World's Poorest President Speaks Out

"A poor person is not someone who has little, but one who needs infinitely more, and more, and more." Thus spoke José Mujica, then the President of Uruguay, before the United Nations in 2012.Paraphrasing the wisdom of the great thinker Seneca, he asked the world to question the dogma of consumption that has driven us into environmental and economic crisis. Often referred to as the worlds “poorest” president, in part because of his practice of donating 90% of his $12,000 monthly salary to charity, José Mujica lived his words and proved that one need not have money to be rich. In The World’s Poorest President Speaks Out, José Mujica’s famous speech comes to life as he asks us to remember our neighbors, our children, and the Earth.

Nakagawa’s blocky digital illustrations adroitly illustrate the talk’s themes—in one, a careworn man struggles to haul an outsize pile of possessions, including a house and car. The message—that “progress must add to human happiness, not take away from it”—is as timely as ever. -Publishers Weekly

Yoshimi Kusaba is an editor and the author of and contributor to several books. Gaku Nakagawa was born in 1966 and currently resides in Kyoto. A monk of the Jodo-shu Seizan branch Zenrin-ji, he became an illustrator in 1996, creating illustrations for various books and other publications. Internationally, he has featured in Monocle, a London-based publication that is distributed across twenty countries, and also for a special feature on world illustrators by renowned German art publishers TASCHEN. Notable works include cover and book illustrations for Manabu Makine’s Toppinparari no kazetarou (Tokyo: Bungeishunju, 2013) and Bessatsu bungeishunjuu (Bungei shunju extra) (Tokyo: Bungeishunju, 2014). He won recognition in the 2013 Design for Asia Award for Ezoushi ryuutandan (Ezoushi Ryutandan) (2013) and Ehon kechou (Kechou) (2013). Andrew Wong was born in Singapore, and now lives in Tokyo. He spent six years away from Tokyo in Stirling, Scotland, and Fukui, Japan, which sowed in him ideas on different ways of life. Often wandering in and out of picture books and imaginary worlds with his wife and two children, his passion to share these worlds drives a blog on stories that he hopes will one day find a worldwide audience. This book is his first published translation.