Synopses & Reviews
Review
"A provocative look at how cities can and do lead from the front in addressing the most pressing issues of our time."and#8212;Michael R. Bloomberg, 108th Mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP
Review
and#8220;Audacious. . . ambitious . . .andnbsp; Barberand#8217;s book should be required reading for New Yorkand#8217;s new mayor, Bill de Blasio.and#8221;and#8212;Sam Roberts, The New York Times Book Review
Review
and#8220;If you like cities you will love this wide-ranging book that captures the energy, excitement and importance of what is going on in the world's great urban centers.and#8221;and#8212;Fareed Zakaria, CNN
Review
and#8220;In an impassioned love letter to cities and their political leaders, Barber (Jihad vs. McWorld) celebrates the diversity and ferment that embody urban life.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
and#8220;A provocative, informative account of a different kind of globalization. Highly recommended reading for policymakers and other readers intrigued by forward-thinking forms of governance.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus Reviews, Starred review
Review
". . . .Makes the intriguing, provocative, and counter-intuitive argument the. . . cities and the mayors who run them are the last best hope for a safer, more prosperous, and more just future.andnbsp;If Mayors Ruled The World is informative and imaginative.and#8221;and#8212;Glenn C. Altschuler, The Huffington Post
Synopsis
Can cities solve the biggest problems of the twenty-first century better than nations? Is the city democracy s best hope?
In the face of the most perilous challenges of our time climate change, terrorism, poverty, and trafficking of drugs, guns, and people the nations of the world seem paralyzed.The problems are too big, too interdependent, too divisive for the nation-state. Is the nation-state, once democracy's best hope, today democratically dysfunctional? Obsolete? The answer, says Benjamin Barber in this highly provocative and original book, is yes. Cities and the mayors who run them can do and are doing a better job.Barber cites the unique qualities cities worldwide share: pragmatism, civic trust, participation, indifference to borders and sovereignty, and a democratic penchant for networking, creativity, innovation, and cooperation. He demonstrates how city mayors, singly and jointly, are responding totransnational problems more effectively than nation-states mired in ideological infighting and sovereign rivalries. Featuring profiles of a dozen mayors around the world courageous, eccentric, or both at once If Mayors Ruled the World presents a compelling new vision of governance for the coming century. Barber makes a persuasive case that the city is democracy s best hope in a globalizing world, and great mayors are already proving that this is so."
Synopsis
Can cities solve the biggest problems of the twenty-first century better than nations? Is the city democracyand#8217;s best hope?
About the Author
Benjamin R. Barber is senior research scholar at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, the Graduate Center, the City University of New York. He is also president and founder of the Interdependence Movement and the author of seventeen books, including Jihad vs. McWorld and Strong Democracy. Barberandrsquo;s project for a Global Parliament of Mayors has attracted scores of urban leaders and intercity networks and is on course for a pilot convening in 2016.and#160;He lives in New York City.