Summing up Muhammad Yunus, "Creating a World Without Poverty"

I've been reviewing Creating A World Without Poverty, Muhammad Yunus' visionary book about a new kind of capitalism.

I looked at the book in three parts:

Muhammad Yunus: Capitalism Is Half-Baked
How Muhammad Yunus Created an Impossible Business
Muhammad Yunus On How to End Poverty
Big Think's breakdown: Businesspeople of all persuasions should read the first two chapters, and keep going if they have an interest. And they should have an interest -- the book is clearly written and social business is a growing phenomenon (witness Google's emerging Foundation, in the news last week for announcing its plans). Yunus is an economist and a CEO, and his vision comes out of his practical experience. That experience will be widely useful to companies that want to understand what it takes to create a social business, and what they might mean for markets (on one level, Yunus is showing how to tap gigantic groups of consumers).

It's a bonus when, towards the end, he tells Warren Buffett what he should have done with his billions, instead of giving it to the Gates Foundation (start a social business to create universal health insurance in the U.S.). It isn't a bad idea, and there are plenty of other good ones in the book.

Some other reviews:

Muhammad Yunus: creating a world without poverty, Austin American-Statesman

Banker to the Poor Finds Way To Branch Out, Boston Globe (free registration required)

Firedoglake's Book Salon with Muhammad Yunus
A recap of Yunus' appearance at the Milken Institute (includes audio)

Yunus on All Things Considered (includes a nine-minute interview)

His U.S. book tour, which runs through January 24.