Places: Identity, Image and Reputation

As I write this, Simon has just been awarded the 2009 Nobels Colloquia Prize for Economics by a committee of ten past Nobel laureates in economics.I've known Simon Anholt for years and have been reading him since before I knew him. I've witnessed attentively, and sometimes at close range, the evolution and refinement (and, simultaneously, the expansion) of his thinking.On the matter of the reputation and image of countries and what's to be done about them, this man is the undisputed heavyweight champion, with an eloquence that does justice to his cultivated and idiosyncratic intellect and his deeply humane vision. And this is his richest and sharpest monograph to date, in my opinion.If you're involved with the marketing or promotion - or governing - of a place of any size, you will profoundly value having Simon's thoughts percolating in the back of your mind as you go about your work. And the more people who have those thoughts, the better the world will be.(Yes, I'm a fan, and I think if you read this, you will be too - if you're not already.)