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The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor First Edition

by David S. Landes (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 575 ratings
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New York Times Bestseller

"Readers cannot but be provoked and stimulated by this splendidly iconoclastic and refreshing book." ―Andrew Porter, New York Times Book Review

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is David S. Landes's acclaimed, best-selling exploration of one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultural mores and historical circumstance. Rich with anecdotal evidence, piercing analysis, and a truly astonishing range of erudition, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is a "picture of enormous sweep and brilliant insight" (Kenneth Arrow) as well as one of the most audaciously ambitious works of history in decades.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0393318885
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393318883
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    May 17, 1999
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.1 x 1.3 x 9.3 inches
  8. Print length
    658 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Powerful and lucid…There are few historians who would not be proud to be the author of this book."
― Eric Hobsbawm, Los Angeles Times

"Mr. Landes writes with verve and gusto…This is indeed good history."
― Douglass C. North, Wall Street Journal

"You cannot even begin to think about problems of economic development and convergence without knowing the story that Landes tells…I know of no better place to start thinking about the wealth and poverty of nations."
― J. Bradford DeLong, Washington Post

"Truly wonderful. No question that this will establish David Landes as preeminent in his field and in his time."
― John Kenneth Galbraith

"A masterly survey…with verve, broad vision, and a whole series of sharp opinions that he is not shy about stating plainly."
― Robert Solow

"A picture of enormous sweep and brilliant insight…embodied in a light and vigorous prose which carries the reader along irresistibly."
― Kenneth Arrow

"Enormously erudite and provocative…Never less than scintillating, witty, and brilliant."
― Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

David S. Landes (1924―2013) was professor emeritus at Harvard University and the author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, Bankers and Pashas, The Unbound Prometheus, and Revolution in Time.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition (May 17, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 658 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393318885
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393318883
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.3 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 575 ratings

About the author

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David S. Landes

David S. Landes

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
575 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reader1
5.0 out of 5 stars As advertised
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
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Was delivered on time estimated. In condition that was described. Plus a creative bookmark.. Lol
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John Barchilon
5.0 out of 5 stars Why Every Political Candidate Should Know This Book Cold
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2011
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If I were fully to express my admiration for this book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, this review would run on endlessly for pages and pages, acres and acres.

I read the book from cover to cover; then, as soon as I got to the end, I went back to the beginning and chewed through it a second time. My teen-age son, seeing all the marginal notes, wondered what I was up to, and his twin sister asked if I were studying for a quiz. The author takes you on a spectacular trip all over the world, digging into the birth of industrialism starting with water and wind power, then going into the clocks, files, tools, watches, math, looms and finally bursting forth into the steel making and manufacturing that brought wealth and power to Britain, the west in general and the USA in particular. What was thrilling about all this was the nitty gritty detail he goes into for each exploration, and I could just see him down on his hands and knees looking at the underside of a spinning jenny to see how it worked. Probably tried throwing the shuttle, too, or even making cloth. And when he was standing "inside the womb of the Industrial Revolution," I could actually see the pitted, baked bricks of that abandoned blast furnace, now a tourist museum in Coalbrooksdale. He really gets into things and that's what gives the history its punch. All the lessons can be taken to the abstract precisely because so much of the work is concrete and easy to read, which is probably why a lot of academicians don't like it.

Through his powerful lens I see, alas, what we have lost and continue to lose. We seem to be going the way of 16th & 17th C. Spain, buying the goods of others and forgetting how to make anything ourselves. I read smug economists who actually believe we are getting the best of China by trading our green paper money for goods made in China -- while ignoring the fact that when we put Americans out of work they lose their valuable skills, which then go to the Chinese who not only accumulate money but what is even more dangerous they learn our technologies quickly and at no cost to themselves. Can it ever be wise to enrich and arm a large potential enemy? I consider them an enemy not so much because they call themselves Communists, but because their aggressive form of totalitarian capitalism is pure Fascism. This is the state Mussolini had in mind but failed to pull off.

This book contains not only lessons but solutions to anyone who wants to see them. It should be required reading for every political candidate from dog catcher to President.

I salute the author for a job well done.
16 people found this helpful
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Omer Belsky
4.0 out of 5 stars The Big Question
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2003
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You and I are part of a fortunate minority. We are literate, we have access to phones and to the Internet, we are likely (save some unexpected disease or misfortune) to live to an old age. We are almost certainly belonging to what is known as 'The First World', or to small rich minorities within the rest of the world. Most people in this world do not have those privileges - we live in islands of fortune within an ocean of poverty. And professor Landes tries to understand why. He tries to find out what is special about Western civilization (and Japan) - why Japan and the West got rich while the rest of the world lagged behind, and most of it still does.
It is by the nature of such a book to be controversial, and Landes doesn't pull his punches; his approach is neoclassicist, although hardly a dogmatic one. He is rough on Postmodernists, Saidian Anti-Orientalists, French and Japanese protectionists, Spanish Roman Catholics, and many others. Among the reviews you'll read here, Landes irritates Catholics, third world enthusiasts, anti-Western intellectuals, extreme right wind Capitalists, anti-Japanese, and so on, and so on.
So, you've got controversy. But what is Landes actually saying? Well, in brief, Landes book focuses on three major reasons for Wealth/Poverty: Geography, Infrastructure, and Culture.
The discussion of Geography, early in the book, is at best half hearted. Some of the points seem valid - but you're always inclined to say 'On the other hand'. Are there really fewer diseases in Europe then in Africa? maybe, but transportation is easier. The black death annihilated a third of the European population in the 13th century. Does Heat makes labour harder and less efficient? I guess the builders of the Pyramids haven't heard Landes's thesis - or maybe hardships can be overcomming with whipping.
The best parts of the book deal with Infrastructure. In these, Landes has three main themes: Freedom, Capitalism and Science (Or, if you wish, Anarchy, Greed and Heresy).
Freedom allows people to do things. Landes portrayal of the centrally planned economies of ancient China, where the Emperor ruled everything, is powerful, and it seems to play a large role in the lack of initiative in China, despite the great achievements.
Capitalism, most noticeably in the form of Greed and Competition, drives people forward. Again, Landes comparison between the Chinese and the European Sea quests are enlightening. Europeans went in small ships, eager to outdo the competition and to come back making a fortune. The Chinese went with huge Ships, symbols of the empire rather than instruments of trade. They were unprofitable, victims of the ruler's whim, and, without a strong faction of interested merchants, had no chance of continuing throughout. Also interesting is that Europeans went looking for India and spices, while China was self-sufficient.
Science - Chinese science was much more sophisticated than European science back in the year 1,000. The Indians have invented the zero. But nowhere except in Europe did science work methodically, nowhere else was it progressive. Newton is famous of saying that he stood on the shoulder of giants - discoveries in China and the rest of the world were rarely followed up - gunpowder was discovered in China much before it was in Europe, but the Chinese never used it for weapons. In Europe, it became part of the war methods almost immediately. Landes discussions of clocks and glasses are particularly telling.
The Third Element - Culture - is the one with which I have the most trouble. Landes repeatedly attacks economists for discounting culture (for example in the last chapter, page 517 in my edition). He claims that they disregard it because it can't be quantified. Wrong. The reason Economists distrust culture is because it is such a 'one size fits all' argument. Japanese responds to the west was everything the Chinese should have done but didn't. ... Culture. Arab nations are stuck well behind everyone else, despite the great advantage they have in the shape of oil. ... Culture. Asians manage to pull themselves along, while most of the third worlders can't. ... Well, culture, again.
I'm not saying that Culture plays no part. Obviously it does. But it becomes an obstacle to understanding, and Landes can support it only with anecdotal evidence (a lovely and touching story of a Japanese woman), and unanswered question (Is Islam a cause for the suppression of women? maybe).
Despite this problem, this is a fascinating book. Yes, it is a little too pro-Western. The problem is really more one of emphasis than one of facts - in my view, Landes is pretty close the mark usually, but he much underestimates the responsibility of the West for African poverty. Something's are left relatively unexplained - the current fast rise of China, which might undertake the point Landes made about the vitality of Freedom
But ultimately, as Landes acknowledges, no one book can solve the question of poverty and wealth. The answer is necessarily multi-faceted. 'The Wealth and Poverty of Nations' (neat name, also) is a well-written and intelligent treatment of the question.
217 people found this helpful
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Harald Peter Schneider
5.0 out of 5 stars Tutto bene
Reviewed in Italy on March 4, 2023
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Tutto bene
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E.S.M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente para entender as desigualdades dos países
Reviewed in Brazil on May 31, 2020
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Um dos livros mais interessantes para entender como o Japão, um país minúsculo, é rico e o Brasil, uma vastidão, um país rico, mas pobre ao mesmo tempo. O autor traz a cultura dos povos, a religião etc. e como esses fatores contribuem para sermos o que somos como povos e nações. Um livro de leitura corrente. Um must read!
One person found this helpful
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Gm
5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2021
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I loved this book, it's so honest and straight to the point, it's refreshing. The author embarks on a journey to explain why some countries are richer and why some are poorer. It is history told from the perspective of economics, and as such, it focuses on a key element of history: how come Europe, this backwater bit of land that was so backwards a thousand years ago, turned out to conquer the world? Putting aside elements of luck and geographical circumstances, what enabled Europe to achieve such a tremendous degree of scientific advancement? Likewise, why did other societies lag behind? What caused China to be stuck in time? How did the Japanese catch up to the modern world? Why does the Middle East struggle to keep up? What made the United States such a different experiment when compared to South America? These and many other similar topics are explained with such mastery, it makes this work unique. The author is often citing opposing views and critique based in evidence and logic, and he colours the tale with examples and stories that make the reading such a pleasure one can't find a suitable rival. This book is one of the best I've read and I will read it again. Just go ahead and read it!
2 people found this helpful
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Peter Tillemans
5.0 out of 5 stars My son was very enthusiastic receiving it
Reviewed in Germany on December 31, 2020
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It was a gift for my son, he was happy with the book, so I am happy.
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JP
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in Canada on July 22, 2019
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Nice
One person found this helpful
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