The Power of Creative Destruction
Title: The Power of Creative Destruction
Authors: Philippe Aghion, Céline Antonin and Simon Bunel
Publisher: Belknap Press
Language: English (translated from French)
Why you should read this: it parries the growing critique of capitalism
The French economist Philippe Aghion has a solution to the problems of the 21st century (i.e. the environment, inequality, etc.). He does not promote the overthrow of capitalism, but instead the creation of a better form of capitalism by harnessing the power of creative destruction. Aghion and two co-authors describe how innovation leads to social disruption and that this disruption can actually spawn a whole host of good things. However, the innovators of today should not adopt the bad sides of capitalism (such as cartel formation), but give the innovators of tomorrow plenty of leeway.
Good Data: An Optimist’s Guide to Our Digital Future
Title: Good Data: An Optimist’s Guide to Our Digital Future
Author: Sam Gilbert
Publisher: Welbeck Publishing Group
Language: English
Why you should read this: all the pros of Big Data at a glance
We are bombarded with Big Data, which can sometimes raise fears (e.g. about giving up our privacy), and it is also compared to Big Brother. Fortunately, there is also Good Data. Sam Gilbert, a researcher at Cambridge University, writes that the information explosion of the last few decades is actually making us all better off. Whether it concerns fighting inequality, creating jobs or protecting us from the coronavirus. Data touches on everything, from our pet peeves (online advertising) to our greatest loves (our pets), and Gilbert details how the innovation revolution is going to vastly improve our lives.
Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results
Title: Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results
Author: Josh Linker
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Language: English
Why you should read this: our brain as the key to the future
The human brain is an organ that is studied extensively. Yet so much is still unknown about what goes on in the brain, for example, during illness and injury. Linker, an American entrepreneur and author, sets out how we can unlock this hidden potential, i.e. the brain. The book aims to transform the reader themselves into an innovator.
20 Women for innovation
Title: 20 Women for innovation
Author: Giada Palma
Publisher: Giada Palma
Language: English (translated from Italian)
Why you should read this: women entrepreneurs who use innovation for the sake of progress
Women are the future, and Italy’s Giada Palma proves that innovative women entrepreneurs have been around for a long time. In her book, now translated into English, Palma has interviewed twenty finalists and some winners of the last three editions of the EU Prize for Women Innovators. She has opted for the widest possible geographical range (from Turkey to the Netherlands).
The women represent all conceivable economic sectors. The book is meant to inspire girls and women to above all persevere on the path of innovation. “Entrepreneurship is not just a source of income. It is a life mission,” says one of the women entrepreneurs. No doubt men can agree on that too.
Was, wenn wir einfach die Welt retten? Handeln in der Klimakrise
Title: Was, wenn wir einfach die Welt retten? Handeln in der Klimakrise Author: Frank Schätzing
Publisher: Kiepenheuer & Witsch
Language: German
Why you should you read this: in English it means: ‘What if we just save the world? Taking action in the climate crisis‘, and it focus on the climate crisis and the choice for innovation, all written in an accessible way by one of Germany’s finest writers.
Anyone who is busy with climate change and the opportunities to do something about it will not find much that is revelatory in Frank Schätzing’s new book. But anyone who wants to get to grips with the causes and solutions of climate change in an engaging way should read this book. Schätzing, Germany’s best known (science fiction) writer, presents the issues in a well-considered way.
Hungry for more? Order the books via your local bookstore!
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