The Global Trade Paradigm: Rethinking International Business in the Post-Pandemic World

This is indeed a well-written work. Good for those in economics and business as well as ordinary readers like me, who are interested in gaining overall knowledge. Author Arun Kumar, in his fluent easy-to-read prose, traces the history of modern trade, linking it to important treaties and relevant events. For instance, the book explains "global value chains", and of how they changed manufacturing and multinational corporations; the rise of China and India, among other things, making complex things easy to understand. The author makes all this interesting too with innumerable anecdotes from history ~ I got a ringside view of many things I was unaware of. We learn a lot from the author's long experiences in corporate and in public affairs. I would also recommend this for every college and university library.

there is nothing new which is not a part of general awareness of world economy except detailed information on "Chip War". Its all about (i) Few Glimpses of History of Major Economies of the world (ii) Few Stats here and there. NO Mention or discussion of SOUTH AMERICA. Nothing about TRADE. Not much about RETHINKING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS except 'AtmaNirbhar' approach worldwide. Book should have been rather named "The Global Economy Glimpses"

I have a habit of writing a book review every weekend and sharing it with my family and friends. I read many books on history, business, technology, finance, science, geography, politics, and other boring topics. Very rarely do I come across a book that deftly mixes all these dimensions to create a very readable book accessible to the common reader.Some authors try to impress with their words. Very few communicate via insights distilled from complexity. This author is of the latter type.I met Arun Kumar in Silicon Valley some years back when he was at KPMG, and since then, I have followed his impressive career. President Obama selected him as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS). He also was KPMG CEO for India operations. Currently, he runs a VC firm in Silicon Valley. His career journey has uniquely equipped him to write this book. The history of global trade is also the history of humans over centuries. This is a very complex and vast topic and he has done the impossible by creating a very coherent story about the history of global trade. He doesn't stop at history, but brings it into the present by explaining how the world is interconnected via complex global supply chains where value is created all over the world.In his story, he weaves in various trade associations and agreements configured via a complex set of national interests, competition, and cooperation. It is amazing how he has distilled history, politics, economics, and data sets of the global economy in about 325 pages.He has presented the "state of the union" of the global economy, politics, and challenges the world has in 2024. China's rise after 1972 is indeed a miracle. However, the 2024 version of China also brings up many challenges for the globe.His chapter on Africa was heart-breaking but also optimistic about better futures for Africans. I didn't realize the scope of Chinese investments in Africa and the fact that over a million Chinese entrepreneurs have moved to Africa.Writing a book review of this book is very challenging. If I describe what he wrote in 325 pages, it will take me 50 pages. I highly recommend this book as it will allow you to understand how global trade works in complex global supply chains and political motives. This book is also a prescriptive guide for policy makers on the challenges of our complex world.