, you have to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of humans and market forces so they can lift themselves out of poverty. I find myself agreeing with the premise but I do recognize doing that is harder than it sounds. The focus is on extremely poor people in developing countries who live on a few dollars a day or less.

paperaerik's review against another edition

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I wrongly assumed this book was about American poverty. However, this was about global poverty. This is still important to know and understand, but I was looking for a book more on American poverty. This framework that was shown at the beginning was very enlightening. I did find the story-driven nature of this book great. But my interests were more for America, unfortunately. I may revisit this book in the future if I have the bandwidth and interest. 

katelynwithak's review against another edition

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4.0

Fairly easy read - doesn't feel like a textbook. I wish there was a newer edition of this book as some of the information is 10+ years old. Big plus-> some humor thrown in to keep the reader interested.

kjerlil12's review against another edition

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3.0

Somewhat interesting but super repetitive. The only thing he argues for is that there are economic opportunities to cater to those in poverty. He also doesn't seem to have many positive examples outside of his own company.

kn1tt3r's review

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2.0

Very inspiring, although found his writing to very, VERY repetitious.
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