"After years of working the mainstream way, I have recently adopted a new economic model for myself which works solely on trust. It is part of my ongoing quest to live a life that is based on integrity and authenticity. How it works is like this:  I offer my skills, talents, knowledge and experience [...]to individuals and organizations. And they only need to pay me what they feel my work is worth. I'm not going to negotiate with them on how much they should pay me for the time and knowledge I invest in their projects. I'm going to accept whatever they offer, with love, trusting that they have my best interests at heart. There's just one condition and that applies only to me… I'm going to take on just those projects that resonate with me spiritually and ideologically. This would mean doing away with work that may pay very well, but may not mean much to me otherwise." [...]

Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,
London: Allen Lane, 2007.
This book is produced by the bestselling author of No Logo and argues that global capitalism has consistently exploited crises, whether in Iraq or New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, to make profit and transform places in ways more conducive to the operation of the big corporations. Klein identifies a phenomenon she terms disaster capitalism to describe the manner in which people reeling from natural or man-made crises have, in addition, been subject to economic ‘shock treatment’ and corporate profiteering.

Joseph Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work,
London: Penguin Books, 2006.
This is a popular and accessible book from a former World Bank insider and critic of globalisation. The book follows on from the best-selling Globalization and Its Discontents and outlines how the global economy needs to be reformed if we are to address the problems of the world’s poor.

Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans:
The Guilty Secrets of Rich Nations and the Threat to Global Prosperity,
Random House Business Books, 2008.
Ha-Joon Chang is one of the world's foremost heterodox economists specialising in development economics. Chang is not opposed to trade and markets as such, but merely argues that the current economic policies supported by the IMF and wealthy countries are hindering development and creating poverty. He bases this view not only on his very rigorous research into comparative development over his years as an economics professor at Cambridge University, but also on his direct experience of his native South Korea's development.

Rajiv Chandrasekarin, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad’s Green Zone,
London: Bloomsbury, 2007.
This is an accessible and eye opening account of America’s bungled attempts to reconstruct Iraq after the invasion in 2003. Written by a Washington Post journalist it details how the post-invasion policy was badly planned and badly implemented. Examples include the aide who based Baghdad’s new traffic laws on those of the state of Maryland downloaded from the web and the 24 year old with no experience of finance who was put in charge of revitalising Baghdad’s stock exchange.

Paul Rogers, Global Security and the War on Terror - Elite Power and the Illusion of Control,
Routledge, 2007.
This is a collection of essays by Professor Paul Rogers. Professor Rogers argues that the current post-Cold War security paradigm is fundamentally misguided and unsustainable. The book concludes with two new essays on the need for a new conception of global security rooted in justice and emancipation.

Chris Abbot, Paul Rogers and John Sloboda, Beyond Terror: The Truth About the Real Threats to Our World,
London: Rider, 2007.
This is a short and accessible book that examines the key threats to global security which the authors argue include climate change, competition over resources, marginalisation of the majority world and global militarisation.

Jonathan Schell, The Unconquerable World: Power Nonviolence and the Will of the People,
London: Allen Lane, 2004.
Jonathan Schell presents an alternative history of the world outlining the important role that nonviolence has played in bringing about transformative changes in the international system. Schell makes a compelling case for the continued relevance of nonviolent political action in a world seemingly dominated by actors more interested in solving problems on the battlefield.

Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases. Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, University of California Press (updated edition) 2001.
A groundbreaking feminist perspective on international politics variously described as a classic and the ‘magna carta’ of feminist international relations. The book explores the gendered nature of international politics and the numerous roles played by women that are nevertheless ignored by mainstream international relations.