Trillions of dollars in assets and fundamental political power are changing hands as free markets wrest control from government of the "commanding heights" -- the dominant businesses and industries of the world economy. Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw demonstrate that words like "privatization" and "deregulation" are inadequate to describe the enormous upheaval that is unfolding before our eyes. Along with the creation of vast new wealth, the map of the global economy is being redrawn. Indeed, the very structure of society is changing. New markets and new opportunities have brought great new risks as well. How has all this come about? Who are the major figures behind it? How does it affect our lives?

The collapse of the Soviet Union, the awesome rise of China, the awakening of India, economic revival in Latin America, the march toward the European Union -- all are a part of this political and economic revolution. Fiscal realities and financial markets are relentlessly propelling deregulation; achieving a new balance between government and marketplace will be the major political challenge in the coming years. Looking back, the authors describe how the old balance was overturned, and by whom. Looking forward, they explore these questions: Will the new balance prevail? Or does the free market contain the seeds of its own destruction? And finally, The Commanding Heights illuminates the five tests by which the success or failure of all these changes can be measured, and defines the key issues as we enter the twenty-first century.

The Commanding Heights captures this revolution in ideas in riveting accounts of the history and the politics of the postwar years and compelling tales of the astute politicians, brilliant thinkers, and tenacious businessmen who brought these changes about. Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Deng Xiaoping, and Bill Clinton share the stage with the "Minister of Thought" Keith Joseph, the broommaker's son Domingo Cavallo, and Friedrich von Hayek, the Austrian economist who was determined to win the twenty-year "battle of ideas." It is a complex and wide-ranging story, and the authors tell it brilliantly, with a deep understanding of human character, making critically important ideas lucid and accessible. Written with unique access to many of the key players, The Commanding Heights, like no other book, brings us an understanding of the last half of the twentieth century -- and sheds a powerful light on what lies ahead in the twenty-first century.

About the Authors
A writer of international renown, Daniel Yergin is the author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, the global bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Eccles Prize that was made into an eight-part PBS series. He is also the author of Shattered Peace, the classic account of the Cold War, and coauthor of the bestseller Energy Future and Russia 2010. Yergin is the president of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the foremost analytic firm in the energy industries, and vice-chairman of Global Decisions Group, which provides economic analysis on major global markets. He received a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Washington, D.C.

A leading adviser on international markets and politics, Joseph Stanislaw is managing director of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, head of global research, and director of its European office in Paris. Dr. Stanislaw advises companies and countries on strategies in the newly evolving international marketplace. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Edinburgh University. He was formerly senior economist at the OECD International Energy Agency in Paris and serves on the board of the Global Decisions Group and of the American University in Paris. He lives in Paris.

Comments
"The crowning achievement of The Commanding Heights is that it illuminates today's profound changes through the great sweep of history." -- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former President of France

"The Commanding Heights persuasively and powerfully identifies today's and tomorrow's critical challenges for government policy and corporate action. Whether enthralled by the prospects of ever-expanding free markets or anxious about the social fallout of market excesses, readers will benefit from the book's compelling economic histories of key world regions showing how they are coping with change on the cusp of a new century." -- Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School; author of World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy

"There has been a revolution in economic thought every bit as profound in its implications as any other scientific revolution. The Commanding Heights tells the story of changes that have been world-transforming. It's a compelling guide to the 21st century economy." -- Lawrence Summers

"The Commanding Heights captures the modern world's most crucial changes in a dramatic and vivid way. This book will be invaluable for readers in every part of the world -- decision makers and general readers alike -- for its ideas will be instrumental in helping the global community prepare for the twenty-first century." -- Yegor Gaidar, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of Finance, Russia

"An absorbing, well-written narrative of the victory of market forces over communism and socialism. The authors effectively and dramatically show how ideas and events combined to produce the most important economic revolution of the second half of this century." -- Gary Becker, winner of the Nobel Prize for economics, 1992

"With great clarity and intelligence, the authors have written one of the central stories of our time. We have a torrent of information -- discordant, cacophonous, dissonant -- from TV, PCs, and print. The great accomplishment of The Commanding Heights is to make sense of this confusing scene." -- Adam Smith, author of Paper Money

"The Commanding Heights conveys the new reality of the world economy with a sure grasp and a unique vision. It is stimulating, topical, and very well written. The depth of the analysis and the geographic breadth are overwhelming. It is a resounding achievement -- and essential reading for anyone engaged in international business." -- John Browne, Chief Executive, BP (British Petroleum)

"A stunning and eminently readable account of how the market has captured the commanding heights of economic thinking. Transforming economic analysis into a compelling narrative, the authors give us a comprehensive picture of an unfolding and dramatic story. It is as engrossing as it is instructive." -- George P. Schultz, former U.S. Secretary of State and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury