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 enlarge | Author: Muhammad Yunus
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 1917
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2003. Corr. 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1586481983
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.1095492
EAN: 9781586481988
ASIN: 1586481983
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 The $27 Miracle December 31, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book because I had already read a library copy, and had to have my own. I remember hearing about this remarkable man and his work in the 70's, but to read the whole story, and to know how far his hard work has brought the cause of really helping the poorer than poor was so inspiring. It has engaged me and my family so much so that most of our Christmas giving has been to this cause. I consider it a blessing.
 Its a great book!! November 2, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is a good read, and a powerful reflection of some of the faults of our modern day financial system. The depicted ideas are begining to spread in the corporate world. And the most significantly felt i think, would be Ebay's recent move into the Microfinance industry. Hopefully, this is just the start!!
Microcredit: Economics with a Soul October 31, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mohammed Yunus, the primary author of this book was catapulted into world fame after the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.This book by him was written in 1998, a good many years before the Nobel recognition. By that time, his project plan had matured significantly and served as a pilot case for small loans in several other countries, distributed over all the continents of the world.
In this book, Mohammed Yunus talks of his life in the context of the microcredit programme in an intimate, no-holds-barred autobiography. He begins with his childhood as one of twelve siblings in small town Chittagong before independence, goes on to his life as a Fulbright student in the USA, at the end of which, he lobbied actively for the independence of his home country from the clutches of the then West Pakistan. He then recounts his return to Bangladesh and taking up a professorship at the University of Chittagong.
Somehow the academic status and lifestyle did not satisfy the young professor. He wanted to reach out to a wider clientele, to put his knowledge to practice in helping others improve their standard of living. So he started going out to the nearby village settlements and interact with the people on a one-to-one basis in order to find out what they needed and ho he could help them.How this seemingly small step led to the establishment of micro-credit and the Grameen bank as a viable means of global financial interaction is the subject of this book.
The journey was not easy. The author was confronted with an incredible amount of resistance at every stage.The author, however, was no fool and his first steps wer cautious and discreet in the extreme. The first spurt of activity was triggered by the famine of 1974, when he took on the daunting task of helping farmers grow a higher yielding variety of rice. This was done, without the benefit of any agronomical background. The above illustrates the lengths the author went to abandon traditional learning methods, taught in University environs. By late 1975, he was "conceptualizing many CURDP programmes including a mass literacy project. I encouraged my students to go down with me into the village and see how day-to-day life could be improved. They could choose a topic and write a research paper for a course credit."
As one reads ahead, one notices what the mere will to initiate can accomplish. The first hurdle itself was gargantuan.Establishing a line of communication with the woman in the most poverty ridden families was itself a forbidding task. Much suspicion and mistrust at different levels had to be overcome. There was the natural reticence of the village women dictated by the purdah. To get the women to talk of their lives was in itself a huge step forward. Then came the menfolk who sensed that the initiated changes in their women's self assertiveness, were compromising their own standing in the family. There was also threats from the religious sector, who were finally impelled to give way under relentless pressure from the village community. All in all, this series of small steps leading to big ones, leading to bigger, even gigantic leaps is reminiscent of the lines,
'Little drops of water, little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean and the distant land.'
In later sections of the book, the author discusses how the microcredit scheme have worked in different countries. In particular, he elaborates on how microdredit cannot work in developed countries where social welfare is predominant. He attributes the failure to the connection between state sponsored benefit and state required guarantees, showing how these can severely limit the choice available to the citizen living on welfare.
The author is also against the mega funding agencies such as the World Bank. He has refused help from them on more than one occasion, preferring to stick to his own independent assets, even so under pressure from his own country's government.
All in all, this book is a riveting read and would grace any bookshelf by its presence.
Warmly recommended.
Turning Inspiration into Action October 5, 2007
Not wanting to repeat the accolades mentioned in the reviews posted I would like to instead share how reading this book and meeting Yunus was a catalyst to some actions I took both on a personal and professional level. The intent is not self promotion or to showcase my efforts. Instead, I am providing ideas and addressing those of you who may find, as I did, that after finishing the last page you are left with a desire to do something. The dilemma was what could I do ......I am not a bank or live in a developing country. I did give copies of the book to friends, colleagues and family but I wanted to do something more concrete. Well, with micro finance "on my radar" I took some actions both on a personal and professional level that I hope are making a difference and are in some ways increasing the visibility and awareness of micro financing.
First a little background and comments on the book.....I had the great honor of meeting Muhammad Yunus shortly after he received the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 at an event in Paris sponsored by Planet Finance. Yunus is truly an inspirational person, charismatic in a subtle way, who has touched the lives of many. His enthusiasm is contagious. The book Banker to the Poor is a fascinating read.... humorous, touching and informational as it traces the evolution of the micro finance model from concept (starting with Yunus lending the equivalent of $27 to stool makers) to what it is today with over 7.2 million clients. What resonates with me is the idea of lending versus aid dumps from the World Bank, UN, NGO's and charity organizations. I don't want to discount the millions given as direct charity to the needy but the concept of micro finance creates a sense of pride and responsibility not to mention innovation and creativity. Micro finance can also generate incremental improvement versus charity or outright donations which, in many cases dries up, is short term and results in dependence instead of empowerment.
Some actions I took:
*I became aware of KIVA (www.kiva.org) an organization that facilitates micro loans (as little as $25) from individuals like you and I to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. These individuals are in fact showcased on the site where you can see a picture and read about the entrepreneur you have chosen. KIVA is founded by an impressive team of "Social Entrepreneurs". Using technology, KIVA brings the lenders and borrowers together and provides an online community for lenders who are also showcased on the site. Involving my daughter (10) in the decision process we are lending to an entrepreneur in Samoa, so she can buy timber to improve her greenhouse for her flower business.
*As President of my alumni association (Thunderbird) I organized an event around Micro Financing with the Managing Director of Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency, as a guest speaker.
*At a university in Paris I run a project based course involving teams of MBA students. Proposing a project related to micro finance the students were enthusiastic and completed a study on micro finance in Europe.
*Professionally, I work with individuals in career transition and entrepreneurs in helping them to identify their unique strengths and values and message their brand appropriately both online and offline. Fundamentally, I find that people have a social conscious and want to do something concrete. To this end I suggest lending to a KIVA entrepreneur as a way to concretely incorporate a social conscious into their brand.
*As part of my involvement in a Global Telesummit entitled a Brand You World www.personalbrandingsummit.com I am involved in raising $100,000 in loans for KIVA entrepreneurs in the developing world. Incidentally, Kiva was featured on Oprah and is mentioned in Clinton's book "Giving".
Having shared how I was inspired by reading this book I would be more then interested in hearing how it inspired you and what actions you took.
Bernadette
Bernadette Martin
www.visibilitybranding.com
Enlightening work August 12, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Muhammad Yunus believed that every human being had a basic right to credit. He believed in the human spirit and peoples' hard work and honesty when given a chance to sustain themselves above poverty. His accomplishments have proven his theory over and over in several countries to millions of people. Micro-lending will surely be a part of the future success in Africa, Asia, and South America. A modified form of Mr. Yunus' model has worked in the USA, unfortunately, we as Americans aren't schooled nor molded to be basic entrepreneurs. We must change our school systems from teaching how to become good employees to how to become entrepreneurs as well. Mr. Yunus' model includes 5 person groups to help each other and support each other when one gets behind in loan repayments and/or family crisis. This is a very important requirement to micro-lending and must not be excluded when trying to duplicate the success of the Grameen Bank.
Thank goodness we have people in our world like Muhammad Yunus to teach us how to treat other human beings.
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