The SQUEEZE: Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty is the author’s autobiography. Yunus received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for developing the idea of micro-credit for the purpose of helping the poor break the cycle of poverty through entrepreneurship. The narrative begins with Yunus loaning $27 to forty-two people in a tiny village. The loan helped them to purchase raw materials and break the cycle of poverty. The micro-credit, in turn, produced micro-entrepreneurs. The solution Yunus provided to end poverty inspired him to found Grameen Bank, an institution dedicated to helping the poorest of Bangladesh. Yunus’s fundamental principle is lend money to people on financial and legal terms that are suitable and appropriate for their current economic condition. This inspiring story reveals much about Yunus and his need to transform the lives of the poor.

Notable Endorsement: “The Grameen Bank idea has helped millions worldwide to better their lives: Take good people with little wealth but lots of energy and vision, add in good faith, sound rules about lending money, and some good principles to live by, and you have a recipe for prosperity.” –Parade Magazine

Common Q’s Answered by this Book:

• What is micro-lending?
• What is a micro-entrepreneur?
• What is the Grameen Bank?
• Who is Muhammad Yunus?
• How does credit transform the lives of the poorest citizens of Bangladesh?

About the Author: A Bengali economist and a banker, Muhammad Yunus invented the idea of micro-credit. A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, Yunus founded a bank that would serve the entrepreneurial needs of the Bangladesh poor. Yunus received an education at Dhaka University and a Fulbright Scholarship for studies in economics at Vanderbilt University. Yunus was the head of the economics department at Chittagong University in 1972. Today, Yunus is the managing director of Grameen Bank. For more information, visit: http://bankertothepoor.com/?p=2.

Book Vitals:

• Publisher: PublicAffairs (October 2003)

Accolades:

The New York Times Bestseller