So you think global free trade is a big problem today? Tired of cheap Chinese labor cutting into your wages? The barbers of Mexico City agreed with you completely. In 1635. Seems ain't much has changed in 400 years.



This is an excellent overview of the history of international trade. It broadened my understanding of world history - many history books treat trade as an afterthought, when it's really a driving force. And it did so while keeping things interesting. There are tons of fascinating pers More...

Fascinating history of world trade

The appeal of this comprehensive history of world trade is rooted in its valuable information, thoughtful insights and brilliant writing. But, you’ll also be delighted with the fascinating, little-known details that financial theorist William J. Bernstein throws in along the way. For example, did you know that the Boston Tea Party, the legendary event that helped launch the American Revolution, was not a selfless act of patriotism, but a venal stunt by greedy sm More...

Fascinating history of world trade

The appeal of this comprehensive history of world trade is rooted in its valuable information, thoughtful insights and brilliant writing. But, you’ll also be delighted with the fascinating, little-known details that financial theorist William J. Bernstein throws in along the way. For example, did you know that the Boston Tea Party, the legendary event that helped launch the American Revolution, was not a selfless act of patriotism, but a venal stunt by greedy sm More...

A Splendid Exchange was given a glowing NYT review by the same author who liked The Pursuit of Glory so much--more than sufficient recommendation for me.

This history of world trade, and discussion of how trade shaped world history, lacks a bit of the ambition of Blanding's thematic reappraisal of the long 18th century: this work is more or less straight-up chronological, although that turns out to represent William J. Bernstein's thesis in a way. The vehicles and objects may adapt and evolve, More...

This was a general history of the positive role of trade in human society. It is not a specialist view and the author has read considerable amount of material. He does a good job in bringing it together and wisely chooses to tone down his treatment after the 19th century - the high tide of free trade. I found this the most interesting in the discussion of the development of trade in the Indian Ocean in the middle ages and after the West moved in. He doesn't talk enough about politics, yet that i More...

Halfway through this book. Outstanding review of the history of trade, especially the Indian Ocean trade before 1600AD. I wish it had included more on areas outside the Indian Ocean (Mali, Mediterranean in BC, etc.). Maybe I'll come upon them later, as Bernstein jumps around chronologically to maintain emphasis on a topic.

Bernstein has a tendency to editorialize and reference current culture, but the remarks can come across condescendingly. The asides are annoying and often an overly simplistic More...

A splendid book. Tom Friedman is wrong; the earth didn't become flat thanks to the Internet in the last decade or so. It has been flat for nearly 2000 years, ever since the Chinese began trading with the Arabs who traded with the Europeans, all of them risking life and limb in ways that make our modern day corporate heroes look wimpy indeed. Bernstein's analysis of trade from those early days is extremely revealing, and relevant to our world today. Among his most telling insights: the Victorian More...

The desire to trade seems to instinctive in humans and accounts for many important developments in our shared history. This narrative of world trade—from Mesopotamia (the first durable article traded by humans was probably an obsidian knife) to the WTO—is brilliantly written. Although it slows down a little towards the end when the author seems to shift more towards economic theory, for the most part the story is fascinating. It could be more accurately titled a “splendid and terrible exchange,” More...

This is a dense book covering the history of trade. Not for the feeble reader. Covers the reasons for Islam's becoming the dominant world religion (hint, not the religious beliefs). Covers commerce and genocide from the beginning of time (both are closely linked). Spices, silk, sugar opium, cotton, oil, souls, and always always slaves. What was the Boston Tea party really about? How about the Civil War? Probably not what you have been taught.

A good economic study of free trade vs protectionism t More...

Excellent and informative. The dynamic history of trade is clearly chronicled with particular focus on the winners (the consumer, society) and losers( small groups, inefficient industries). This division Bernstien thus creates a tendency towards protectionist policies that in the long run serve only to destroy the intangible benefits of open trade, namely the mutual respect of diffrent trading cultures that thsn leads to a reduction in violent conflict. As others have said he seems to critizie s More...

A Splendid Exchange is a splendid history of trade through the ages demonstrating that current concerns over globalisation are no different to the concerns of those on the losing end of trade exchanges since pre-history. By following groups of products such a coffee, tea, opium, spices and silk Bernstein demonstrates how trade has shaped the world and the world trade. Bernstein shows the influence of religion and politics on international trade and the contribution of trade to our well being and More...

Ooooh! What a fun book! The title says it all! If you're a travel junkie, take a look at this book, because every place that's probably on your "to-visit" list has a fascinating history rooted in trade--it will add depth to your travels beyond the temple and Buddha route. Of course, I'm already a mass transport and harbor fiend, so this book was right up my alley.

If anyone wants to argue the finer points of his thesis, I'm game, but I need to reread it a couple of more times first. I was too ent More...

I am a William Bernstein fan...I love his writing, his powerful intellect and his thorough writing style. Would I recommend this book? Absolutely....but only to a very specific reader. You must love a strictly historical work that is long, purely factual and a bit dry. I enjoyed the book and the fascinating history lesson. Mr. Bernstein traces the history of global trade from ancient history to the 20th Century. He does it in exquisite detail. For a business person who also loves learning, this More...

An excellent analysis of the history of world wide trade. Few today realize the scope of international trade from pre-history through the early modern era. Amber, flint and tin were among the items that sometimes traveled thousands of miles before Egypt or Sumer built their first temples, and this book does a great job in outlining how international trade stretches through time and space to the modern day. Aside from a few snarky political comments that add nothing to the flow, it is indeed a "g More...

*Update*
I finished this long tale and history lesson. It was fascinating and interesting, and an enjoyable listen. It is not for the faint hearted because it is lenghty. I would avoid the paper version for this reason alone, because I want you to read it without feeling intimidated by it.
I don't know that I could have enjoyed it as much without reading supportive books. All of which were happenstance, but relavent. Those books were 1491, Cleopatra, and Is that a Fish in Your Ear? These books hel More...

It's impossible to open a book with a title like the one sported by this one without a certain trepidation, if not fear: that fear is of being swallowed in a tide of Globollocks (coinage I believe from this Daniel Davies post on Crooked Timber; for those not familiar with the term, it's a portmanteau with the obvious ingredients, denoting the brain-dead enthusiasm of certain commentators who go from "in general, trade is mutually beneficial for all partners," to "anything that stands in the way More...

This is an interesting perspective of history through the lens of trade. It goes through myriads (too many) names and places but I was fascinated by bits and pieces here and there. For example, much early trade across large bodies of water, like the Indian Ocean, depended on taking advantage of trade winds. In the Indian Ocean, the winds blow one direction in the winter and the opposite direction in the summer (because of the relative temperatures of the land and the water, which switch in the s More...

I find myself thinking about this book constantly. It deals with a subject that is so ubiquitous that it is hardly ever closely analyzed: trade. The time period stretches from the stone age to the present. The items covered include spices, coffee, silk, pigs and pork, precious metals and, really, just about everything else on the planet. He demonstrates thousands of times that the world as we know it would be unrecognizable without trade, and shows that trade has shaped who we are in ways that n More...

This is a readable, concise history of the world from an interesting point-of-view. If you believe in tariffs and protectionism this book may push your buttons the wrong way, but Bernstein makes a coherent argument for free trade [while acknowledging that good governments can ameliorate the economic hardship for those who get the short end of the stick].

Even if you don't agree with the political points made, this is worth reading for anyone hoping to understand our time and our world.

If a history of trade from the Silk Road to the WTO doesn't sound like your thing, well, this book is not for you. If it is, Bernstein does a good job not letting details distract from the big picture, like history books do sometimes. The story is generally chronological, but chapters are organized by topic (silk, spices, slaves, cotton, etc) so there is a lot of overlap and some repetition, which is very helpful for remembering who's in power when. This was endorsed by the Economist, and so the More...

A sweeping narrative history of world trade--from Sumer in 3000 BC to the firestorm over globalization today--that brilliantly explores trade's colorful and contentious past and provides fresh insights into social, political, cultural, and economic history, as well as a timely assessment of trade's future.

Listen to A Splendid Exchange on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.

This is an absolutely delightful book - so much so, that I couldn't put it down from the moment I started reading it. Bernstein tracks the history of trade from ancient times to the modern era, thoughtfully dissecting both the institutions that trade enabled and destroyed, and more importantly, helping the reader understand how trade has shaped the world.

From understanding Sino-American relations today, to the spread of Islam, the reason we covet products, and how the world ended up the way it h More...

Absolutely a must read. Concise economic history with great flow and loads of new information for almost all but the most academic. Brilliant short recounting of things ranging from medieval Europe, Islam’s golden years to opium war, spice island saga, Amsterdam rise, crusades, imperialism in India, US civil war etc etc. Even if somewhat biased, this is a must read for anyone in financial markets who need a bit of historic backdrop.

-La guerra es una continuación de la política mediante otros medios. Y la política es la expresión de las voluntades económicas, no se engañen-.

Género. Ensayo.

Lo que nos cuenta. Investigación acerca de cómo el comercio ha modelado los cimientos de la civilización y los derroteros de la historia, desde Sumeria hasta la actualidad.

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Fun book, lots of great stories. I'm skeptical of some of the scholarship, particularly the material on Islam (relying too heavily on Daniel Pipes--yuck) which is limited and outdated. Needs to be more critical of free trade in contemporary world. He presents the unwillingness to adopt free trade too narrowly as the cause of poverty (poor countries don't compete on the same playing field as wealthy). But overall enjoyed.

This book was a very good read. Mr Bernstein gave a very readable history of global commerce From its origins in prehistory to the behemoth that is trade today.The book is written from an evolutionary viewpoint as opposed to a political viewpoint and tells how trade has shaped our world in a intellectual and industrial way that has left us both prosperous and vulnerable.This book is worth a second read.

I realize that the title of this book sounds kind of boring to most people, but it was actually a very good book. It had a ton of information about the history of trade, and whether we want to admit it or not consumerism shapes the world in unpredictable ways. It's worthwhile reading if you've ever wondered about the impact of tariffs and protectionism, but it's also so much more than that.

No fast-paced, but interesting, well written, and you feel smarter on almost every page. The Boston Tea party was an organized riot, resulting from a new British law which for the first time allowed for tea to be shipped directly from India to the colonies - bypassing the UK middle-men. So the issue wasn't the tax (which was minimal) but the angry middle men.

Had a chance to read the summary of the book. It is very appealing with loads of minute exciting information. For instance, how coffee might have been discovered when some cattle chew on some shrubs and danced around merrily. It is a comprehensive book on how world trade evolved into the present with lots of interesting facts and a nice storyline.

this is an excellent book, the only downside being the final chapter where the author steps outside his historical objectivity and allows proximate politics to override his conclusions instead of remaining on the broader view. This is the only limitation of this work and will serve to date it in the future, otherwise this would be a classic work.