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

by David S. Landes

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393318883
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/1999
Pages:	688
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.20(d)

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.

Editorial Reviews

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

Robert Solow

"Mr. Landes writes with verve and gusto…This is indeed good history."

Wall Street Journal - Douglass C. North

"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

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

John Kenneth Galbraith

"Powerful and lucid…There are few historians who would not be proud to be the author of this book."

Los Angeles Times - Eric Hobsbawm

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

Kenneth Arrow