Stealth of Nations

Praise for Stealth of Nations:

“Stealth of Nations is the most exciting shopping trip I’ve ever been on. I thought I knew what ‘the economy’ is, but I had no idea until Neuwirth filled me in.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed 
 
“A valuable book because it challenges conventional thinking about what it means for an economy to develop.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“[Neuwirth’s] exciting tour de force explains the economic underworld that dominates the economic stratosphere far more than we realize. . . . An impressive new book that reveals a global, informal economy, stretching from Africa to China to the United States. . . . The author’s sources are vast and the remarkable depth of his research cannot be overstated.”
—The Star-Ledger
 
“An intrepid journalist examines the real world of wealth creation at the very bottom of the pyramid, where it matters most.”
—Stewart Brand, author of Whole Earth Discipline
 
“A provocative argument.”
—Salon
 
“We are just beginning to understand that today’s advanced global economy rises along with a proliferation of informal economies. Nobody can document this better than the world-traveling journalist Robert Neuwirth. This is a must-read book.”
—Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, and author of A Sociology of Globalization
 
“After reading this book you will realize that working in an office, a shop, or in a factory, earning a steady salary, paying taxes and having health insurance and a retirement account is an anomaly. Most of the world’s workers operate in the informal sector and in this fascinating book Robert Neuwirth reveals how ‘The Stealth Economy’ works and what does it take to survive in it.”
—Moisés Naím, author of Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy
 
“What he [Neuwirth] does—compellingly, readably, engagingly, and frequently, brilliantly—is give the reader a picture of how the world’s economies actually work, and a convincing argument that we need to respect and understand these economic systems. It’s a good read and an important book.”
—Ethan Zuckerman, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

“A vibrant picture of a growing sphere of trade that already employs half the workers of the world.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Neuwirth explores the global significance of the ‘informal economy’ [and] makes a striking case for both the influence of System D and the need to engage it as a partner in economic development.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“For the last three years, we all have looked at the economy with fear and trembling. . . . But we forgot to look at the people who survive in the shadows of the official world. One person, the American journalist Robert Neuwirth, has spent the last decade of his life studying just this realm. He lived for months in slums around the world, traveled to every continent, and learned about the complex underground business models that drive a huge part of the global economy.”
—MONO Magazine, Greece
 
“Robert Neuwirth spent four years roaming street markets around the world and came back convinced of the benefits of the parallel economy.”
—L’Expression, Tunisia
 
“A very daring hypothesis.”
—Die Zeit, Germany
 
“Very controversial.”
—Exame, Brazil
 
“Neuwirth does an excellent job of recognizing and celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit.”
—How We Made it in Africa, South Africa 
 
“The so-called ‘informal economy’ is often viewed with suspicion by the agents of the state, as an underground and even criminal community. In reality, it is what Robert Neuwirth, in his book Stealth of Nations: the Global Rise of the Informal Economy, describes as a do-it-yourself economy based on self-reliance and innovation.”
—Daily Maverick, South Africa