The Silent Takeover (2001) In
The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy Hertz warned that unregulated markets, corporate greed, and over-powerful
financial institutions would have serious global consequences that would impact most heavily on the ordinary citizen. Hertz received a record six-figure advance from
Random House for the book which, in pre-publicity, she promised would "make economics sexy." Although the book became a
bestseller, it was not well-received when first published.
Francis Beckett, for
The Independent, later observed that the book "was lavishly praised and savagely attacked in equal measure" but had nevertheless "launched her as a new sort of thinker - the first prominent British radical left winger to come out of the business schools."
Tariq Ali, for
The Independent, called the book "well-intentioned" but "a much milder version [of] three more vigorous North American texts that have already achieved cult status", referring to
Naomi Klein's
No Logo,
Thomas Frank's
One Market Under God and
Kalle Lasn's
Culture Jam. Ali categorised Hertz's book as
neoliberal and dismissed the Hertz's positions as
third Way anti-capitalism. Ali concluded: "What Hertz really wants is a government that can unite business interests with those of ordinary people - like expecting homoeopathic drops to cure a cancer."
Jennifer Szalai, for the
New Statesman, wrote that the book was "at best, an anaemic objection to global capitalism" and pointed out: "For anybody who has read anything about corporations beyond their annual reports... the examples in this book are nothing new." Szalai described Hertz's "line of argument" as "a listless string of tired phrases, exposing her apparent ambivalence on the subject".
Will Self described the book as "superficially readable" but was critical of Hertz's ideology, calling it "an aggressive questioning of the pernicious status quo, but with only a febrile grasp on any potential solution - what used to be expected of a precocious adolescent, rather than a Cambridge assistant professor entering her mid-thirties."
IOU: The Debt Threat (2004) The 2004 book
IOU: The Debt Threat and Why We Must Defuse It comprised a study of
debt in
developing countries and provided Hertz's blueprint for
economic development.
Paul Kingsnorth, reviewing for the
New Statesman, wrote: "Noreena is the
Joanne Harris of political writing - and
IOU, like its author, is all style and no substance." Kingsnorth said that her explanation of the debt issue was: "All fine, but also largely redundant, because this stuff has been circulating for years, and Hertz adds nothing new to the mix." He also found sections of the book "misleading" and noted that "her old employer the
World Bank emerges with a curiously positive report card from a book about a problem it created almost single-handedly. The bank's former chief economist
Larry Summers is represented as a passionate champion of the poor. Perhaps Hertz is not aware of the infamous internal memo that was leaked from the bank, in which this angelic man wrote: ''I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that... I've always thought that underpopulated countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted...''" He dismissed the book as simply "going through the motions" and "remarkably bad writing." Richard Adams, for
The Guardian, wrote: "There is nothing here that will surprise readers of
Susan George's 1988 book
A Fate Worse than Debt, which remains the most forceful call for undoing the burden of the developing world." Hertz's proposed solutions were, he wrote, not well defined. "Some of her suggestions are patronising - setting up panels of international "overseers" for aid funding is a bit rich given her diatribes against external IMF and World Bank meddling - while one is downright dangerous: that wealthy nations hypothecate the taxes paid by immigrant workers for use as overseas aid (so removing their last shield against the xenophobe or racist, that they too pay taxes for the NHS)." Adams also found the book "littered with errors... that smack of economic illiteracy and careless research." Of her style, he observed: "Readers may also be unimpressed with Hertz's informal prose style and strangled syntax... The first chapter, especially, reads like a rejected screenplay for an unhappy episode of
The West Wing." Adams concluded his review by writing: "While no one can doubt Hertz's good intentions, the road to hell is paved with books like
IOU. Developing-world debt is a serious issue, and it deserves more judicious treatment than this."
Diane Coyle, writing for
The Independent, called
IOU "another pamphlet disguised as a book" and opined that "It pretends to weigh up the details and evidence, but its tone implies that anyone who disagrees is stupid or bad... HIV/Aids, the loss of Amazon rainforests and terrorism [are not] caused by these debts, which is the facile claim Hertz makes." Hannah Betts, for
The Times, labelled the book "more than liberal breast-beating - it endeavours to be a psychology of debt... Without ever falling into the pat illiberalisms that the West brought
9/11 and its aftermath on itself, Hertz discusses the ways in which terrorism, disease and ecological meltdown may be the consequences of Third World stagnation."
Eyes Wide Open: How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World (2013) In the 2013 book
Eyes Wide Open: How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World Hertz takes issue with the rise of unchecked
data, and suggests simple solutions to allow her readers to take control of their lives." The book has received praise from prominent social psychologists and best-selling authors, including
Robert Cialdini, author of
Influence. He writes; "With 10 sensible steps to take, Noreena Hertz charts a sound decision-making route for us through a world in hyper-drive. I'd recommend a prudent first step-get this book".
John Crace, reviewing for
The Guardian, wrote: "Every week, another 150 self-help books are published. How do you know this one is any different from the others? It isn't." He summarised the book as "Eyes fast closing."
Daisy Goodwin, for the
Sunday Times, concluded that although the books reads like an airport book, "it is actually a practical guide to critical thinking in the digital age that is as useful for students as it is for CEOs." Despite finding the book "slightly exhausting", she concluded it was "an admirable guide to predicting the factors that affect our decision-making."
Julian Baggini, for the
Financial Times, observing: "[T]he more confidently a book claims to help you make better choices, the less it is likely to do so. Noreena Hertz's
Eyes Wide Open is a case in point. Reading it, I did, indeed, often find myself wide-eyed, startled by its bold, simplistic claims. There is a need for a synthesis of the many insights gathered by recent research into cognitive biases and the other often hidden processes that shape our decisions." Baggini claims that
Daniel Kahneman has published much better advice in 2011 with
Thinking, Fast and Slow.
Generation K (2015) In 2015 Hertz began researching what she has called Generation K – 13- to 20-year-olds. K is for
Katniss Everdeen, the feisty heroine of the global franchise
The Hunger Games. She presented her initial thinking on Generation K in 2015 at the
World Economic Forum and at the
Women in the World Summit in New York City. Here she unveiled results from her 2015 study of 2000 American and British Teenagers. Its key findings include that this generation is more anxious than previous ones, more intent on being unique, and more concerned about inequality. She posits that they have been profoundly shaped not only by technology but also by the recession and an increasing sense of existential threat. She writes: "unlike those currently aged between 20 and 30, the "Yes we can" generation, who grew up believing the world was their oyster, for Generation K the world is less oyster, more
Hobbesian nightmare." Hertz defines this generation as having been profoundly shaped by three global forces: the rapid development of technology – this is the first smartphone generation, the worst recession the West faced in decades, and the increased existential threat from evolving terrorist groups. According to her, distinct traits of Generation K include anxiety, loneliness, a desire for connection, a desire to co-create, a commitment to societal equality, anti-traditional institutions, commitment to the environment and fear about their own financial futures. Hertz's research into Generation K has been discussed in publications including
The Guardian,
El Pais, the
Washington Post, the
Daily Telegraph,
Campaign, and
Newsweek.
''The Lonely Century: Coming Together in a World that's Pulling Apart (2020)'' Hertz's most recent book, ''The Lonely Century: Coming Together in a World that's Pulling Apart,'' was published in the UK by
Sceptre in September 2020. The author argues that
loneliness is becoming the defining condition of the twenty-first century and is contributing to the rise of political
populism. == Campaigns ==