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Jan 31, 2009

Judy rated it:

Ms. Novogratz is a big dreamer and a bigger doer. This book--which reads alternately like a novel, a memoir, a diary, or a lecture--chronicles her development from a 20-something idealist to a 40-something optimist, well-grounded and well-schooled in the ways of a complex world.

The author jump-started a bakery in Kigali where her friends and colleagues, in years to come, were both victims and perpretrators of the Rwandan genocide, was assaulted on the shores of Tanzania, climbed a More...

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Mar 15, 2009

Cathy rated it:

Loved this! Though she is a friend/colleague I have known for over 10 years, I had not fully understood Jacqueline's early experiences in Africa working to empower women and their impact on her current work at Acumen Fund. Not only is the first half an incredible personal narrative about a 20-something trying to do good in the world, and how she learns from her mistakes, but I think this might follow 3 cups of tea as the next social entrepreneurship best seller! Kudos to Jacqueline. Acumen rocks More...

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Mar 04, 2011

NG rated it:

Jacqueline Novogratz's memoir is so thoughtful, interesting, and perspective-altering, that I find myself recommending it to everyone I talk to. If you have ever wanted to help people, change the world in ways big or small, or make a difference, read this clear sighted, wonderful book with an abundant heart. Jacqueline Novogratz writes clearly and engagingly about her experiences helping the poor throughout the world, helping business change lives (from a small bakery in Rwanda to a company that More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Michelle rated it:

2.5 out of 5 stars.

This book reminded me a lot of Unbowed by Wangari Maathai--non-fiction, set in Africa, strong woman changing the world, but writing...not so great. Which is a real shame about the not so-great writing because the subject matter is important. Jacqueline Novogratz is inspiring, Acumen Fund sounds amazing, Novogratz's journey of discovery about herself, the world, and how to change it is interesting. But oooh, girlfriend needed to focus. She needed an editor to help he More...

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Jul 08, 2011

Book Concierge rated it:

Novogratz had a solid middle-class upbringing but dreamed of doing more with her life. This book is about her journey to implement the principles she held dear. As she was about to graduate from the University of Virginia she felt at loose ends, not sure what or where she wanted to work, feeling she really wanted to take a year off to “tend bar and ski and figure out how I would change the world.” But to appease her mother she went on the round of interviews scheduled by the school for graduatin More...

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Apr 23, 2011

Anne rated it:

I really was drawn into this book, and how she told the story of her life. I particularly noted her reflections on the decision points / turning points.

"The next morning, on a long run, I thought about what made Duterimbere successful and what I wanted to do next in my life. I decided to apply to business school. When we ran Duterimbere like a business, though we raised charitable money, we succeeded. When we acted more like a typical nonprofit, neither holding ourselves to our m More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Josephine rated it:

Jacqueline Novogratz’s “The Blue Sweater”, which got me thinking about how I was going to move forward in terms of how I donated and who I donated to.

One of my favourite sayings — which I often said of a particularly bad manager I once had — is that, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.”

I think that giving someone the tools to build a better life for themselves is probably a better bet than simply giving them money. More...

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Aug 20, 2010

Catherine rated it:

I carried this book around for a while, I thought it would be interesting and I should read it but I also thought it was likely to be a touch strong on 'being worthy!' and therefore hard going.... So as I am often looking for some escapism I kept putting off actually starting it. How wrong I was, once started it took me three days to read and blew me away!

This is a beautifully constructed book that takes you through the personal life journey of Jackueline Novogratz and her approach More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Kelly rated it:

The Blue Sweater is a first-person account of Jacqueline Novogratz' experiences, starting as an idealistic investment banker in Africa, and evolving to the founder of the Acumen Fund. She believes in "patient capital" -- investments that can take time to mature -- and in capturing the energy and information from markets to establish sustainable endeavors.

Novogratz has witnessed a lot.

The book's title comes from a great "coincidence" that highlighted h More...

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Jun 03, 2010

Elevate Difference rated it:

Would you give up a promising career in international banking to pursue a lifetime of attempting to understand and eradicate global property? Jacqueline Novogratz began her career as an international banker at Chase Manhattan Bank. As a member of the Credit Audit team for Chase Manhattan Bank, Novogratz was responsible for reviewing the quality of the bank’s loans in other countries, especially in troubled economies. As time went on, Novogratz began to explore the possibilities of working with t More...

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Jan 01, 2010

Andrew rated it:

Excellent, very recent book by Jacqueline Novogratz, the CEO of the Acumen Fund, a non-profit devoted to making investments in effective and sustainable local solutions for tackling poverty. The first three quarters of the book details Novogratz's life story coming out of college that contributed to her founding of the Acumen Fund and the last quarter details what the Acumen Fund has done since in 2001.

Certain other books written by development "experts" have a pompous, " More...

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Nov 30, 2009

Judith rated it:

It always seems to me that with all the brilliant minds, money, technology, and energy devoted to conquering poverty, we should be able to make at least make a dent in it. This book explains why traditional charities have so frequently fallen short of the mark despite our best intentions. The author is an absolutely brilliant woman who chose 20+ years ago to leave a high-paying career in banking in NYC specifically because she wanted to change the world. She lived in Africa, India and Pakist More...

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Nov 15, 2009

Cari rated it:

This book illustrates the problems with the charity and relief organisations of the 3rd (developing) world. The emphasis of this book is on the economic field, with especial stress put on the value of accountability and the value of a person doing something for themself, rather than having it done for them or given to them. The stories of people in this book cover from the mid 1980s through today, including the impact of the Rwandan genocide and the need for clean water, mosquito nets and acce More...

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Aug 27, 2009

Gwenyth rated it:

I had high expectations for this book: I read it alongside Muhammad Yunus'"Banker to the Poor", thinking that Yunus could be the representative of the beginnings of micro-credit, and Novogratz of the more recent direction of the movement.

However, this book, in the end, is more autobiographical than informational. Novogratz has undoubtedly lived a fascinating life, but in the end much of the book felt more like fluff than substance.

My sense is that she'd have bee More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2009

Pearl rated it:

This is a terrific book. It made me feel good to know that there are such people as Jacqueline Novogratz (JN) in the world. If you liked "Three Cups of Tea," you'll also like this book. In one respect, it's better - the author doesn't get lost in the middle of the book; the narrative continues in a straightforward manner.

JN's desire, from a very young age, was to make a difference in the world. When she began a successful career in the financial world, she still longed More...

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Jun 11, 2009

Heidi rated it:

So far I’m in love with this book. Not only because I worked closely with Jacqueline for a couple years at Acumen Fund which on its own was a wonderful journey and learning experience, but because this a truly inspirational story about a woman who had a vision and was determined to learn how to approach poverty problems in a different way. She believed strongly that treating the poor like ‘customers’ and not ‘charity cases’ would grow local economies and give pride to people in their lives, and More...

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Jan 02, 2012

Marzie rated it:

One of the best books to explain the difference between philanthropic giving and philanthropic self-gratification, the effectiveness of microloans versus handouts, that I've ever read. While Novogratz's tone is rather dry, the message, especially In the last quarter of this book, is so vital to understanding why pure charity often fails to make lasting change in the attempt to eradicate poverty. With no easy solutions but plenty of thought-provoking ideas, this is easily one of the best books I' More...

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Aug 19, 2011

Antof9 rated it:

This is basically two books (sort of like "Under the Banner of Heaven"), and the 3-star rating has to be a balance of the 4 stars I'd have given the first half with the 2 stars I'd have given the second. The first half is a riveting story that I literally did not want to put down. The second half is just information on either how-to or how-we-did set up a fund to fund microenterprise. And that, frankly, was not that interesting. Sure there were some things in the second half that More...

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Jun 05, 2010

Kerry rated it:

This book is the story of the author's quest to try to change the world (more or less). In her 20s, she gives up a promising banking job to go live in a Africa to try to help with poverty. She has a lot of difficulties but keeps her optimism and preserves. Her story is inspiring especially because she accomplishes some amazing tasks. The book read more like a text book than a novel. It felt like an instructional manual for someone who might try to go and live in another country to help with pov More...

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Apr 07, 2009

Mary Louise rated it:

Jacqueline Novogratz and Seth Godin gave review copies of this book to Triiibes members. What a blessing. When I am finished, I will pass it on to my favorite library at Bennington College in Vermont. Will you help me spread the word about this terrific book?

If you read one nonfiction book a year, make it this one. In an honest and fair narration of the current problems facing all charitable organizations that want to do good work, Novogratz will convince you that "patient capi More...

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Jun 10, 2011

jena rated it:

I was not familiar with the Acumen Fund or Jacqueline Novogratz, but in many ways she felt like a kindred spirit, or at least someone with whom I could relate. She takes you through the journey of being a young idealist who wants to change the world to her challenges and reality checks of how complicated it is to address poverty, especially as a young western woman. Her book reads like a memoir more than an academic book or advertisement for her organization. I would have loved to have read more More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Lindsay rated it:

Jacqueline Novogratz speaks with such clarity and simplicity about her journey to alleviate poverty. With her beginnings in corporate finance to beginning an MFI (Microfinance Institution) in Africa, she has revolutionized the world of microfinance and done exceptional things for developing countries.

I love her style of writing, and I admire how she has equal parts strength and compassion. She is savvy and witty, but also loving and progressive in her thinking. The world needs a few More...

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Oct 07, 2010

Madeline rated it:

Although it's pretty clear from her, um, utilitarian prose style, Jacqueline Novogratz is not exactly a writer, she does tell a good story. And, frankly, I don't know if this is the kind of book which you ought to read hoping for aesthetic pleasure - there are plenty of those books "about Africa" already, and a lot of them are gross - because Novogratz's focus, and the focus of her memoir is so clearly on social progress and rectifying injustice. As I mentioned, it really is quite a go More...

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Jun 03, 2009

Sandy rated it:

I read this book because I was instantly intrigued by the short story of the blue sweater that I read about inside the front cover. I had no idea the depths to which this book would go and the energy I would obtain from it! I learned so much from reading this that I now want to get an MBA after the Pharm D because I think I will really be able to make an impact with them both together. I really appreciated the way Jacqueline structured this book because she described in a good amount of detai More...

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Feb 19, 2011

Karencita rated it:

I recommended this book to my book club with a bit of trepidation...would it dive too deeply into the technical intricacies of micro-finance? are these types of "save the world" stories really only my cup of tea? The book came highly recommended to me by two trusted sources, so recommend it I did. And in the end, I was deeply moved upon reading this book and found it was well received within the club, too, phew! Above all, I think it was Jacqueline's personal story and the raw hone More...

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Mar 27, 2011

Marilyn rated it:

The book begins with a great story. The author tells of a favorite blue sweater which she finally donated to charity after several years of use. Later when she goes to Africa she sees a poor boy wearing the same sweater! I read this book after hearing a TED talk by the author. It vividly presents the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world, but I was disappointed that it seemed to be much more about what doesn't work in solving the problems than in what does---or even might---wo More...

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Feb 25, 2010

Emily rated it:

The prologue opens with:

"They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I took mine and fell flat on my face. As a young woman, I dreamed of changing the world. In my twenties, I went to africa to try and save the continent, only to learn that Africans neither wanted nor needed saving. Indeed, when I was there, I saw some of the worst that good intentions, traditional charity, and aid can produce...

I concluded that if I could only nudge the world a More...

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Apr 14, 2011

Sirpa rated it:

Not always the best writer, if I were judging for literary merit, but her stories are incredibly inspiring and eye-opening as they build a compelling case for how we can help alleviate poverty with innovative solutions. I'm interested in literacy of course, but often that is secondary to meeting basic physical needs. I like the fact that Jacqueline Novograd is a brilliant out-of-the-box thinker. She admits that she has failed at times, but has such commitment to making a difference and through A More...

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Dec 28, 2009

Akshay rated it:

I had the good fortune to attend in person a lecture at my workplace by the amazing Jacqueline Novogratz. She is the kind you want to keep listening to as her message is so full of hope and she has walked the talk. The overarching theme I take away from it is that the financially poor are no different from us in that they value dignity and choices over and above charity or "help". Furthermore, there is no one silver bullet way of healing the world - traditional charity, aid, self help More...

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Nov 07, 2009

Beth rated it:

I think I really want to give this book 3.5 stars. I started it on a plane ride and when I got back from the trip, with it not yet finished, I set it down on the coffee table only to completely forget about it for a week or more. So obviously it didn't completely enthrall me. On the other hand, once I started reading it again, I did find the information very thought-provoking.
This book is about philanthropy, but not the kind that only makes the giver feel good. It talks about how to use More...

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