A Global Life: My Journey Among Rich and Poor, from Sydney to Wall Street to the World Bank [Hardcover]

James D. Wolfensohn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2010

As president of the World Bank for a decade, James Wolfensohn tackled world poverty with a passion and energy that made him a uniquely important figure in a fundamental arena of change. Using a lifetime of experience in the banking sector, he carved a distinct path in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe for the institution that serves as the major lender to the world's poor.

In A Global Life, Wolfensohn tells his astonishing life story in his own words. A man of surpassing imagination and drive, he became an Olympic fencer and a prominent banker in London and New York. An Australian, he navigated Wall Street with uncommon skill. Chairman of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for many years, he is also an amateur cellist. But it was his tenure at the World Bank that made him an international force. While at the helm of this controversial institution, Wolfensohn motivated, schemed, charmed, and bullied all the constituencies at his command to broaden the distribution of the world's wealth. Now he bluntly assesses his successes and failures, reflecting on the causes of continuing poverty.

Much more than a business story, this is a deeply reflective account of a fascinating career and personality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now 76 years old, Wolfensohn (Voice of the World's Poor) has had a rich and varied life as an investment banker, chairman of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, head of the World Bank, and finally advocate of peace as special envoy to the Middle East. The first third of the book is devoted to a fascinating chronicle of his early life growing up in a close-knit, middle-class Jewish family. His parents, who emigrated from Britain to Australia, faced tough financial times during the Great Depression and over-coddled the young Wolfensohn, expecting him to excel. Though he nearly flunked out of Sidney University, he ultimately earned a law degree and went on to receive an MBA at Harvard and become a U.S. citizen. He writes candidly of the mistakes he made during his long and successful career and the lessons they taught him. Married to his college sweetheart, with three children, he claims that the idea of writing this book, "grew out of a desire to leave... a record of the events that shaped me" for his adult children, and in the hope that younger readers might be encouraged to "follow at least some part of the path he has taken."
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From Booklist

Wolfensohn, investment banker, diplomat, musician, arts patron, and influential player on the global stage, recounts his boyhood in Australia, his education there and abroad, and his marriage and return to Australia to engage in investments and merchant banking while his young family grew. In 1968 he moved to Schroders in London, participating in the Eurodollar revolution, which created the impetus for a new phase of globalization in financial markets, and over time led their New York and London efforts. He joined Salomon Brothers in New York in the early 1980s, where he witnessed the fierce competition and the innovative skills of Wall Street as he built their corporate-finance department and then later formed his own firm. The wide reach of his community interests included chairmanships of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington before being named president of the World Bank in 1995. He notes themes that inspired my presidency: fighting poverty, using technology and education to document and spread knowledge, and protecting the environment. --Mary Whaley

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (October 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586482556
• ISBN-13: 978-1586482558
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James D. Wolfensohn's Global Life: A Rebel Without a Pause, October 7, 2010

By 

G. Gregory Boyd (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Global Life: My Journey Among Rich and Poor, from Sydney to Wall Street to the World Bank (Hardcover)

Before the reader sits down with Mr. Wolfensohn's book he is best advised to be well-rested because in addition to a fascinating autobiography they are also receiving a forum on international development and global relations, a primer on business, and an introduction to the personal and professional psychological machinations of interpersonal/organizational relationships. Jeffrey Goldstein, one of Wolfensohn's first hires at his investment firm in the 1980s, described Wolfensohn as being "a sponge" during the time they were building Jim's business but judging from his humble childhood in Sydney, Australia to his movement into the highest echelons of power, Wolfensohn also has to be viewed as a laser guided torpedo constantly locking onto new targets be they in business, development, or in the arts. The book paints a picture of a self-assured almost cocky young boy who finds himself, at the outset, getting his head "dunked" by a farmhand into a bucket of lime and who later upon making the Australian Olympic team as a fencer is dismissed by a young autograph seeker who states, "Oh don't worry about him, he's only a fencer." This pattern of challenge and personal reassessment is sprinkled throughout his life. After applying to Oxford (rejected) and failing to receive an appointment as a Rhodes Scholar, Wolfensohn took what was behind door number three, Harvard Business School, and that to paraphrase Frost, "Made all the difference." After that Wolfensohn slammed down onto a personal gas pedal that led to Europe, Wall Street, two terms as the president of the World Bank, an appointment as the Special Envoy to the Gaza Disengagement in addition to numerous corporate boards and the chairmanship of both Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. At four-hundred and forty-four pages the reader's time is well spent and he will come away feeling about this book in much the same way that one of his mentors, Julius Stone, wrote on his Harvard application that Wolfensohn possessed, "Indefinable attributes."

4.0 out of 5 stars Global Life, November 18, 2011

By 

Nicholas Koshiw - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Global Life: My Journey Among Rich and Poor, from Sydney to Wall Street to the World Bank (Hardcover)

A very interesting autobiography from one of the most fascinating bankers/statesmen who made a lasting mark upon the latter half of the 20th century. This book starts with Wolfensohn's early life in Australia and chronicles his experiences as a child, undergraduate student, lawyer, investment banker and head of the World Bank. The story also delves into the author's passion for music (how many other financiers can say they played the cello with Yo Yo Ma onstage at Carnegie Hall?), philanthropy and family. Unlike most autobiographies penned by Type-A elites, this piece comes with a dose of humility and praise for others, which is a breath of fresh air compared to some other hubris-filled autiobios. All in all, a great tale from a colorful character who successfully navigated to the top levels of finance, philanthropy and public service.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A pity..., October 12, 2010

By 

JayB (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Global Life: My Journey Among Rich and Poor, from Sydney to Wall Street to the World Bank (Hardcover)

Jim Wolfensohn is an interesting person who has lived an interesting life and who has written a crushingly boring book. (The Economist description as "plodding" is kind...) As suggested by another reviewer, to learn about Wolfensohn and the World Bank, read Sebastian Mallaby's "The World's Banker".