MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
November 2 – November 9, 2006 Edition
Financial Times Cites
Book on China Best
Business Book of Year
LONDON/10/26/06—James Kynge has won the Financial Times & Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award (www.ft.com/bookaward) for CHINA SHAKES THE WORLD published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The Award was presented last night at a Gala Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York by Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, and Lloyd C Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs. The keynote speaker was Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard University and former US Treasury Secretary.
James Kynge held off strong competition to pick up the award, the second year for the annual prize which aims to find the book that provides ‘the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.’ Each of the four finalists also received £5,000 (approximately $9,000) and can likely expect their recognition to boost book sales. Last year’s winner i by Thomas Friedman remains on the bestseller lists today and one of last year’s finalists, Freakonomics, has sold over 1.1 million copies.
Lionel Barber, editor, Financial Times said, “We have had a second outstanding list of entrants this year. CHINA SHAKES THE WORLD is a deserving winner whose strength is reportage, is beautifully crafted, and relevant for a worldwide business audience.”
Lloyd C Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs, said, “Competition for this year’s Award was fierce and the shortlisted books cover a fascinating range of issues. China is changing the world and James Kynge’s book captures the essence of that change.”
Speaking from the Gala dinner in New York, James Kynge was pleased and delighted with his win, saying:
"In a world that is interconnected to an unprecedented degree, we are all living pieces of each other’s lives. We share not only an increasingly common future and present but, in as much as history configures our current realities, we are also sharing a common past. The biggest new influence – by almost any measure – on this globalized world has been China’s emergence. We are finding that the trends shaping our businesses, politics, environment and strategic outlook are increasingly "Made in China". I am delighted that CHINA SHAKES THE WORLD has been selected to win this prestigious award, a move that will help to highlight the importance of China’s emergence to us all."
The judging panel for the 2006 Award was:
Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times
Lloyd C Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc John Gapper, Chief Business Commentator and Associate Editor, Financial Times Jeffrey Garten, Juan Trippe Professor of International Trade, Finance and Business, Yale School of Management Rachel Lomax, Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Bank of England N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies
Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP
For further information about the Award, contact: Barbara Cave Henricks, Goldberg McDuffie Communications (512) 301-8936-office (512) 301-9712-mobile bhenricks@goldbergmcduffie.com
The Financial Times & Goldman Sachs
Business Book of the Year Award
WINNER 2006
CHINA SHAKES THE WORLD – James Kynge (Houghton Mifflin Company; $25.00; ISBN: 0618705643)
‘Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.’ Napoleon Bonaparte’s words seem eerily prescient today as the shock waves from China’s awakening reverberate across the globe. James Kynge explores the way we are increasingly dependent on China’s products and markets and the way the slightest change in the Chinese economy quickly reaches our doorstep. He explains how this spectacular change has occurred and what it will mean in the 21st century.
FINALISTS
The Long Tail – Chris Anderson (Hyperion; $24.95; ISBN: 1401302378)
What happens when bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture go away and everything becomes available to everyone? The Long Tail is about the economics of abundance, a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of niche. From supermarket shelves to advertising agencies the ability to offer vast choice is changing from songs on iTunes to advertising on Google. Chris Anderson argues that if the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be about niches.
Small Giants – Bo Burlingham (Portfolio; $24.95; ISBN: 0618705643)
Most books about businesses focus on public companies, where the definition for success is steady growth in revenue and profits. Yet there are many excellent, privately held companies. For anyone who wants to explore America’s most innovative and inspiring small business successes, this unique book is the place to start.
The Wal-Mart Effect – Charles Fishman (Penguin Press; $25.95; ISBN: 1594200769)
An award-winning journalist breaks through the wall of secrecy to reveal the many astonishing ways Wal-Mart’s power affects our lives and reaches all around the world. Though 70 percent of Americans now live within a fifteen-minute drive of a Wal Mart store, we have not even begun to understand the true power of the world’s largest company. Fast Company senior editor Fishman takes an unprecedented behind-the-scenes investigative expedition deep inside the company, interviewing twenty-five high level ex-executives. He argues that anyone wanting to understand the forces shaping our world today must understand the company’s hidden reach.
The Box – Marc Levinson (Princeton University Press; $$24.95; ISBN: 0691123241)
In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry. The Box tells this remarkable story, published on the fiftieth anniversary of that journey. The container paved the way for Asia to become the world’s workshop and brought consumers a previously unimaginable variety of low-cost products.
The 2006 Financial Times & Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award is designed to highlight the business book that provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, including management, finance and economics. Entries were invited from publishers of business books in the English language, that are first published between 31st October 2005 and 1st November 2006.
This is the second year of the award. The 2005 Award was presented at a gala dinner in London, with guest speaker the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of The Exchequer. Over 200 senior executives from the publishing and business communities attended the event, seeing Thomas Friedman crowned 2005 winner, for The World Is Flat, which saw a significant rise in sales following the Award win.
The Financial Times Group, one of the world’s leading business information companies, provides a broad range of business information and services to a growing audience of internationally minded business people. It includes the Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, FT.com and a pan-European network of national business newspapers and online services including Les Echos and FT Deutschland, FT Interactive Data, Investors Chronicle, The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser. It also has a number of joint ventures including FTSE International with the London Stock Exchange.
Goldman Sachs is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. It provides a wide range of services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, institutional investors, governments, non-profit organizations and individuals. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs has long sustained a commitment to hiring and training outstanding leaders. Its business principles are rooted in integrity, a commitment to excellence, innovation and teamwork. These values enable the firm to execute successfully a business strategy that is focused on extraordinary client service and superior long-term financial performance for its shareholders.
