The World's Banker

Sebastian Mallaby's The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations (2004) (The World's Banker) is a financial biography book. British journalist Mallaby is a highly ranked member of the Council on Foreign Relations, working in international economics.

Summary
Mallaby follows a formula in his books, using each chapter to focus on a different geographic concern related to the world bank during the tenure of J.D. Wolfensohn.


 * Preface: The Prisoner of Lilliput
 * Chapter One: A Tale of Two Ambitions - concerns the outlook of U.S. president after the attacks.
 * Chapter Two: “World Bank Murderer”
 * Chapter Three:The Renaissance President
 * Chapter Four: A Twister in Africa
 * Chapter Five: Mission Sarajevo
 * Chapter Six: Narcissus and the Octopus
 * Chapter Seven: The Cancer of Corruption
 * Chapter Eight: Uganda's Myth and Miracle
 * Chapter Nine: A Framework for Development
 * Chapter Ten: From Seattle to Tibet
 * Chapter Eleven: Waking Up to Terror
 * Chapter Twelve: A Plague upon Development
 * Chapter Thirteen: Back to the Future
 * Chapter Fourteen: A Lion at Carnegie
 * Afterword: regarding the appointment of successor Paul Wolfowitz

Reception
"Mallaby gives us a sophisticated, evenhanded take on the bank's last decade of development efforts."

"Mallaby, a Washington Post editorial writer, provides a sympathetic yet critical assessment of the World Bank under Wolfensohn's leadership, crediting him for bringing the bank much closer to its developing-country clients but faulting him for trying to take on too wide a scope of activity without a clear and manageable set of priorities."

Editions
This edition features a new afterword by the author that analyzes the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as Wolfensohn's successor at the World bank.
 * The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, October, 2004. Hardcover USA. ISBN 1594200238 1st ed. pages: 432.
 * The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, October 2004. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-300-11676-2 1st ed. pages: 432.
 * The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Penguin Press, April 25, 2006. Hardcover USA. ISBN 978-0143036791 2nd ed. pages: 496.


 * Kindle other electronic book editions.
 * Audiobook edition by Audible Audio.