Stories of ten historical figures who helped build the long road to globalization, from Genghis Khan to an Intel CEO: “Filled with brilliant vignettes.” —The Washington Post
This is the story of globalization, the most powerful force in history, as told through the lives and times of ten people who established new connections between people and nations—whether that was their primary goal or not. Rather than focusing on trends, policies, or particular industries, From Silk to Silicon views the topic of globalization for the first time through the lens of individuals and their transformative actions. It tells us who these men and women were, what they did, how they did it, and how their achievements continue to shape our world today.
You’ll read about Genghis Khan, who united east and west by conquest and by opening new trade routes built on groundbreaking transportation, communications, and management innovations; Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who escaped the ghetto and ushered in an era of global finance; Cyrus Field, who led the effort to build the transatlantic telegraph; Margaret Thatcher, whose controversial policies opened the gusher of substantially free markets that linked economies across borders; Andy Grove, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who, at Intel, laid the foundation for Silicon Valley’s computer revolution; and more.
Economist Jeffrey E. Garten finds the common links between these figures and probes critical questions including: How much influence can any one person have in fundamentally changing the world? How have past trends in globalization affected the present? And how will they shape the future?
“Fascinating and illuminating.” —Fareed Zakaria, author of Age of Revolutions
“Garten has brilliantly updated Thomas Carlyle’s Great Man theory of history . . . A tour de force, imaginative, informative and just plain fun to read.” —Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State
“A terrific book on globalization . . . really compelling.” —Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World is Flat
Jeffrey E. Garten teaches courses on the global economy at the Yale School of Management, where he was formerly the dean. He has held senior positions in the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Clinton administrations, and was a managing director of Lehman Brothers and the Blackstone Group on Wall Street. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, BusinessWeek, and the Harvard Business Review, and he is the author of four previous books on global economics and politics.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Introduction xxvii
Chapter I The Accidental Empire Builder (1162-1227) Genghis Khan 1
Chapter II The Explorer Who Made a Science of Discovery (1394-1460) Prince Henry 31
Chapter III The Rogue Who Captured India for the British Empire (1725-1774) Robert Clive 59
Chapter IV The Godfather of Global Banking (1744-1812) Mayer Amschel Rothschild 95
Chapter V The Tycoon Who Wired the Atlantic (1819-1892) Cyrus Field 125
Chapter VI The Titan Who Built the Energy Industry and also Launched Global Philanthropy (1839-1937) John D. Rockefeller 161
Chapter VII The Diplomat Who Reinvented Europe (1888-1979) Jean Monnet 195
Chapter VIII The Iron Lady Who Revived Free Markets (1925-2013) Margaret Thatcher 235
Chapter IX The Man behind the Third Industrial Revolution (1936-2016) Andrew Grove 273
Chapter X The Pragmatist Who Relaunched China (1904-1997) Deng Xiaoping 311
