We think of our world as controlled by forces we basically understand, such as the rule of law or the politicians we elect. But in The Deals That Made the World, Jacques Peretti makes a provocative and quite different argument: much of the world around us—from the food we eat to the products we buy to the medications we take—is shaped by private negotiations and business deals few of us know about.

The Deals That Made the World takes us inside the sphere of these powerful players, examining ten groundbreaking business deals that have transformed our modern economy. Peretti reveals how corporate executives engineered an entire diet industry built on failure; how PayPal conquered online payments (and the specific behavioral science that underpins its success); and how pharmaceutical executives concocted a plan to successfully market medications to healthy people.

The Deals That Made the World is filled with fascinating insights touching upon tech, finance, artificial intelligence, and the levers of power in a post-globalization world. Peretti offers a compelling way to understand the last hundred years—and a pointer to what the next hundred might hold.