Daniel Altman shows us how news headlines from around the world are all interconnected and impact our global economy. Choosing a random day - June 15th. – he uses each of the 14 chapters to highlight a news story from a different country. He follows the trail that the story leads from the originating country to another, to another, intertwining threads so we see how a story about impoverished Chinese migrant workers or mergers between companies or mistakes in a Japanese stock market and loose regulatory regimes in poor countries or corruption, for example, affect not only their immediate community but everything from gas prices to the exchange rate of the U.S. currency.
Besides educating the reader on various economic issues, such as the factors determining successful and unsuccessful company mergers or credit and currency markets, Altman includes first-person narrative snippets from various people around the world, from high-level business people to a migrant worker, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the lives and motivations of people who are somehow connected to the headlines.
Connected is a rich lesson in world economics. Though aspects of the book may be confusing and too complex for the layman, it would appeal, perhaps to a budding economist. At very least, after reading this book, you will glean a greater significance from news headlines and possibly even hazard a guess as to how the story will touch your own life.