A New Economic View of American History: From Colonial Times to 1940

by Jeremy Atack, Peter Passell

New sources of data, together with advances in theory, offer the opportunity for a fresh look at old and new questions. This book asks such questions as: did mercantilism cause the American Revolution?; was slavery profitable?; and what were the causes of the Great Depression? Illustrated

Genres: History, Economics

736 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Jeremy Atack is Research Professor of Economics Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his B.A. from Jesus College of the University of Cambridge and his Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Reviews

[Michael Newton]

This book is fantastic if you are an economics and/or American history nerd. It has so much information about the economics, populations, and demographics of American history that you'd have difficulty finding anywhere else.

However, it is by no means an easy or fun read. It can be mathematically heavy at time, though you can easily skip those sections. It really gets into the "nitty gritty" and analyzes opposing opinions about the economic history of the United States, sometimes leaving you wondering what really happened. But I think that is the point of this book. It does not give you all the answers, thought it does give you many answers or refutes certain proposals. What it does give you is the data and insightful analysis which helps you form your own ideas and opinions.

[Andrew Holt]

I loved reading this book. The economic models were fun applications of elementary economic theory and really added to the depth of the book. I guess I've just never read anything like this book and the topics felt fresh to me.

[Sara Swart]

Truly excellent. Very lucid and comprehensive. Manages to be easy to read. Highly recommend.

[Jennie]

Book Riot Read Harder 2016 Challenge #10 - Read a book over 500 pages long