Rediscovering Muhammad Yunus

In 2006, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus made history by bringing the Nobel Peace Prize home to the micro-finance institution he had pioneered, the Grameen Bank, based on the idea that micro-credit model was such a meaningful tool for poverty alleviation that it could contribute to true and lasting peace., This win would swiftly become mired in controversy. Yunus would go on to try and fail to enter electoral politics. He resigned from the position of the managing director of the bank amid controversy about the legality of holding that position for a decade beyond official retirement age and about the mode of creation and management of dozens of grameen affiliated enterprises.
In a tight, thorough investigation, Rediscovering Muhammad Yunus takes a look at its eponymous figure and institution, detailing how Yunus came to found the Grameen Bank, win the Nobel Prize, and eventually find himself plagued by controversy. Author Mohammad Jabbar details the contending version of events, thoughtfully drawing out the fallacies of Yunus’s positions to reveal a much more complex, opaque story of what led to his departure from the bank—and the questions that have dogged him and his brainchild since.
Whether or not they are familiar with Yunus’s story, this book is sure to interest those looking to enrich their understanding of development and economics—particularly as they relate to micro-finance and Bangladesh. It will make an excellent addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in the shady underside of philanthropy, capitalist solutions to poverty, and the “development” of the so-called developing world.