The Passion Economy

The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century

By: Adam Davidson

Narrated by: Adam Davidson

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

The brilliant creator of NPR's Planet Money podcast and award-winning New Yorker staff writer explains our current economy: laying out its internal logic and revealing the transformative hope it offers for millions of people to thrive as they never have before. 

Contrary to what you may have heard, the middle class is not dying and robots are not stealing our jobs. In fact, writes Adam Davidson - one of our leading public voices on economic issues - the 21st-century economic paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfilment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers. Drawing on the stories of average people doing exactly this - an accountant overturning his industry, a sweatshop owner's daughter fighting for better working conditions, an Amish craftsman meeting the technological needs of Amish farmers - as well as the latest academic research, Davidson shows us how the 20th-century economy of scale has given way in this century to an economy of passion. He makes clear, too, that though the adjustment has brought measures of dislocation, confusion and even panic, these are most often the result of a lack of understanding. 

In The Passion Economy, he delineates the ground rules of the new economy, and, armed with these, we begin to see how we can succeed in it according to its own terms - intimacy, insight, attention, automation and, of course, passion. An indispensable road map and a refreshingly optimistic take on our economic future.

©2020 Adam Davidson (P)2020 Penguin Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"The Passion Economy is exactly what everyone needs today: examples of how to thrive in an economy that can seem overwhelming, and crystal-clear explanations of how to succeed. This is the book about how to live (and work) a more passionate life." (Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit)

"Adam Davidson is one of America's most accomplished business journalists - and this book reminds us why. With a reporter's eye and a storyteller's grace, he has traveled the country to find regular people who have cracked the code of the modern economy. Reading their stories will reveal the secrets of successful careers." (Daniel H. Pink, author of When)

"Move over Malcolm Gladwell. In The Passion Economy Adam Davidson upends the conventional thinking about how to succeed in our topsy-turvy, seemingly unforgiving post-industrial economy by sharing the stories of regular people who followed their dreams." (William D. Cohan, author of House of Cards)

Life changing!!!

This book is sooooo good. Great storytelling, easy to follow theory and awesome underlying message. Thank you Adam!!!

passion economy

This audiobook is well worth listening if you have a passion and you want to convert that into your livelihood. Even if you are an employee seemingly stuck in your job. I bought it to understand our economy and learn more on economics

enjoyable stories

enjoyable stories but felt too anecdotal to be applicable for most people. for every story of success there feels like a lot of capitalised luck.

Commodity vs customized services

Loved it, even though at first it was like any other case studies. Later on in the book I got deep insights, information helped me to fill in my understanding gaps, distinguish between commodity and customized services every person can be/provide.

Best business book for any passion economist EVER

Loved it, start to finish. Great narration, great stories, great tips and techniques. Buy it!

Insightful, inspiring and well written.

What I like about this book is that it takes a look into smaller successful business owners lives and gives good and interesting examples of economics in application. I actually sought out Adam from reading about larger scale economics and corporate business and was pleasantly surprised by this book. Thank you for sharing it with us. Appreciated.