As the sweeping title suggests, this is an ambitious project. It's a series of essays from leading economists, bankers, business leaders and politicians on the current state of the world economy, the events that led to the financial crash and recession, and the way these events will shape the future. Put together by Oliver Chittenden from the London Speaker Bureau, this makes for fascinating "dip-in" reading.

The range of contributions works well. There is the occasional clash of styles as you move from one short essay to another, which when read in quick succession can jar. But it is the quality of contributors, including everyone from Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable to UK economist and ex-Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower and Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill, via the Work Foundation's Will Hutton, journalist Hamish McCrae, and Grameen Bank's Muhammad Yunus, that ensures plenty of fresh insights.

The section on the immediate past includes a few worthwhile nuggets, but later essays looking at what the future holds are especially engaging, if often contradictory.