The alms bazaar - Ian Smillie

Written by an insider, this study of international development agencies ranges from Biafra to Rwanda, from administrative costs to participatory development, from the bright hopes of the 1960s to the implications of the latest Mexican financial crisis. The phenomenon of the transnational mega-charity is examined as are the threats to the independence of voluntary organizations from governments, UN agencies and from charities themselves. This is also a story about lessons of heroism and folly, of bungling and luck and failure - and of achievements that have improved the lives of millions.