Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

GOOD Books: The Foreign Perspective on Globalization

Novels that tell the story of global connections from an international perspective

Kristy Pyke
By Kristy PykeFeb 15, 2012
Kristy Pyke
See Full Bio

Everyone is talking about how we have just entered the "global age." But globalization is not a new concept. Ask authors from Liberia, Algeria, South Africa, South America, the French Caribbean, or the Czech Republic, and they will tell you how globalization has affected their countries for centuries.

Here, we highlight novels that are both entertaining and educational. Now that America is on the international scene as a player rather than an owner, we have a lot of catching up to do.

booksinternationalfictionglobalizationgood books

The Latest

happiness, gratitude, mental health, gratitude mindset, therapy
Health

Spanish psychologist says 'best stage' of life begins with a specific mindset shift, not your age

Li Jingwei, kidnapped map, family reunion, Douyin, child trafficking, hand-drawn map, Zhaotong, viral video, China news, emotional reunion
Past Events

He was kidnapped at 4. A map he drew from memory 33 years later led him back home.

Aaron Arias, Jamal Harris, kidnapping rescue, Dallas teens, Charles Atkins Lewis, 911 call, Good Samaritans, viral rescue story, bystander intervention
Past Events

Teens rescue a kidnapped woman after noticing her mouth 'help me' from the backseat

vaccines, father, daughter, chickenpox, virus, dementia, memory, thinking, brain
Science

Scientists stumble onto ​possible breakthrough dementia vaccine that was hiding in plain sight

More For You

Joe Eszterhas, Michael Ovitz, CAA, Hollywood history, Basic Instinct, show business feud, leaked letter, foot soldiers, super-agent, 1989

Hollywood sign with text overlay reading: "I am not an asset. I am a human being. You are an agent."

Canva

The epic fax that preceded the downfall of Hollywood's most feared agent

In 1989, Michael Ovitz wasn't just an agent. He was the gravity that held Hollywood together. As the co-founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), he didn't just book jobs; he packaged entire blockbusters, effectively telling the studios what they were making and who would star in it. He was the "King of Hollywood," a man who operated in the shadows, characterized by his zen-like calm, his terrifying efficiency, and the widely held belief that crossing him was professional suicide.

But empires often crumble from the smallest cracks, and Ovitz’s armor didn’t meet its match in a boardroom coup or a stock market crash. It met its match in a fax machine.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Redford, Twilight Zone, Nothing in the Dark, Gladys Cooper, death portrayal, classic TV, George Clayton Johnson, Robert Redford tribute, Hollywood legend, 1962 television

Robert Redford in "The Twilight Zone"

The Twilight Zone' screenshot from Next Best Thing via YouTube

Robert Redford's haunting portrayal of Death in 'Twilight Zone': 'It isn't me you're afraid of'

The death of Robert Redford on September 16 at age 89 marked the loss of a Hollywood icon whose career spanned such breadth and depth that selecting a single definitive performance feels nearly impossible. Yet as word of his passing spread, countless fans found their minds returning to one of the actor's earliest roles—his unexpectedly poignant portrayal of Death in The Twilight Zone. The performance has lingered in viewers' memories for decades, but in light of his death, it now resonates on a deeper level.

"Nothing in the Dark," episode 16 of the anthology series’ third season, originally aired on January 5, 1962. And while it’s rarely mentioned in the same breath as "Time Enough at Last" or "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," it’s still generally considered a staple—even ranking 18 out of 156 on IMDB’s user-voted ranking.

Keep ReadingShow less
mtv, cds, tower records, '90s nostalgia, '90s music

This nostalgic MTV News interview has '90s kids reflecting on the CD era.

Photo credit: screenshot from MTV News video on Reddit

People are savoring an unearthed 1994 MTV interview with people who just bought CDs at Tower Records

For those of us who grew up impatiently waiting for new-music Fridays, saving up our spare cash to spend on CDs at the local Sam Goody, nothing will ever beat the thrill of that tactile connection—even tearing the awkward sticky labels off the jewel cases was part of the ritual. And few videos better crystallize that feeling than a 1994 clip from MTV News, which interviewed a group of (mostly young) customers outside Tower Records in New York City.

The footage seems to especially resonate with Gen X and millennial listeners, who bask in the nostalgia of this bygone CD era. Part of what makes the video so compelling is its raw, on-the-street filming style, with an interviewer casually approaching people as they walk around outside Tower, frequently exiting with a fresh stack of compact discs. It also, almost by accident, gives a fascinating snapshot into the fashion and subcultures of mid-'90s music fandom.

Keep ReadingShow less
dating, single life, bad dates, good dates, relationships

Do you live in a good dating city? A new report ranks the best and worst.

Photo credit: Canva, Katerina Holmes from Pexels (left, cropped) / Prostock-studio (right, cropped)

A new report ranks the 10 best and worst U.S. cities for single people to meet someone

What makes a city attractive to the unattached? You could make a massive list of qualities. And to help create their latest study, personal-finance company WalletHub did exactly that, using "35 key factors of dating-friendliness" to measure the best and worst U.S. cities for singles in 2025.

In order to focus their research, they evaluated 182 total cities, including the 150 most-populated. They did their analysis using 35 metrics that can be lumped into three broader categories: economics (everything from restaurant-meal costs to housing affordability), fun and recreation (things like parks per capita and presence of music festivals), and dating opportunities (including a share of the single population and "Google search traffic for the term 'Tinder'"). Each city was then given a total score out of 100, with the whole list ranked best to worst.

Keep ReadingShow less
single women, dating, relationships, self-love, independence, Reddit, viral thread, dating apps, mental health, career focus

(L) A couple in the middle of a fight (R) A woman enjoys a cup of tea

Canva

10 honest reasons women are single that have nothing to do with 'not finding the one'

For generations, the societal script has been clear: grow up, find a partner, and settle down. But that narrative is shifting. Increasingly, women are deciding that the "default" path isn't the only one, opting instead to prioritize their own peace, careers, and independence over romance.

This shift was the focus of a revealing conversation on Reddit, where user u/crypticweirdo9105 asked the r/AskWomen community a simple question: why have they chosen to remain single? The hundreds of responses that followed painted a complex picture of modern dating, highlighting everything from the exhaustion of apps to the joy of solitude.

Keep ReadingShow less
Great Pyramid of Giza, Dixon Relics, Abeer Eladany, University of Aberdeen, archaeology, ancient Egypt, Khufu, carbon dating, lost artifact, Waynman Dixon

Camels rest in front of a view of pyramids

Canva

Only 3 objects have ever been found inside the Great Pyramid. One of them vanished for a century.

For centuries, the Great Pyramid of Giza has guarded its secrets with stony silence. While the exterior is iconic, the interior remains largely a void.

In fact, throughout history, only three man-made objects have ever been recovered from inside the chambers of the ancient wonder.

Keep ReadingShow less
empathy, compassion, mental health, loneliness, technology, friends, Stanford University, peers

Two young people recognize one another.

Photo credit Canva (AntonioGuillem)

A simple misconception keeps young people feeling lonely. Here's how to break out of it.

Perhaps it's a little ironic that technology connects all of us faster and more conveniently than ever, and yet so many feel more isolated and alone. There's a mental health crisis facing young people, and besides medication, the solution seems daunting.

Researchers at Stanford uncovered that there are two different types of students attending the University: what they think of one another, and who they actually are. In what they describe as the "empathy perception gap," people believe their peers are a bit colder and less friendly. It turns out their fellows are far kinder and more empathetic than expected.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kaprekar’s Constant, numbers, formulas, 6174, math equations

The number 6174 is weirdly special.

Photo credit: Canva. anuchit kamsongmueang from ภาพของAnuchit Kamsongmueang (main image) / anlomaja (text box)

Why 6174 is 'the coolest number in the universe' and people remain amazed by this math formula

Even if you flunked high-school algebra, become enraged at the sight of long division, or get stressed out by calculating a 20% tip for your restaurant check, you may find yourself fascinated to explore the weird, wild world of 6174—the four-digit sequence otherwise known in smart-people math circles as "Kaprekar’s Constant."

So, what makes this number so special? For the answer, we must first look back to the late Indian mathematician D. R. Kaprekar, who discovered a kind of algorithm with 6174 as the ultimate endpoint. In a mega-viral video for the YouTube channel Numberphile, University of Nottingham physics professor Roger Bowley offered a simple but fascinating breakdown of Kaprekar's findings.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025