"Aren't all Bangladeshis poor?" you ask. No. There is wealth. But there are also tens of millions of families so impoverished that one cannot begin to understand the depth and breadth of their deprivation without actually visiting this tropical nation or coming to know some of these people through a book such as this.
Bornstein writes in a painterly way. His stories, both sad and glad, weave a mesmerizing pattern of the richness of Bangladeshi life amid trying circumstances. How people cope, how they react to successes and disasters, how they work to pull themselves up economically and socially: every thread is pulled through the loom in due course to render a true and clear representation of lives on the ragged edge. Thanks to loans from Grameen, millions of families have been able to hem that edge, one stitch at a time, to finish off their piece of cloth.
For his part, Yunus, speaking as the economics professor he once was, declares, "Credit is a powerful weapon, and anyone possessing this weapon is certainly better equipped to maneuver the forces around him to his advantage." (p. 228)
Micro-credit empowers the unempowered. No one describes that process better than David Bornstein. The Price of a Dream will open your eyes to the possibility of minimizing the indignity of poverty in our lifetime, if not eliminate it altogether. Every beautiful tapestry starts with a single thread. Even if that first thread is mere hope, it's a worthy place to begin.
David Bornstein has written the book beautifully.
Dr Yunus is a legend.... Respect to you sir
omar_rahim@hotmail.comA must read for microcredit enthusiasts I've been reading a lot of books on microcredit/microfinance and this is very thorough; I would reccommend it for anyone interested in the industry and to those trying to duplicate Grameen's efforts in other areas. It gives you an indepth look at the Grameen Bank(it's successes, failures). It also gives you an opportunity to look at the bank from the perspective of the borrowers and the staff. All the stories aren't rosy and glamorous which makes this book a lot more balanced than what I've read in the past. The author gives you the room to create your own views on Grameen and microcredit(as a sustainable means to fight poverty). This was a great read!!