book data
584 ratings, 3.86 average rating, 68 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
March 25th 1982
(first published 1776)
by Penguin Classics
binding
Paperback, 544 pages
isbn
0140432086
(isbn13: 9780140432084)
description
Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" was the first comprehensive treatment of political economy. Originally delivered in the form of lectures at ...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
| topics | replies | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sci Fi and Fantas...: * Master Science Fiction Book List | 18 | 594 | 2 days ago, 08:02AM |
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1237)
For a truth, about 3/4 of this book is 18th century blabber about corn prices. Of the remaining 1/4, about 1/2 is criticism of mercantilsm, which is mostly obvious and definitely boring.
The remaining 1/8 of the book, however, is worth fighting through the rest for. Even if you've heard the explanation of the "invisible hand" a thousand times, there is something magical about reading the actual words by the father himself:
"It is not from the benevolence of...more
The remaining 1/8 of the book, however, is worth fighting through the rest for. Even if you've heard the explanation of the "invisible hand" a thousand times, there is something magical about reading the actual words by the father himself:
"It is not from the benevolence of...more
Like this review?
yes
(5 people liked it)
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 1994
recommended to Scott by:
Douglas Fowlerrecommends it for: historians
~Incredibly~ relevant for its impact and views on the time. Smith was incredibly insightful, and had much to say which applied to his application to the state-church influence on commerce, where individual economic freedom applied and how individual decisions weighed into meta-systemic concepts.
What I find baffling is the way many treat it as universal scripture instead of ideas to test and a view on a slice of time. Smith did not venture to produce a tome for all times nor a treat...more
What I find baffling is the way many treat it as universal scripture instead of ideas to test and a view on a slice of time. Smith did not venture to produce a tome for all times nor a treat...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2000
recommended to Anne by:
I'm not going lie, I was forced to read it in American Nat'l Govrecommends it for: Everyone.
How can one go through life without reading the Wealth of Nations?
Adam Smith had the idea of modern economics before the United States was even sovereign (I go not so much for good writers, as I do for innovative and groundbreaking thinkers). Imagine coming up with your own idea of an economic system long before the world was ready. And unlike Marx, may I mention, Smith's ideals are not only flourishing and still seen today, but they are the foundation of the many, many economies an...more
Adam Smith had the idea of modern economics before the United States was even sovereign (I go not so much for good writers, as I do for innovative and groundbreaking thinkers). Imagine coming up with your own idea of an economic system long before the world was ready. And unlike Marx, may I mention, Smith's ideals are not only flourishing and still seen today, but they are the foundation of the many, many economies an...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Three things happened in 1776.
1. The Revolutionary war started (Declaration of Independence).
2. Watt's first steam engine powered Wilkinson's
iron foundry blowers.
3. Adam Smith published "The Wealth of Nations".
1. The Revolutionary war started (Declaration of Independence).
2. Watt's first steam engine powered Wilkinson's
iron foundry blowers.
3. Adam Smith published "The Wealth of Nations".
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
recommended to Amy by:
me
Dry to read, but really genius. I'm sure lots of it went over my head, but I appreciated the rest.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in December, 2008
This book is over 1200 pages long - wow. I read the whole thing and found that it had a lot of very good thinking and analysis of internal and external trade that flew in the face of predominant theories at the time. I especially appreciated his explanations of how free trade is almost always more beneficial not only for the market as a whole but particularly for the nation who might otherwise employ duties, tariffs, etc. I had vague notions of why free trade was generally better than imposin...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1966
recommended to erik by:
Evelyn Woodrecommends it for: everyone
A prideful and ambitious boy, hearing that President Kennedy had been a speed reader, I cut lawns and shovelled walks to pay for an Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics program. We met in the spare basement of the hideous modern structure that passed for Park Ridge's "Inn"--a residence primarily for attendants and pilots from the airlines utilizing nearby O'Hare International Airport. I was a sophomore, the youngest in class, quite serious and full of myself.
The Wood method consi...more
The Wood method consi...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1992
I re-read this every couple of years (along with his Theory of Moral Sentiments which preceeded it and was always meant to accompany it. Capitalism has evolved since Smith's presentation (and in many avenues has evolved in ways that are decidedly un-capitalistic) but it is a shame that so many economists, political scientists and industrialists today have never read it--it is even more of a shame that few of those who have have also read The Theory of Moral Sentiments which describes the moral ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Someone should rewrite this for readability.
Anyways, I read this before I went to law school and I failed to heed the words of this passage:
"Put your son apprentice to a shoemaker, there is little doubt of his learning to make a pair of shoes; but send him to study the law, it as at least twenty to one if he ever makes such proficiency as will enable him to live by the business. In a perfectly fair lottery, those who draw the prizes ought to gain all that is lost by...more
Anyways, I read this before I went to law school and I failed to heed the words of this passage:
"Put your son apprentice to a shoemaker, there is little doubt of his learning to make a pair of shoes; but send him to study the law, it as at least twenty to one if he ever makes such proficiency as will enable him to live by the business. In a perfectly fair lottery, those who draw the prizes ought to gain all that is lost by...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I originally had to read this for a U.S. history class and was bored out of my mind for the first half of it. I didn't get the professor's point of why, for a history class, I would have to read this work on capitolism and macro economics. THEN, I started to get the brilliance of Smith's writing and ideas. Even though the book was written well over 200 years ago, the last half might well be from a Wall Street Journal article. It really is THAT relevant. Then, after I got the economic part, ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I know, it changed the world and all, but Smith is a better economist than he is a writer. I try to swallow a chapter or so when I'm in a good mood, and the insights are interesting, but the English language has changed a lot in the last 150 years and Smith is a wordy bastard.
Get the Cliffs Notes; that's my plan.
Get the Cliffs Notes; that's my plan.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1966
It is so easy, in the wake of Reaganesque and Thatcheresque economics to see The Wealth of Nations as a conservative tome. In fact, it has the whiff of radical thought about it, for it helped overturn an old world, and sought to liberate not only the businessman, but also the worker.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Helped me understand the fundamental framework for the ecomonic systems that are in place today (and breaking down). Looked for parallels in what needs to happen today to correct current economic woes. What is the new economy? Who are the new Adam Smith's?
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read this book (in a sociology class otherwise it's too dense) and then you'll realize that 85% of the people quoting him don't even know what they are quoting.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
Not what you would normally call a "pleasure read," which is what I base my stars off of. In terms of economic benefit, 5 stars; literary merit gets the 3.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
The most fun thing about The Wealth of Nations (and there are many fun things) is that it is so psychological. One wonders if such moments as he writes about actually happened in the history of man (as one does when one reads Rouseau, or Hobbes).
He is the first author that really made me consider us as complex economic beings, and his layout of the "worker" really gets my wheels churning.
It is especially awesome to discuss with others; the more disagreement you com...more
He is the first author that really made me consider us as complex economic beings, and his layout of the "worker" really gets my wheels churning.
It is especially awesome to discuss with others; the more disagreement you com...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
Anyone trying to find out how the world works
This is the primer to understanding the science of Economics, which didn;'t exist until this book. First published in 1776, it describes the philosophies and practices that formed the basis of the American revolution and the country's eventual rise to greatness. However, Scotland, not America was the first society to adopt the principals, which took Scotland from the poorest country in Europe to one of the richest in only 50 years. Reading this book, you better understand the basic nature of ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read it, if you want to understand how the world works.: Two centuries ago, Adam Smith explained the modern free-market economy. More than that, he discusses the need for, advantages of, and limitations of a free markets.
The introduction in this printing is especially good. Almost a book in itself, it extend for 50 pages and connects the book to other philosophers and economists. Almost, you don't need to read the book after you've read the introduction -- but do it anyway, just to be amazed at
...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
to-read
(on 424 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 59 people's shelves)
economics (on 17 people's shelves)
philosophy (on 10 people's shelves)
non-fiction (on 8 people's shelves)
politics (on 5 people's shelves)
classics (on 5 people's shelves)
history (on 4 people's shelves)
business (on 3 people's shelves)
books-i-own (on 3 people's shelves)
More shelves...
currently-reading (on 59 people's shelves)
economics (on 17 people's shelves)
philosophy (on 10 people's shelves)
non-fiction (on 8 people's shelves)
politics (on 5 people's shelves)
classics (on 5 people's shelves)
history (on 4 people's shelves)
business (on 3 people's shelves)
books-i-own (on 3 people's shelves)
More shelves...
groups with this book
