Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

Last updated

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
Winners Take All (Anand Giridharadas).png
First edition cover
Author Anand Giridharadas
Audio read byAnand Giridharadas [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subjects
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
August 28, 2018
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook
Pages304
ISBN 978-0-451-49324-8 (hardcover)
OCLC 1065140123
303.40973
LC Class HM831 .G477 2018

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World is a 2018 non-fiction book by American author Anand Giridharadas. It is his third book and was published by Alfred A. Knopf on August 28, 2018. The book appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Contents

Thesis

In the book, Giridharadas argues that members of the global elite, though sometimes engaged in philanthropy, use their wealth and influence to preserve systems that concentrate wealth at the top at the expense of societal progress.

Publication and promotion

Winners Take All was first published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf on August 28, 2018. [2] The book was also published in paperback on October 1, 2019, by Vintage Books. [3]

The book debuted at number eight on The New York Times ' Hardcover Nonfiction best sellers list and at number six on its Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction best sellers list for the September 16, 2018 issue of The New York Times Book Review . [4] [5] The paperback edition of the book debuted at number eight on the Paperback Nonfiction best sellers list in the October 20, 2019 issue of The New York Times Book Review. [6]

Giridharadas appeared on The Daily Show on October 1, 2019, to promote Winners Take All. [7] He also appeared on Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on December 1, 2019, speaking about the thesis of his book. [8]

Reception

Writing for The New York Times , economist Joseph Stiglitz praised the book, writing that Giridharadas "writes on two levels—seemingly tactful and subtle—but ultimately he presents a devastating portrait of a whole class, one easier to satirize than to reform." [9]

Publishers Weekly gave the book a positive review, writing, "This damning portrait of contemporary American philanthropy is a must-read for anyone interested in 'changing the world.'" [10]

Kirkus Reviews called it a "provocative critique of the kind of modern, feel-good giving that addresses symptoms and not causes." [11]

James Pekoll of Booklist called it an "excellent book for troubled times". [12]

Bethany McLean of The Washington Post gave the book a mixed review, criticizing Giridharadas for not engaging "in any specific analysis" and writing that "the book would have been more powerful if Giridharadas had stayed within his definition of an old-school public intellectual: someone who is willing to throw bombs at the current state of affairs, but lacks the arrogance and self-righteousness that comes with believing you have the solution." [13]

Andrew Anthony of The Guardian gave the book a mixed review, writing, "So much of what Giridharadas writes is almost self-evidently true and urgently in need of addressing, yet his argument is slightly undermined by repetition and a reluctance to acknowledge that big business and technical innovation are sometimes forces for universal good, even if profits are made." [14]

It was listed in The Economist 's "Our books of the year", described as a "timely polemic against philanthrocapitalism, which argues that supposedly do-gooding companies merely offer sticking-plaster solutions to social problems that they have helped create." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Book Award</span> American literary awards

The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. Since October 12, 1931, The New York Times Book Review has published the list weekly. In the 21st century, it has evolved into multiple lists, grouped by genre and format, including fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, paperback and electronic.

Christine Feehan is an American author of paranormal romance, paranormal military thrillers, and fantasy. She is a #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly, and International bestselling author of seven series; Carpathian, GhostWalker Series, Drake Sisters, Sister of the HeartSeries, Shadow Riders Series, Leopard Series and Torpedo Ink Series. Six of the seven series have made #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. As of January 2020 she has 80 published novels. The first in her Torpedo Ink Series, Judgment Road, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel H. Pink</span> American author (born 1964)

Daniel H. Pink is an American author. He has written seven books; five of them are New York Times bestsellers. He was a host and a co-executive producer of the National Geographic Channel social science TV series Crowd Control. From 1995 to 1997, he was the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Strayed</span> American writer (born 1968)

Cheryl Strayed is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel Torch (2006) and the nonfiction books Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2012), Tiny Beautiful Things (2012) and Brave Enough (2015). Wild, which told the story of a long hike that Strayed took in 1995, was an international bestseller, and was adapted as the 2014 Academy Award-nominated film Wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anand Giridharadas</span> American writer

Anand Giridharadas is an American journalist and political pundit. He is a former columnist for The New York Times. He is the author of four books: India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking (2011), The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas (2014), Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (2018), and The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company

Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was founded in 1927

<i>Time to Get Tough</i> 2011 book by Donald Trump

Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again is a non-fiction book by Donald Trump. It was published in hardcover format by Regnery Publishing in 2011, and reissued under the title Time to Get Tough: Make America Great Again! in 2015 to match Trump's 2016 election campaign slogan. Trump had previously published The America We Deserve (2000) as preparation for his attempt to run in the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign with a populist platform. Time to Get Tough in contrast served as his prelude to the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, with a conservative platform.

<i>What Happened</i> (Clinton book) 2017 memoir by Hillary Clinton

What Happened is a 2017 memoir by Hillary Clinton about her experiences as the Democratic Party's nominee and general election candidate for president of the United States in the 2016 election. Published on September 1, 2017, it is her seventh book with her publisher, Simon & Schuster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Irby</span> American comedian and writer

Samantha McKiver Irby is an American comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer. She is the creator and author of the blog bitches gotta eat, where she writes humorous observations about her own life and modern society more broadly. Her books We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Wow, No Thank You. were both New York Times best-sellers. She is a recipient of the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for bisexual nonfiction.

This bibliography contains is a list of works from American author Christine Feehan.

<i>The Coddling of the American Mind</i> 2018 non-fiction book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure is a 2018 book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. It is an expansion of a popular essay the two wrote for The Atlantic in 2015. Lukianoff and Haidt argue that overprotection is having a negative effect on university students and that the use of trigger warnings and safe spaces does more harm than good.

<i>The Anthropocene Reviewed</i> Podcast and book by John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed is the shared name for a podcast and 2021 nonfiction book by John Green. The podcast started in January 2018, with each episode featuring Green reviewing "different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale". The name comes from the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch that includes significant human impact on the environment. Episodes typically contain Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have affected his life. These topics included intangible concepts like humanity's capacity for wonder, artificial products like Diet Dr. Pepper, natural species that have had their fates altered by human influence like the Canada goose, and phenomena that primarily influence humanity such as Halley's Comet.

<i>Say Nothing</i> (book) 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is a 2018 book by writer and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe. It focuses on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It spent six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and received widespread critical acclaim.

<i>Blowout</i> (book) 2019 non-fiction book by Rachel Maddow

Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth is a 2019 non-fiction book by Rachel Maddow. It is her second book and was published by Crown on October 1, 2019. It concerns corruption in the oil and gas industry and the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

<i>The Pacific War Trilogy</i> Three volume history of the Pacific War by Ian W. Toll

The Pacific War Trilogy is a three-volume history of the war in the Pacific, written by best selling author and military historian Ian W. Toll. The series was published by W. W. Norton & Company. Toll is a graduate of St George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. In 1989, he received an undergraduate degree in American history from Georgetown University; in 1995 he received a master's degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.

<i>Just Mercy</i> (book) Book by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014) is a memoir by American attorney Bryan Stevenson that documents his career defending disadvantaged clients. The book, focusing on injustices in the United States judicial system, alternates chapters between documenting Stevenson's efforts to overturn the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian and his work on other cases, including children who receive life sentences, and other poor or marginalized clients.

<i>Crying in H Mart</i> 2021 memoir by Michelle Zauner

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir is a 2021 memoir by Michelle Zauner, singer and guitarist of the musical project Japanese Breakfast. It is her debut book, published on April 20, 2021, by Alfred A. Knopf. It is an expansion of Zauner's essay of the same name which was published in The New Yorker on August 20, 2018. The title mentions H Mart, a North-American supermarket chain that specializes in Korean and Asian products.

References

  1. ↑ "Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas". Penguin Random House Audio . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  2. ↑ Giridharadas, Anand (July 25, 2018). Winners Take All: the Elite Charade of Changing the World. Knopf Doubleday. p. 304. ISBN   978-0-451-49324-8. OCLC   1065140123 . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  3. ↑ Russo, Maria (October 11, 2019). "New in Paperback: 'These Truths' and 'There Will Be No Miracles Here'". The New York Times . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times . September 16, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times . September 16, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times . October 20, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  7. ↑ Stockly, Ed (September 30, 2019). "What's on TV Tuesday: 'Frontline: The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia' on PBS". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  8. ↑ Minhaj, Hasan (December 1, 2019). "Why Billionaires Won't Save Us". Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Season 5. Episode 4. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ Stiglitz, Joseph E. (August 20, 2018). "Meet the 'Change Agents' Who Are Enabling Inequality". The New York Times . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas". Publishers Weekly . July 2, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas". Kirkus Reviews . May 15, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  12. ↑ Pekoll, James (July 13, 2018). Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, by Anand Giridharadas . Retrieved December 1, 2019.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  13. ↑ McLean, Bethany (September 28, 2018). "Beware thought leaders and the wealthy purveying answers to our social ills". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  14. ↑ Anthony, Andrew (March 26, 2019). "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World—review". The Guardian . Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Our books of the year". The Economist.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.