The Shock Doctrine
by Naomi Klein
★ Top 25 book of 2007 · #19 on Best Books of 2007
Naomi Klein argues that free market policies championed by Milton Friedman spread by exploiting national crises, when people are too shaken to respond. She also suggests some man-made events, such as the Iraq War, were meant to enable this.
Best for: Readers curious about politics and economics who enjoy provocative, debated arguments
The Shock Doctrine is #19 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Shock Doctrine is about
Naomi Klein makes a bold claim in this 2007 study: that the free-market ideas associated with Milton Friedman and the Chicago school have often advanced by riding on catastrophe. Her argument is that when a war or natural disaster leaves people shaken and distracted, those in power can push through measures such as privatization and deregulation that voters would normally resist.
She builds the case across seven parts, moving from secret psychiatric experiments linked to the CIA, through Chile under Pinochet and several economies in transition, to the occupation of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. The tone is investigative and pointed. It suits readers curious about how economic policy, power and crisis intersect, and who want an argument to test rather than a neutral survey.
The Shock Doctrine on the Best Books of 2007
The Shock Doctrine came out in 2007. Of the 53 books first published in 2007 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #19 on our Best Books of 2007 list.
Why it made the list: 242 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (24 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2007 list
- Schooled Gordon Korman, #17
- Burned Ellen Hopkins, #18
- Double Take Catherine Coulter, #20
- Tweak Nic Sheff, #21
See all Best Books of 2007 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2006 Best Books of 2008.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 199 want to read it, 12 are reading it now and 31 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 from 24 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 43 | 55% |
| Reader love | 81 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 58 | 20% |
Questions about The Shock Doctrine
When was The Shock Doctrine published?
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein was first published in 2007.
Was The Shock Doctrine one of the best books of 2007?
The Shock Doctrine is #19 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar. 242 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (24 ratings).
Why is The Shock Doctrine on the Best Books of 2007 list?
242 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (24 ratings).
More of the best books of 2007
- Dog Days Jeff Kinney, #1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling, #2
- The Titan's Curse Rick Riordan, #3
- A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini, #4
- Rodrick Rules Jeff Kinney, #5
- The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss, #6
See the full Best Books of 2007, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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