From Silk To Silcon - Jeffrey E. Garten

 "A tale of globalization and leadership that is both sweeping and personal. It’s a guide to the future as well as to the past.” --Walter Isaacson

So said the back cover of the book. 

From Good reads: So well explained there; did not think I could rewrite better:

This book was 45th of 2020. Waiting for sometime to be read. Guess I had to do few research before I read this to get a clear understanding so the delay, and the earlier reads of this year was a foundation for this. 

"The story of globalization, the most powerful force in history, as told through the life and times of ten people who changed the world by their singular, spectacular accomplishments.

This is the first book to look at the history of globalization through the lens of individuals who did something transformative, as opposed to describing globalization through trends, policies, or particular industries. From Silk to Silicon tells the story of who these men and women were, what they did, how they did it and how their achievements continue to shape our world today. They include:

• Genghis Khan, who united east and west by conquest and by opening new trade routes built on groundbreaking transportation, communications, and management innovations.

• Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who arose from an oppressive Jewish ghetto to establish the most powerful bank the world has seen, and ushered in an era of global finance.

• Cyrus Field, who became the father of global communications by leading the effort to build the transatlantic telegraph, the forerunner to global radio, TV, and the worldwide Internet.

• Margaret Thatcher, whose controversial policies opened the gusher of substantially free markets that linked economies across borders.

• Andy Grove, a Hungarian refugee from the Nazis who built the company—Intel—that figured out how to manufacture complex computer chips on a mass, commercial scale and laid the foundation for Silicon Valley’s computer revolution.

Through these stories Jeffrey E. Garten finds the common links between these figure and probes critical questions including: How much influence can any one person have in fundamentally changing the world? And how have past trends in globalization affected the present and how will they shape the future? From Silk to Silicon is an essential book to understanding the past—and the future—of the most powerful force of our times."

The others featuring in this book are:

Prince Henry: The explorer who made a science of discovery.

Robert Clive: The Rogue who captured India for The British Empire

John D. Rockefeller: The Titan who built The Energy Industry and also launched Global Philantrhropy

Jean Monnet: The Diplomat Who reinvented Europe

Deng Xiaoping: The Pragmatist who relaunched China

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The past Empires with long history are:

Macedonian Empire, 323 BC,

Roman Empire - 125 CE

Mongol Empire, 1297

Spanish Empire, 1790

British Empire, 1920

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The best could be yet to come, as the current hedgehogs have much more powerful tools to shape globalization. We have had people like Gates and Job's, in recent years and more yet to come.