Very much enjoyed this discussion of economic and political histories of various nations. The authors explain their theory of inclusive and extractive institutions clearly, in language easy to understand and with plenty of examples. The concept struck me as an extension (or perhaps the basis for) the old saying "Absolute power corrupts absolutely", since all the extractive cases seem to lead to corruption and poverty. Based on the evidence presented, it certainly seems to explain much of how different nations have developed, although it would be interesting to see an independent analysis to see if there are anomalies that didn't make it into the book.