Since humans migrated from Africa and dispersed throughout the world, they have found countless ways and reasons to reconnect with each other. In this entertaining book, Nayan Chanda follows the exploits of traders, preachers, adventurers, and warriors throughout history as they have shaped and reshaped the world. For Chanda, globalization is a process of ever-growing interconnectedness and interdependence that began thousands of years ago and continues to this day with increasing speed and ease. In the end, globalization—from the lone adventurer carving out a new trade route to the expanding ambitions of great empires—is the product of myriad aspirations and apprehensions that define just about every aspect of our lives: what we eat, wear, ride, or possess is the product of thousands of years of human endeavor and suffering across the globe. Chanda reviews and illustrates the economic and technological forces at play in globalization today and concludes with a thought-provoking discussion of how we can and should embrace an inevitably global world. "[An] engaging analysis. . . . This is a book filled with fascinating information. And Chanda makes the most of his training as both a journalist and a scholar, bringing to his tale a reporter's eye and sense of pacing as well as an impressive breadth of knowledge."—Jeffrey N. Wasserstein, Newsweek (Jeffrey N. Wasserstein Newsweek 2007-05-29) “Nayan Chanda has written an invaluable, and in my view unique, history of globalization—how the concept emerged, evolved, was defused, and has now come to define today's international system. I learned a ton from this book, and I've already written two books on the subject. Students will find its analyses and anecdotes easily accessible and experts will find its arguments original and provocative. It is a real contribution to the literature—a must-read for anyone interested in understanding or teaching this subject.”—Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World Is Flat (Thomas L. Friedman) “ Bound Together is a graceful recounting of modern globalization with a panoramic perspective. Studded with meaningful and entertaining anecdotes, it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we got where we are today.”—Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics (Joseph E. Stiglitz) “A magnificent and masterly achievement. Nayan Chanda has taken a buzzword of our era, globalization, and defined it in the full, rich, complex context of a phenomenon that has shaped humanity over the millennia. He conveys his prodigious knowledge with clarity, wit, and narrative verve, weaving themes from the history of science, politics, commerce, and religion into a coherent, compelling story.”—Strobe Talbott, president, The Brookings Institution (Strobe Talbott) “’ Bound Together is a wonderful book that provides us with a rich and holistic perspective on globalization. The book is a must for every student of globalization.”—R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (R. Narayana Murthy) “ Bound Together is destined to be a classic book for the 21st Century. Author Nayan Chanda has combined deep and far-ranging scholarship with a journalist’s touch for story telling to craft an enthralling narrative of humankind from our birth in Africa to our addiction to the Internet. Chanda is a true global citizen. His book should be read in every home, school, business and embassy in the world, and become a vital part of our common intellectual heritage.”—Ambassador Derek Shearer, Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy and Director of Global Affairs, Occidental College, Los Angeles (Ambassador Derek Shearer) "Chanda's account of globalization is a breath of fresh air. His treatment of the topic, from its origins with the first humans out of Africa to its most recent appearance in financial markets, is comprehensive, informed, and judicious. Refreshingly personal and humorous, it is probably the best single-volume work on world/global history now available, and a must for all students of the subject. Along the way, India, for example, becomes as much a focus as Europe in the overall story."—Bruce Mazlish, Professor of History Emeritus, MIT (Bruce Mazlish) “It is, in my view, a wonderful read—incredibly informative, insightful, and written with energy, eloquence, and simplicity. The themes were fresh and the organization especially interesting. Some of the great strengths of the book are the way he relates history to the present, the global perspective throughout, the broader-than-economics focus; and the way he describes the overlap of forces that have led to the world we now live in. My guess is that this book will be widely read and have a special place on any bookshelf that contains works on globalization.”—Jeffrey Garten, former Dean and Juan Trippe Professor in the Practice of International Trade, Finance, and Business at the Yale School of Management (Jeffrey Garten) “Given the avalanche of books on gl