Masters of illusion : the World Bank and the poverty of nations / Catherine Caufield.

"A Marian Wood book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [395]-403) and index.

Prologue: Not a Normal Bank -- 1. The Holiest River -- 2. Going Wild on Borrowing -- 3. A Better World -- 4. A New Brand of Magician -- 5. Talismans of Change -- 6. For God's Sake, Listen -- 7. McNamara's Ghosts -- 8. All Hold Hands and Jump -- 9. Billion-Dollar Pipelines -- 10. When People Find Out -- 11. Whispers at the Water Cooler -- 12. The New Maharajahs -- 13. Supremely Self-Confident -- 14. Enclaves of Experts -- 15. Cheap Theatrics -- 16. Sibling Rivalry -- 17. A Relationship Bank -- Epilogue: Fifty Glorious Years.

This is the story of good intentions gone wrong. It begins in 1945 with a pledge to end poverty through a newly created international banking institution. Staffed by the most talented economists from the best universities, the World Bank embarked on this task with the self-assurance only technicians isolated from reality can possess. Fifty years later, the gap between the rich and the underdeveloped nations is wider than ever, thanks in no small part to the measures taken by the World Bank.

Its policies have destroyed indigenous economies and cultures, seriously damaged the environment and depleted scarce resources, propped up corrupt regimes, and pauperized the Third World.