Bryan_Carey's Full Review: David Bornstein - How to Change the World
When people talk about improving the world, they usually speak in activist terms. They usually go to an institution of higher learning and earn a degree in a social or educational field of study then go forth to spread their knowledge and, hopefully, improve the lives of others in the process. This is the common path to world improvement, but there is another way to enhance the lives of others that is slowly gaining steam. It is the idea of becoming a social entrepreneur and in this book, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, author David Bornstein offers many stories of success from around the world where individuals have put their talents and ambitions to work in a very positive way. Basic Facts About This Book:
How to Change the World is a 358- page book with many chapters and it opens with a preface by the author on the importance of social change and an introduction to the organization known as Ashoka: A global association of some of the world's greatest social entrepreneurs. A map of the world scattered with dots follows this introduction. Each dot represents some of the important social entrepreneurial activities covered in the book along with the city and country; name of the entrepreneur; and the important charitable cause or social activist task that the entrepreneur and his/her team is fighting to achieve.
Next, the book offers some of the different success stories that social entrepreneurs around the world are ready to share. These successes span across the globe from India to Brazil to Hungary and beyond and they feature important causes like caring for AIDS patients, achieving rights for the disabled, and improving access to higher education for America's youth. Each of the social entrepreneurs featured in How to Change the World has a unique story to tell, complete with some personal background and some information on the life experiences that led them to take on the important yet very challenging role of a social entrepreneur. The book ends with some updates to selected stories and a list of online and print resources for the budding social activist.
Final Thoughts:
Improved rights for the disabled....Immunizations for the world's children....bringing electricity to rural communities- These and other important causes form the basis of this book, How to Change the World, a book written by journalist/author David Bornstein. This book presents a collection of success stories from around the world, showing how a person with a vision can achieve great things with the right level of determination and an unrelenting dedication to hard work.
Social entrepreneurs are a relatively new breed in their field but their numbers are growing larger and their influence growing stronger each year. It used to be that an entrepreneur was someone associated with starting up a new business and, not surprisingly, many of the social entrepreneurs featured in How to Change the World were either successful business people at one point or were considering a career that including the owning/operating of their own business enterprise. But instead of going for the money, these social entrepreneurs chose a different path. They felt a life calling that was more directly associated with the improvement of individual lives. They knew that a career as a social entrepreneur would be very challenging and probably not as lucrative as a career in business. But these individuals followed their hearts and established some very noteworthy social change organizations, improving the lives of millions and leading to a better tomorrow for future generations.
This book includes more than twenty different stories of personal sacrifice and courage and most all of the stories are inspiring and memorable. The range of social activism is pretty wide in this book, even though improving health seems to be one of the primary concerns of a large percentage of these social entrepreneurs. Whether the cause is direct, like providing immunizations against polio, or indirect and ongoing, like educating cultures about the importance of sanitary conditions, each of the stories offered in this book is unique in its own way and its methods and successes vary from one entrepreneur and one location to the next. Some of the stories are very positive and have been very successful, almost from the start. Others have been more frustrating for the parties involved, like Javed Abidi and his crusade for the rights of the disabled in India. Abidi's cause has enjoyed its share of success, but there is still a long way to go before the disabled in India are treated like ordinary citizens with full rights.
Bill Drayton is the founder of Ashoka and he speaks at many points throughout the book. Drayton's Ashoka organization is responsible for the continued financial and moral support of many of the social entrepreneurs presented in this book and if I'm not mistaken, all of the success stories presented in How to Change the World include individuals who are members of Ashoka. This association of social entrepreneurs has strict guidelines and only the most dedicated individuals to their respective causes are selected to become Ashoka fellows. At present, Ashoka has grown to more than 2,000 fellows in more than sixty nations around the world and it continues to grow in influence as the profession of social entrepreneurialism continues to grow and thrive.
If there is any small criticism to make with How to Change the World, it would be the fact that it doesn't directly explain, well, how to change the world. When I first heard of this book, I assumed it was going to be a book about social activism and the necessary steps needed to get licensed, jump the regulation hurdles, etc. to become a social entrepreneur. Instead, this is a book about success stories. There is no direct explanation on what to do if one decides to become a social entrepreneur. The actions of the leaders in each story are meant to serve as inspiration and as an example of what steps to take. Also, it would be nice if the book included more statistical facts to illustrate the success stories. I fully believe what the book says, but having more numeric illustrations, graphs, tables, etc., would enhance this book.
Overall, How to Change the World is a very good book about the difference that a few hard- working and determined individuals can make when they decide to take up an important cause and press forward with their dreams. The stories the book presents are inspiring in their own unique ways and they illustrate the difficulties, challenges, frustrations, and triumphs that one can experience when they decide to take on the role of a social entrepreneur. Theirs is a growing field that has already impacted millions of people in a positive way and promises to improve even more lives as new generations of young social entrepreneurs continue to take up these important world causes.
Now published in more than twenty countries, David Bornstein's How to Change the World has become the bible for social entrepreneurship-in which men a...More at Barnes & Noble.com
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