I had intended to do reviews for KLD's Newsline of some important new or newish books, but I never got round to them. I hope to do so early next year. Still, there are four books that may fill your gift-buying needs or that would make good reading for an early-winter vacation.
I've included links to the books' pages at my favorite bookstore, Powell's. I've listed them alphabetically by author.
George Monbiot, Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning. Can we reduce the emissions leading to global warming without ending civilization as we know it? George Monbiot believes we can and provides a roadmap. His solutions are not without pain; we must retrofit our homes and give up jet flight. But this is at root an optimistic book befitting a new father. As one would expect from this veteran columnist, author and campaigner, Heat is well-written, carefully researched and annotated, and passionately argued. <http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=66-0713999233-0>
Geoffrey Robertson, The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold. When Americans think of the moments that produced our legal system, the Revolution and the Civil War come immediately to mind. Few, myself included, realise how great a debt our Constitution owes to the Parliamentary victors in the bloody English Civil Wars of the 1640s: the right to counsel, the right to know the evidence the prosecution relies on, the right to a public trial, the right of cross examination, the notion that all -- including the King -- are subject to the law.... All came from the prosecutions of Charles I and his supporters, and they are largely attributable to John Cooke, the Solicitor General who tried the cases. The relevance of Robertson's book to contemporary Americans will be clear within the first couple of pages. <http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-1400044510-3>
Nick Robins, The Corporation That Changed the World: How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multinational. A key member of Henderson's SRI team, Nick Robins is also an historian and gifted writer. This brief meditation on, perhaps, the single most important corporation the world has known illuminates the challenges of a globalising economy and the astonishing power of corporations to effect change across cultures and vast distances. In its 268 year history (ending in 1867), The Honourable Company created vast wealth to its British shareholders, conquered much of the Indian subcontinent with its private army, contributed to the loss of the American colonies (remember the Boston Tea Party?), nearly lost the subcontinent in the Mutiny which then led to the establishment of the Raj.... The East India Company's foreign policy still affects relations between India and China and the West. And in every area -- from governance to ethics -- the experience of the East India Company anticipates today's proxy issues. (Disclosure: I reviewed an early draft of this book, and Nick and I are friends.) <http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-0745325238-0>
Andrew W. Savitz, The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success -- And How You Can Too. This primer on CSR is different from others I've read in its scope, generosity and humor. Its author, Andy Savitz, brings a unique perspective to the issues, one shaped by years in government as an environmental regulator, politics and large consulting practices. The Triple Bottom Line will make a perfect gift for the person just getting interested in CSR and SRI issues. It is also a useful reference for the professional who wants quick examples of best (and worst) practices. <http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0787979074-0>
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Peter D. Kinder
KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
250 Summer Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02210
+1 617.426.5270 http://www.KLD.com
Instead of saying that those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it, George Santayana might have better said
that those who misinterpret the past are condemned to bungle the
present. -The Economist (2006)
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