Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World is a 2018 non-fiction book by Anand Giridharadas. It is his third book and was published by Alfred A. Knopf on August 28, 2018. The book appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
First edition cover
AuthorAnand Giridharadas
Audio read byAnand Giridharadas[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subjects
PublisherAlfred A. Knopf
Publication date
August 28, 2018
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook
Pages304
ISBN978-0-451-49324-8 (hardcover)
OCLC1065140123
303.40973
LC ClassHM831 .G477 2018

Thesis

In the book, Giridharadas argues that members of the global elite, though sometimes engaged in philanthropy, use their wealth and influence to preserve systems that concentrate wealth at the top at the expense of societal progress.

Publication and promotion

Winners Take All was first published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf on August 28, 2018.[2] The book was also published in paperback on October 1, 2019 by Vintage Books.[3]

The book debuted at number eight on The New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction best sellers list and at number six on its Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction best sellers list for the September 16, 2018 issue of The New York Times Book Review.[4][5] The paperback edition of the book debuted at number eight on the Paperback Nonfiction best sellers list in the October 20, 2019 issue of The New York Times Book Review.[6]

Giridharadas appeared on The Daily Show on October 1, 2019 to promote Winners Take All.[7] He also appeared on Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on December 1, 2019 speaking about the thesis of his book.[8]

Reception

Writing for The New York Times, economist Joseph Stiglitz praised the book, writing that Giridharadas "writes on two levels — seemingly tactful and subtle — but ultimately he presents a devastating portrait of a whole class, one easier to satirize than to reform."[9]

Publishers Weekly gave the book a positive review, writing, "This damning portrait of contemporary American philanthropy is a must-read for anyone interested in 'changing the world.'"[10]

Kirkus Reviews called it a "provocative critique of the kind of modern, feel-good giving that addresses symptoms and not causes."[11]

James Pekoll of Booklist called it an "excellent book for troubled times."[12]

Bethany McLean of The Washington Post gave the book a mixed review, criticizing Giridharadas for not engaging "in any specific analysis" and writing that "the book would have been more powerful if Giridharadas had stayed within his definition of an old-school public intellectual: someone who is willing to throw bombs at the current state of affairs, but lacks the arrogance and self-righteousness that comes with believing you have the solution."[13]

Andrew Anthony of The Guardian gave the book a mixed review, writing, "So much of what Giridharadas writes is almost self-evidently true and urgently in need of addressing, yet his argument is slightly undermined by repetition and a reluctance to acknowledge that big business and technical innovation are sometimes forces for universal good, even if profits are made."[14]

It was listed in The Economist's "Our books of the year", described as a "timely polemic against philanthrocapitalism, which argues that supposedly do-gooding companies merely offer sticking-plaster solutions to social problems that they have helped create."[15]

References
  1. "Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas". Penguin Random House Audio. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  2. Giridharadas, Anand (July 25, 2018). Winners Take All: the Elite Charade of Changing the World. Knopf Doubleday. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-451-49324-8. OCLC 1065140123. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  3. Russo, Maria (October 11, 2019). "New in Paperback: 'These Truths' and 'There Will Be No Miracles Here'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  4. "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times. September 16, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  5. "Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. September 16, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  6. "Paperback Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times. October 20, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  7. Stockly, Ed (September 30, 2019). "What's on TV Tuesday: 'Frontline: The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia' on PBS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  8. Minhaj, Hasan (December 1, 2019). "Why Billionaires Won't Save Us". Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Season 5. Episode 4. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  9. Stiglitz, Joseph E. (August 20, 2018). "Meet the 'Change Agents' Who Are Enabling Inequality". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  10. "Nonfiction Book Review: Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas". Publishers Weekly. July 2, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  11. "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas". Kirkus Reviews. May 15, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  12. Pekoll, James (July 13, 2018). Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, by Anand Giridharadas. Booklist Online. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  13. McLean, Bethany (September 28, 2018). "Beware thought leaders and the wealthy purveying answers to our social ills". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  14. Anthony, Andrew (March 26, 2019). "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World – review". The Guardian. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  15. "Our books of the year". The Economist.
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