Why does capitalism triumph in the West but fail almost everywhere else? Elegantly and with clarity de Soto revolutionises our understanding of what capital is and why it does not benefit five- sixths of mankind. He also proposes a solution: enabling the poor to turn the vast assets they possess into wealth.

Hernando de Soto's previous book, The Other Path, was published in more than ten languages and charted on the Washington Post bestseller list; Currently President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Peru, Hernando de Soto was recently listed by Time magazine as one of the five leading Latin American 'innovators of the century'. He lives in Lima, Peru.