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Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism

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Those who want to know what the WTO and IMF protest are about can start with this book. Lafeber's book simplifies the key issues of global corporatism (not free trade; not merely capitalism but corporatism) while relating the rise of the US with the rise of basketball. A great intro book for basketball fans who claim to not understand or care about what is Globalization. They should, but LaFeber stops short of taking a stand on the issue himself. As a historian he merely reports what happened without predicting the future. Contrary to the anonymous reviewer who panned the book as "Liberal Junk," I felt LaFeber stayed extremely neutral- which is my major problem with the book. Remove the Michael Jordan biography, and this book says what Ben Barber's 'Jihad vs. McWorld' does in 1 chapter. Except Barber explains the WHY we should care; not just what's going on in this Corporate world as LeFeber.

Walter Lafeber, a noted historian, writes about a parallel between the rise of basketball and the rise of what he calls the "New Global Capitalism." The culmination of this new capitalism is personified in the book with Michael Jordan.

In his discussion of capitalism, the author brings up some examples that point out some of the disadvantages related to capitalism. While we could argue about whether capitalism is good or bad, the author is careful in not really getting into that argument so much as he acts as a cultural critic in how America is not only spreading capitalism around the world (seen by most Americans as good), but also spreading American culture around the world (seen by me at least as not so great).

In one sense, most of the world is by now seeing the effects of American-style imperialism. The book does talk about how some have welcomed this and others have reacted harshly. I think the way that the author sees imperialism here is that America is imposing its culture on other nations. It may be at least somewhat fair to say that the people choose this fate, but economic theory would show otherwise: in a world of large companies and small companies, if a large company decides to compete directly with a small company, the large company will be the most likely winner because it is able to charge lower prices, etc. The same goes for large American companies imposing their business into other nations. Can French cafes compete with McDonalds?

The author also talks about some of Michael Jordan's pitfalls, such as not speaking out against unfair labor practices in Nike factories, or gambling with known criminals. Why did Michael Jordan have such a strong following? Phil Knight himself even observed people bowing down to a life-size statue of Jordan (can we say idolatry?). While Jordan established himself early in his career as someone who "transcends race," his international fame came through an enormous worldwide marketing blitz. While he became known worldwide as an incredible basketball player, the marketing campaign surrounding him made him out to be much more than that. Through it all, Michael Jordan is still human, and so it is, too, that the economic system that brought him fame is built by humans. They both have incredibly strong points, but neither are infallible.

This is not liberal junk. It is merely a book that keeps things in perspective.

Noted foreign policy (global?) historian Walter LaFeber has written an extremely readable short book. The narrative flows without getting stuck in academic jargon. However, his premise that the twenty-first century will be dominated by multi-national corporations is not new. The twist is that Michael Jordan is our new Santa Claus; instead of delivering presents to "good children" throughout the world, he leaves them with symbols of products (not the presents themselves)and spreads name-brand recognition in the far corners of the earth. (In one remote region of China, the Chicago Bulls are referred to as "Red Oxen.") But haven't we heard this argument before with Ronald McDonald? He is better known in the world than the Pope. And as for Santa Claus, he can thank Coca-Cola for making him cherry red and white (the same as their soft drink label) for who he is today.

I would recommend this book to people that don't yet know that basketball commissioner David Stern packaged the NBA like Disney: "they have theme parks, and we have theme parks. Only we call them arenas. They have characters: Mickey and Goofy. Our characters are named Magic and Michael." But Walter LaFeber, who is known for his exhaustive research skills, relies too heavily on pop culture to discuss the impact of a pop figure. His endnotes are dominated by magazine and newspaper articles (Newsweek, Sports Illustrated) without delving more deeply into how a black man in America became "a god" that transcends cultural boundaries.

"Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism" is a good beginners book on the long arm of U.S. corporations but do not stop there. James Twitchell's superb "Adcult USA: The Triumph of Advertising in American Culture" provides the reader with much more indepth analysis on how Nike and others came to dominate our world.

LaFeber was well-known and loved by his students at Cornell as a spell binding lecturer and is widely respected as an expert on the history U.S foreign relations. So at first I wondered what about Michael Jordan could possibly interest a distinguished and conscientious scholar of American history, someone not normally associated with forays into pop culture. But it's a really fascinating, thoughtful, and surprising essay. LaFeber argues that Jordan is even bigger than we think--not as a sports icon but as both a symptom and cause of revolutionary change in the global order of things. Yes, the world changed with the fall of the Berlin Wall and with the end of the cold war, he says, but the rise of Jordan is an even bigger watershed moment in world history. The real kicker comes late in the book and is somewhat understated--that there is a war between culture and capital and capital is winning. The implications of this idea are enormous and mostly frightening. This is the maelstrom Marshall McLuhan was trying to warn us about. For anyone interested in media studies, cultural criticism, or a scholarly historian's perspective on global capitalism, this book will be eye-opening and mind-expanding. And the bits about Jordan himself are pretty fascinating.

Sure, this book is about the rise of transnational corporations and the influence cultural icons such as Michael Jordan have on it. However, LaFeber never gets into WHY this is the case. He throws around the same three points throughout the 164 pages of text, leaving the reader wondering how he could possibly write so much when he realistically has nothing to say. It is more filled with statistics and dates regarding Michael Jordan, the Bulls, and Nike, than what the title implies. The book is a good read for fans of MJ and Nike, but if you're looking for a sociological perspective on globalization, look elsewhere.

In Michael Jordan And The New Global Capitalism, Walter LaFaber uses his ability to research and write about something to express to the readers how important advertising is to any corporation or business. For the Nike Corporation, they partnered up with Michael Jordan and worked out a plan to advertise him and their products through worldwide telecommunications. When Michael Jordan won (which was something he did a lot), the Nike Corporation won too, because everyone wanted to be "like Mike," and the only way to be "like Mike" was to buy his footwear and apparel or other Nike footwear and apparel. This book is a good awakening to anyone interested in how our economy works for big businesses, and its also a good book for anyone interested in basketball and or Michael Jordan. This is a definite must read all in all, because even if you end up not liking this book, you will be better off having read it.

Despite some rather glaring typos, this is a fascinating read. I never cared about basketball until reading this book. Very interesting insights into Nike, Turner, Jordan, and 9/11.

Just a short note to say that this is one of the most important books I have read in the past 10 years. It tackles capitalism, race, & the role of the individual in the global context in an engaging yet very well informed manner. As a History professor, I have tought this book at several major universities and it has always met with much approval from my students.

This book was absolutely riveting. Provides in-depth information about anything to do with Michael Jordan and basketball in terms of its relations to the world. You will not have any questions when done reading. Gives a whole new perspective on the marketing of the NBA and how things work and evolve. The author shows how one person can affect millions, even billions of people. It allows us a glimpse of how something small can be so big at the same time.

Lafeber really shows you how putting time and effort into something can really take you far in life. I found the book to be very fascinating because it gives all the history of how basketball got started and how MJ and Nike became such powerful household names. This book is a really good read for any MJ fan who wants to learn the whole history behind him. It shows you what global advertising can do to a persons popularity. The bottom line this book is filled with tons of very interesting facts and just tells a good story, so go pick it up as soon as you can.