Economic history Books

Book SynopsisCentral banks are supposed to stabilize markets, yet decades of mounting central bank power have seen wave after wave of financial crisis. Leon Wansleben offers novel explanations for the rise of central banks and the problematic implications of their finance-dependent policies.Trade ReviewThe Rise of Central Banks shines light on the agency of bureaucrats and calls upon society and elected leaders to direct these actors’ efforts toward more progressive goals. * Politics Today *A laudable undertaking…Wansleben is breaking new ground. He has something to offer that you do not find in mainstream economic literature. -- Niels Bünemann * Central Banking *The Rise of Central Banks is a smart, well-researched book about central banks and their prominent role in economic governance during the recent era of financialized capitalism. Wansleben does a fine job weaving together many events, episodes, and details into a coherent story. Audiences interested in the Fed, central banking, economic policy, and financialization will certainly want to read this book. -- Bruce G. Carruthers, Northwestern UniversityThis is an impressive work that adds substantially to our scholarly understanding of modern central banks and why they have come to have such a dominant impact on our everyday lives. -- Kathleen R. McNamara, Georgetown UniversityToday’s economies are profoundly shaped by what central banks do, the decisions they take, and their blindspots. Wansleben’s superb book brings new depth, scholarship, and sophistication to the study of these hugely important organizations. -- Donald MacKenzie, University of EdinburghAmbitious and well-researched. Wansleben dissects the growing operational entanglements between monetarist governing techniques, the expansion of financial markets, and neoliberal economic policies in a world where central banks have become more powerful than ever. The outcome is a bloated financial sphere that is dangerously reliant on central banks’ actions to preserve its explosive power. A chilling, but incredibly important, account. -- Marion Fourcade, author of Economists and Societies: Discipline and Profession in the United States, Britain, and France, 1890s to 1990s

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Book SynopsisA broadly-illustrated overview of the contemporary state of Greco-Roman numismatic scholarship.Trade Review"As Metcalf notes (xvii), it is over 100 years since the last single volume guide to Greek coinage was produced, and there has never been an equivalent work for Rome. This new handbook is, therefore, long overdue and hugely welcome. All involved are to be congratulated and, while in a project as broad as this there are inevitably some omissions, we now have something where there was nothing, and for that we should be very grateful. It is much to be hoped that students of the history of all periods will find their way to this rich new resource." * Andrew Meadows, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"This book represents an unprecedented innovation in numismatic literature and is becoming widely regarded as the best introduction to classical ancient coins. It is far more than a guide written solely for collectors. Instead, it was written to serve also as an introduction for graduate or post-doctoral students in the ancient cultures who seek training in classical numismatics. As a work in the renowned Oxford Handbooks series, this volume was written to offer an authoritative and annotated state-of-the-art survey of current thinking and research in the subject area. However, it is just that focus that makes it such a valuable text for serious collectors of ancient coins." * Roger Kuntz, Rochester Numismatic Association *Table of ContentsPreface ; Abbreviations ; Introduction, William E. Metcalf ; 1. The Substance of Coinage: The Role of Scientific Analysis in Ancient Numismatics, Matthew Ponting ; Archaic and Classical Greek Coinage ; 2. The Monetary Background of Early Coinage, John H. Kroll ; 3. Asia Minor to the Ionian Revolt, Koray Konuk ; 4. The Coinage of the Persian Empire, Michael Alram ; 5. The Coinage of Athens, 6th - 1st century B.C., Peter van Alfen ; 6. Aegina, the Cyclades and Crete, Kenneth Sheedy ; 7. The Coinage of Italy, N. K. Rutter ; 8. The Coinage of Sicily, Wolfgang Fischer-Bossert ; 9. Greece and the Balkans to 360 B.C., Selene Psoma ; The Hellenistic World ; 10. Royal Hellenistic Coinages from Alexander to Mithridates, Francois de Callatay ; 11. The Hellenistic World: The Cities of Mainland Greece and Asia Minor, Richard Ashton ; 12. The Coinage of the Ptolemies, Catharine C. Lorber ; 13. The Seleucids, Arthur Houghton ; 14. Greek Coinages of Palestine, Oren Tal ; 15. The Coinage of the Parthians, Fabrizio Sinisi ; The Roman World ; 16. Early Roman Coinage and its Italian Context, Andrew Burnett ; 17. The Denarius Coinage of the Roman Republic, Bernhard E. Woytek ; 18. The Julio-Claudians, Rienhold Wolters ; 19. Ancient Spain, Pere P. Ripolles ; 20. Flavian Coinage, Ian Carradice ; 21. The Coinage of the Provinces through Hadrian, Michel Amandry ; 22. Trajan and Hadrian, Martin Beckmann ; 23. Antonine Coinage, Liv Mariah Yarrow ; 24. The Provinces after Commodus, RAnn Johnston ; 25. Syria in the Roman Period, 64 B.C. - A.D. 260, Kevin Butcher ; 26. Roman Coinages of Palestine, Haim Gitler ; 27. The Severans, Richard Abdy ; 28. From Gordian III to the Gallic Empire (A.D. 238-74), Roger Bland ; 29. The Later Third Century, Sylviane Estiot ; 30. The Coinage of Roman Egypt, Angelo Geissen ; 31. Tetrarchy and the House of Constantine, Richard Abdy ; 32. The Coinage of the Later Roman Empire, A.D. 364-498, Sam Moorhead ; 33. The Transformation of the West, Alan M. Stahl ; Appendix 1: Marks of value on later Roman coins, Roger Bland ; Appendix 2: The earliest Christian symbols on Roman coins, Richard Abdy ; Indices ; a. Mints ; b. Persons ; c. General

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Book SynopsisA panoramic reinterpretation of global history, this title traces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.Trade Review"A work in the grand historical tradition...bold in its thrust....many readers will find this a contentious and unsettling work. But it is contentious and unsettling in ways healthful for the normal practice of economic history." * Journal of Economic History *"Wallerstein's work is one of those rare examples of an intellectual project that transforms the scholarly map. That anthropology, sociology, history, and political science in their present forms cannot be discussed without reference to the project remains Wallerstein's greatest achievement." * American Anthropologist *"From the first page we are engaged by a formidable intellect and relentless researcher. He is someone to take very seriously on details as well as on the generality. He has a strong sense of international interconnectedness (which he virtually invented in our era). . . . Compared to the provincialism of so many historians, Wallerstein's breadth of vision is compellingly appropriate." * Contemporary Sociology *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue to the 2011 Edition 1. Industry and bourgeoisie 2. Struggle in the core—phase iii: 1763–1815 3. The incorporation of vast new zones into the world-economy: 1750–1850 4. The settler decolonization of the Americas: 1763–1833 Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisChinese Communists have long embraced capitalism, for various reasons. In the 1930s Communists made deals with foreign capitalists to finance the revolution. Mao continued to promote trade after 1949. Jason Kelly shows how global deals kept China embedded in markets and their norms, laying the groundwork for the capitalist reforms of the 1980s.Trade ReviewA sober, detailed account of the way modern China came to see that global trade could be a way to ‘fortify socialism…rather than degrade it.’…Kelly conveys what a highwire act it must have been to conduct business on Mao’s watch. -- Tim Sifert * Asian Review of Books *Should appeal to scholars exploring the rise of neoliberalism and the transformation of global capitalism since the 1970s, in which the PRC played a leading role. The history of China’s capitalist ascent as sketched in Market Maoists is therefore critical to any history of the contemporary global economy. -- Philip Thai * Business History Review *A beautifully written book with compelling insights on the neglected interactions between Maoist China and global capitalist markets. It unquestionably enriches our understanding of how socialist China skillfully did business with Western traders to achieve its goal of state modernization, and sheds new light on the PRC history with a refreshingly global perspective. -- Shaofan An * China Review *Fascinating…Based on wide-ranging primary sources of evidence, this elegant book convincingly argues that long before its formal policy reorientation in 1978, the People’s Republic of China was actively present in marketplaces in the East and West…A truly valuable contribution and merits serious attention from us all. -- Lin Chun * Pacific Affairs *Provides unprecedented details of China’s foreign economic policies during the pre-1978 period and is an excellent example of scholarship based on field work in Mainland China…Makes an important new contribution to the existing literature. -- Lawrence C. Reardon * H-Diplo *Groundbreaking…Market Maoists is a fascinating economic and political history that is well written and accessible also to readers unfamiliar with the history of socialist China…It deserves to be widely read and discussed. -- Jennifer Altehenger * American Historical Review *Combining lively anecdotes with coherent historical analysis, Market Maoists makes for an engaging read for undergraduate and graduate courses on Chinese and world history. It is also a valuable addition to the work of PRC scholars interested in bridging the geographical divide between China and the world and the temporal divide between the socialist years and the economic reforms…[An] excellent monograph. -- Sarah Chang * PRC History Review *An excellent book, extremely well researched and very well written. Kelly provides a valuable overview of PRC trade policies and the significance of China’s trade inside global markets during the Mao era. His comprehensive treatment of the internal battles over how to proceed with international trade and the effects these political decisions had on China’s future adds a great deal to our understanding of China in the world. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China–Korea RelationsKelly skillfully integrates the Chinese case into a new wave of scholarship transforming our understanding of post–World War II global economic integration. Behind the political confrontation between market-led and planned economies during the Cold War, as he persuasively demonstrates, China’s ongoing need to trade continually shaped its foreign and domestic policy, anticipating the country’s more high-profile engagement with market economies in the late twentieth century and since. -- Karl Gerth, author of Unending Capitalism: How Consumerism Negated China’s Communist RevolutionBy examining how the Chinese Communist Party leadership treated trade with the capitalist world, Kelly sheds new light on China’s commercial policies and activities and presents the Maoists as being much more economically well-informed and internationally vigorous than previously understood. An original contribution, as well as a joy to read. -- Shu Guang Zhang, author of Economic Cold War: America’s Embargo against China and the Sino–Soviet Alliance, 1949–1963An excellent history of China’s state-led international economic relations in the Maoist era. Kelly captures China’s necessary turn to trade with the West after 1973 as the precondition of the globalizing Chinese economy we know today. Most important, he reminds us, rightly, that for Mao and his successors, ‘trade always served politics.’ The Party would remain in control. This is a lesson taken to heart by Chinese leaders today. -- William C. Kirby, coauthor of Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth

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Book SynopsisA magisterial history of the astounding rise - and unimaginable fall - of America''s most iconic corporationPerhaps no company reflects American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial fortunes as well as the iconic General Electric Company. Producing storied leaders and almost every product imaginable, GE built a cult of success that hid cracks in its foundation. In this masterful history, William D. Cohan, one of America''s most pre-eminent financial journalists, argues that GE''s legacy is both a paragon and a cautionary tale through which to understand twentieth-century America.Power Failure limns the eventful 130-year history of GE, bringing fresh analysis drawn from rare interviews with key figures of the company''s golden era, including Jack Welch himself. As Cohan recounts, Welch traded on a sterling legacy to make GE the most valuable and respected company in the world, while cloaking its vulnerabilities. What he handed to his successor Jeffrey Immelt was, Cohan argues, both an impossible standard and a more troubled reality.Tracing the company''s leaps and stumbles through the personalities that defined it, Power Failure offers a surprising retelling of the GE story, puncturing the myth we think we know for a fresh look at its legacy - and what it tells us about the state of the financial world.Trade ReviewThis hubris-to-nemesis story... must count as one of the greatest dramas in business history... William D Cohan captures that drama exceptionally well... a gripping read.... a tour de force -- John Plender * Financial Times *The rise and fall of GE is explained as the product of individual men and their mercurial decisions, yet its fate has a wider significance. It ought to be a warning: cost-cutting, outsourcing and financial speculation produce a warped model of value that is liable to collapse -- Hettie O'Brien * Guardian *A heavyweight cautionary tale about how the reputation of one-time corporate titans such as Jack Welch can be floored by over-reach and ambition -- Andrew Hill * Financial Times *General Electric was once the most important, powerful and influential company on earth - and this is the definitive story of how it got that way, and what happened next. William Cohan takes us inside the company's boardrooms and factories with a rollicking and fascinating tale of corporate brilliance, bitter infighting, business daring and monied folly that illuminates not just General Electric, but the world and economy it helped create -- Charles DuhiggWith the sweep and authority of an accomplished historian, the digging of a fearsome investigative reporter, and the storytelling skills of a novelist, Bill Cohan takes us from the 19th Century birth of GE, to its rise as America's most valued company in the 20th, and to its near death in the 21st. With incredible access to Jack Welch and the major actors in this drama, he paints a panoramic view of America and of capitalism, how it has changed and still must -- Ken AulettaCohan rides this wild tale like a racehorse to the bitter end. It's all here: the birth of this most American of inventive American companies and the triumphs, flaws and missteps to come. If at 130 years old, GE has indeed fallen, this masterful work remains -- Mark SealFor most of our lives GE was one of the familiar, trusted U.S. companies, and in the early 2000s still the biggest company on earth. In one generation this icon of the American corporate imperium has turned into an icon of American corporate failure. We're fortunate that the great business chronicler William Cohan has now applied his extraordinary reporting skills and lucid, knowing prose to tell this story in breathtaking detail from beginning to bitter end. Power Failure is fascinating and definitive -- Kurt AndersonThis epic tale of arguably the most dominant corporation in American history has it all: money, power, sex and larger-than-life characters, from Thomas Edison to "Teflon Jack" Welch and beyond. Cohan's fine pacing and narrative flair make for a page-turner that becomes a compelling story of American capitalism itself -- Jonathan AlterPower Failure by William Cohan is a tour de force of reporting, a deeply researched chronicle of the flawed personalities and dysfunctional company politics that led General Electric, once hailed as the great American corporate success, to self-destruct. The story reads like a tragedy -- Liaquat Ahamed

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Book SynopsisDiplomatic expert Patrick McEachern unpacks the contentious and tangled relationship between the two Koreas in an approachable question-and-answer format.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 - Origins and the Korean War Chapter 2 - Korea's Hot War Turns Cold: Korea in the Cold War Chapter 3 - Post-Cold War Chapter 4 - Nuclear Weapons and U.S.-North Korean Relations Chapter 5 - Korea-Japan Relations Chapter 6 - U.S.-South Korea Relations in the 21st Century Chapter 7 - Korean Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 8 - Inter-Korean Relations in the 21st Century Chapter 9 - The Economy Chapter 10 - Korean Society: North and South Chapter 11 - North Korean Human Rights Chapter 12 - The Future Notes Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisEconomists in the Cold War is an account of the economic drivers and outcomes of the Cold War, told through the stories of seven international economists, who were all closely involved in theory and policy in the period 1945-73. For them, the Cold War was a battle of economic ideas, a fight between central planning and market allocation, exploring economic thinking derived from the battle between Marxist and Capitalist ideologies, a fundamental difference but with many intricacies.The book recounts how economic theory advanced, how new economic tools were developed, and how policies were tested. Each chapter is based on the involvement of one of the selected economists. It was a challenging but dangerous time in economics: a time of economic recovery post-war, with industrial rebuilding, economic growth, and rising incomes. But it was also a time of ideological warfare, nuclear rivalry, military expansion, and personal conflict. The narrative is approximately chronological, ranging froTrade ReviewThis is a very interesting, well-written and informative book by an eminent New Zealand economist. * John King, The History of Economics Review *Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. * The Pundit *Table of Contents1: Rebuilding the World: Harry Dexter White and the New Dealers 2: Making Central Planning Work: Oskar Lange and the Marxist-Leninists 3: The Cold War Hardens: John von Neumann and the Cold War Warriors 4: A Continental Middle Way: Ludwig Erhard and the Social Market Economists 5: Seeking Growth and Stability: Joan Robinson and the Post-Keynesians 6: East Asian Growth: Saburo Okita and the Flying Geese Economists 7: North-South Divide: Raul Prebisch and the Development Economists 8: Epilogue: El Encuentro en Santiago (Encounter in Santiago)

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Book SynopsisThe documents collected here illuminate the conduct of British trade and investments in the Caribbean when slavery was at its height and Jamaica was the wealthiest territory in Britain''s Atlantic empire. Pertaining to the commercial and plantation interests of two Bristol families connected through marriage and business, the documents include correspondence, wills and inventories, partnership agreements, insurance policies and property deeds.The introduction addresses issues of the slave trade and sugar cultivation, capital accumulation, the ways in which a West India fortune was created, the risk environment of the Caribbean, and social, economic and demographic conditions in eighteenth-century Bristol and Jamaica. A valuable source for historians of the Georgian period, this volume shows that British merchants connected with the West Indies were centrally concerned with improvement, independence, and social mobility.Trade ReviewKenneth Morgan should be congratulated for making available a rich and important set of documents. * Economic History Review *A valuable source for historians of the Georgian period * Spartacus Review *a well-produced and expertly-edited volume that should prove extremely valuable to scholars and postgraduates working on the Caribbean and wider Atlantic connections. * K. Mason, English Historical Review *

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Book SynopsisThe book presents 125 letters carried aboard a ship, the Two Sisters of Dublin, captured at sea in 1757, in the midst of the Seven Years War (1756-1763). Most of the letters lay unopened for 250 years until they were rediscovered in the UK National Archives in 2011.The letters from members of the Irish community in Bordeaux and their relatives, friends and trading partners in Ireland communicate the concerns and understandings of ordinary people in a diasporic community during wartime. Written by sailors, merchants, servants, prisoners of war, priests, clerks, and many women, the letters vividly illustrate social and economic structures familiar to historians of early modern trade and the expatriate communities of the Atlantic world. They underline the central role of familial relationships in structuring commerce, and illustrate how communities were sustained across wide expanses of ocean by streams of correspondence, by favours asked and received, and by a flow of commodities, gifts,Trade ReviewHere the case is made that together the letters offer a precious series of insights into the multifarious links between Ireland and southern France under the ancien régime, links severely tested by the onset of a war fought mainly on the seas. * William Doyle, Irish Economic and Social History *fascinating and unique publication * Oliver OHanlon, Irish Studies Review *This is much more than a mere edition of letters. It should be read by anyone interested in eighteenth-century Britain, France, trade or war. * David Hancock, Huguenot Society Journal *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; I. The Two Sisters of Dublin ; II. 1757 ; III. The Irish Community in Bordeaux ; IV. The Letters ; V. Methodology ; THE BORDEAUX-DUBLIN LETTERS, 1757 ; Appendices

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Book SynopsisIn recent years, the world has been rocked by major economic crises, most notably the devastating collapse of Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in American history, which triggered the breathtakingly destructive sub-prime disaster. What sparks these vast economic calamities? Why do our economic policy makers fail to protect us from such upheavals? In Wrong, economist Richard Grossman addresses such questions, shining a light on the poor thinking behind nine of the worst economic policy mistakes of the past 200 years, missteps whose outcomes ranged from appalling to tragic. Grossman tells the story behind each misconceived economic move, explaining why the policy was adopted, how it was implemented, and its short- and long-term consequences. In each case, he shows that the main culprits were policy makers who were guided by ideology rather than economics. For instance, Wrong looks at how America''s unfounded fear of a centralized monetary authority caused them to reject two centraTrade Reviewa fascinating collection of accounts providing interesting details and new insights. * LSE Review of Books *[Grossman] piques our interest with spicy historical detail...he has written a lovely tour, admirably brief, through centuries of economic folly. * Roger Lowenstein, Wall Street Journal *let's hope that when the next major set of economic policy decisions has to be taken, politicians put aside ruling ideology and pick up a book like this. * Joel Campbell, International Affairs *I have great admiration for this book. Grossman addresses an important question and his judgments are uniformly well reasoned and balanced. He is also an outstanding teacher of economics. ... Few economic historians can write as well as Grossman. But more of those who can write well should follow his example and write for policy makers and for the general public. If not economic historians, then who? * Hugh Rockoff, EH.net *Table of ContentsContents ; Preface ; Prologue ; 1. Introduction ; 2. How to Lose an Empire without Really trying: British Imperial Policy in North America ; 3. Establish, Disestablish, Repeat: The First and Second Banks of the United States ; 4. The Great Hunger: Famine in Ireland, 1846-1852 ; 5. The Krauts Will Pay: German Reparations after World War I ; 6. Shackled with Golden Fetters: Britain's Return to the Gold Standard, 1925-1931 ; 7. Trading Down: The Smooth-Hawley Tariff, 1930 ; 8. Why Didn't Anyone Pull the Andon Cord? Japan's Lost Decade ; 9. The Worst Financial Crisis Since the Great Depression: The Subprime Meltdown ; 10. I'm OK. Euro not OK? ; 11. What Have We Learned? Where Do We Go From Here? ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis Handbook shows that Business History is a wide-ranging and dynamic area of study, producing compelling empirical data, which has sometimes confirmed and sometimes contested widely-held views in management and the social sciences. A key reference work for scholars of Business History, and a fascinating resource for social scientists in general.Trade Review...a state-of-the-art overview of business history research worldwide...This Handbook has the potential to become the reference source for both business historians and non-specialists... * Andrea Goldstein, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIES *Table of ContentsPART I: APPROACHES AND DEBATES; PART II: FORMS OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION; PART III: FUNCTIONS OF ENTERPRISE; PART IV: ENTERPRISE AND SOCIETY

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Book SynopsisPresents a reappraisal of the causes and consequences of a movement that ultimately transformed the nature of social insurance and the American workplace. This book argues that workers' compensation, rather than being an early progressive victory, succeeded because all relevant parties - labor, lawyers, and legislators - benefited from the ruling.Trade Review"This is surely the very best book ever written about the passage of workers' compensation, an instant 'classic' in historical political economy." - Robert A. Margo, Southern Economic Journal "Substantial, well-written, and compelling.... The end result is an in-depth analysis of how workers' compensation was created and initially implemented in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century." - Christopher R. Larrison, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare"

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Book SynopsisIn the years that followed World War II, both the United States and the newly formed West German republic had an opportunity to remake their economies. This book takes a comparative look at the development of postwar mass consumption in West Germany and the United States and the emergence of discrete consumer modernities.Trade Review"Jan L. Logemann provides an outstanding contribution to the history of consumption that will be an important read for scholars of European and American history. Trams or Tailfins? is an excellent model for how consumer history can be embedded within the history of public policy." (Katherine Pence, Baruch College, City University of New York)"

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Book SynopsisAyn Rand: An Introduction illuminates Rand's importance, detailing her understanding of reality and human nature, and explores the ongoing fascination with and debates about her conclusions on knowledge, morality, politics, economics, government, public issues, aesthetics and literature.

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Book SynopsisThe social sciences often fail to examine in any systematic way the nature of their subject matter. Demonstrating that this is a central explanation of the widely acknowledged failings of the social sciences, not least of modern economics, this book sets about rectifying matters. Providing an account of the nature of social material in general, as well as of the specific natures of central components of the modern world, such as money and the corporation, Lawson also considers the implications of this theory regarding possibilities for social change. Readers will gain an understanding of how social phenomena, from tables and chairs, to money and firms, and nurses and Presidents are constituted. Fundamental to Lawsonâs conception is a theory of community-based social positioning, whereby people and things within a community become constituted as components of emergent totalities, with actions governed by the rights and obligations of relevant members of the community. This theory isolates a set of basic principles that will offer the reader an understanding of the natures of all social phenomena. The Nature of Social Reality is for all those, academics and non-academics alike, who wish to gain a grasp on the nature of social phenomena that goes beyond the superficial.Trade Review"If modern economics and philosophy are largely neglectful of ontology, they are especially so of social ontology. Tony Lawson’s impressive body of work is an exception to this, as is this strongly recommended book." John B. Davis, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Marquette University and University of Amsterdam"Society needs innovative, critical thinking which enlightens on the complex and evolving nature of social reality, not least its economic aspects. Tony Lawson's latest contribution on this is a must-read." Sheila Dow, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Stirling"As is universally, and rightly, recognised Tony Lawson is the leading scholar questioning the (social) ontology of economics. In this compelling volume, he takes a number of important steps forward, drawing on the more constructive aspects of his work in theorising such topics as money, the modern corporation, and alternative futures." Ben Fine, Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London"The Nature of Social Reality is the book that we have all been waiting for: a rigorous philosophical account of social reality, written by a scholar with impeccable credentials as an economist and social theorist. In an intellectual environment in which philosophers are becoming increasingly interested in the nature of social phenomena (and contemporary social scientists have growing cause to examine their implicit philosophical commitments), Tony Lawson has delivered an invaluable resource at the perfect moment." Ruth Groff, Political Science, Saint Louis University "When one thinks of Cambridge social ontology, one thinks of Tony Lawson, long the leader of that important current. It is very welcome therefore to have this collection of essays. Those unfamiliar with Lawson’s work will encounter one of the most forceful and influential statements on the nature of social reality to emanate from modern economics. Those already familiar will find their understanding deepened." Doug Porpora, Professor of Sociology, Drexel University"In this splendid book, the philosopher-economist Professor Tony Lawson makes a powerful case for placing economics, and indeed all social theorising, on proper ontological foundations. An essential read for all social scientists." Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, Warwick University*Winner of the 2020 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize*"If modern economics and philosophy are largely neglectful of ontology, they are especially so of social ontology. Tony Lawson’s impressive body of work is an exception to this, as is this strongly recommended book." John B. Davis, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Marquette University and University of Amsterdam"Society needs innovative, critical thinking which enlightens on the complex and evolving nature of social reality, not least its economic aspects. Tony Lawson's latest contribution on this is a must-read." Sheila Dow, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Stirling"As is universally, and rightly, recognised Tony Lawson is the leading scholar questioning the (social) ontology of economics. In this compelling volume, he takes a number of important steps forward, drawing on the more constructive aspects of his work in theorising such topics as money, the modern corporation, and alternative futures." Ben Fine, Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London"The Nature of Social Reality is the book that we have all been waiting for: a rigorous philosophical account of social reality, written by a scholar with impeccable credentials as an economist and social theorist. In an intellectual environment in which philosophers are becoming increasingly interested in the nature of social phenomena (and contemporary social scientists have growing cause to examine their implicit philosophical commitments), Tony Lawson has delivered an invaluable resource at the perfect moment." Ruth Groff, Political Science, Saint Louis University "When one thinks of Cambridge social ontology, one thinks of Tony Lawson, long the leader of that important current. It is very welcome therefore to have this collection of essays. Those unfamiliar with Lawson’s work will encounter one of the most forceful and influential statements on the nature of social reality to emanate from modern economics. Those already familiar will find their understanding deepened." Doug Porpora, Professor of Sociology, Drexel University"In this splendid book, the philosopher-economist Professor Tony Lawson makes a powerful case for placing economics, and indeed all social theorising, on proper ontological foundations. An essential read for all social scientists." Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, Warwick UniversityTable of ContentsPreface and acknowledgements. Part 1: Setting the context. 1. Why social ontology?. Part 2: A general conception. 2. Ontology and the study of social reality: emergence, organisation, community, power, social relations, corporations, artefacts and money. Part 3: Topics in scientific ontology. 3. The nature of the firm and peculiarities of the corporation. 4. The modern corporation: the site of a mechanism (of global social change) that is out-of-control?. 5. A theory of money. 6. The positioning and credit theories of money compared. Part 4: The nature and dynamics of processes of emergence, reproduction and transformation. 7. Emergence, morphogenesis, causal reduction and downward causation. 8. Collective practices and norms. Part 5: Consequences for projects of human emancipation. 9. Possibilities for emancipatory social change. Index

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Book SynopsisThis book is set against the assumption that humans' unique feature is their infinite creativity, their ability to reflect on their deeds and to control their actions. These skills give rise to genuine uncertainty in society and hence in the economy. Here, the author sets out that uncertainty must take centre stage in all analyses of human decision making and therefore in economics. Uncertainty and Economics carefully defines a taxonomy of uncertainty and argues that it is only uncertainty in its most radical form which matters to economics. It shows that uncertainty is a powerful concept that not only helps to resolve long-standing economic puzzles but also unveils serious contradictions within current, popular economic approaches. It argues that neoclassical, real business cycle, or new-Keynesian economics must be understood as only one way to circumvent the analytical challenges posed by uncertainty. Instead, embracing uncertainty offers a new analytical paradigm which, inTrade Review"Essential reading for everyone who is willing to take "uncertainty" in economics seriously!", Prof. Dr. Joachim Güntzel, Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, Ravensburg, GermanyTable of ContentsPreface.Acknowledgements.Introduction.1. What's uncertainty, after all?2. Uncertainty in economics.3. Uncertainty in the economy.4. The empirics of uncertainty.5. Conclusion.Bibliography.Index.

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Book SynopsisShipbuilding in the United Kingdom provides a systematic historical account of the British Shipbuilders Corporation, first looking at this major industry under private enterprise, then under state control, and finally back in private hands.The chapters trace the evolution of public policy regarding shipbuilding, ship repair, and large marine engine building through the tenures of radically different Labour and Conservative governments, and through the response of the board of the British Shipbuilders Corporation, trade unions, and local management also. The book benefits from comprehensive archival research and interviews from the 1990s with leading players in the industry, as well as politicians, shipbuilders, trade union leaders, and senior civil servants.This authoritative monograph is a valuable resource for advanced students and researchers across the fields of business history, economic history, industrial history, labour history, maritime Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. British shipbuilding under the Labour government, 1966–70 2. British shipbuilding under the Conservative government, 1970–74 3. The long road to nationalisation of shipbuilding under two Labour governments, 1974–77 4. British Shipbuilders: the first two years under a Labour government 5. British Shipbuilders under the Conservative government, 1979–83 6. Privatisation of British Shipbuilders under two Conservative governments, 1983–90 Conclusions Epilogue

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Book SynopsisThis is an academic inquiry into how labor power has been dehumanized and commodified around the world through the ages for capital accumulation and industrialization, and colonial and post-colonial economic transformation. The study explores all major episodes of slaveries beginning from the ancient civilizations to the end of Transatlantic Slave Trade in the eighteenth century; the worlds of serfdoms in the context of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Russia; the worlds of feudalisms in the context of Latin America, Japan, China, and India; the worlds of indentured servitudes in the context of the Europeans, the Indians, and the Chinese; the worlds of guestworkers in the contexts of the United States and Western Europe; the worlds of migrant labor programs in the context of the Gulf States; and the contemporary world of neoslavery focusing on human trafficking in both developing and developed countries, and forced labor in global value chains. The book is designed Table of Contents1. Introduction: The World of Coerced Labor Part I: The World of Slaveries—Conceptual Contexts 2. Slaveries in the Pre-Columbian World 3. The Slaveries of Amerindians and Native Americans 4. African Slavery in the New World Part II: The World of Serfdoms—Conceptual Contexts 5. The West European Serfdom 6. Eastern European Serfdom 7. The Russian Serfdom Part III: The World of Feudalisms—Conceptual Contexts 8. The Chinese Feudalism 9. The Japanese Feudalism 10. The Indian Feudalism 11. Latin American Feudalism Part IV: The World of Indentured Servitudes—Conceptual Contexts 12. Indentured Servitude of the Europeans 13. Indentured Servitude of the Indians 14. Indentured Servitude of the Chinese Part V: The World of Guestworkers—Conceptual Contexts 15. The Bracero Program of the United States 16. Guestworker Programs of Northern and Western Europe 17. The Kafala System of the Gulf States PART VI: Neoslavery in the Twenty-First Century—Conceptual Context 18. Neoslavery in the Twenty-First Century—Human Trafficking 19. Neoslavery in the Twenty-First Century—Global Value Chains 20. Neoslavery in the Twenty-First Century—Assessment of Global Measures to Combat the Menace

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Book SynopsisSince the Middle Ages, literature has portrayed the economic world in poetry, drama, stories and novels. The complexity of human realities highlights crucial aspects of the economy. The nexus linking characters to their economic environment is central in a new genre, the economic novel, that puts forth economic choices and events to narrate social behavior, individual desires, and even non-economic decisions. For many authors, literary narration also offers a means to express critical viewpoints about economic development, for example in regards to its ecological or social ramifications.Conflicts of economic interest have social, political and moral causes and consequences. This book shows how economic and literary texts deal with similar subjects, and explores the ways in which economic ideas and metaphors shape literary texts, focusing on the analogies between economic theories and narrative structure in literature and drama. This volume also suggests that connectingTable of Contents1 Introduction and OverviewÇINLA AKDERE AND CHRISTINE BARON AND BRUNA INGRAOPart IPassions and Interest: A Comparative Study of Economic Texts and Literary Masterpieces2 Narratives of passions and finance in the 19th centuryBRUNA INGRAO3 The passions and the interests: the Sentimental Education of Gustave FlaubertALPHONSO SANCHEZ4 Literature and Political Economy: Saint-Simon and Jean-Baptiste Say’s writingsGILLES JACOUD5 Which Economic Agent Does Robinson Crusoe Represent? CLAIRE PIGNOL6 Political Economy and utilitarianism in Dickens' Hard TimesNATHALIE SIGOT AND ÇINLA AKDEREPART II Economic Ideas and Metaphors in Literature: An Interdisciplinary Approach7 Concordances and dissidences between economy and literature JEAN-JOSEPH GOUX8 Economics and monetary imagination in André Gide's The Counterfeiters ÇINLA AKDERE AND CHRISTINE BARON9 ‘I Always Wanted to Have Earned My First Dollar but I Never Had’: Gertrude Stein and Money LAURA E. B. KEY10 Georges Perec’s Les Choses as the Privileged Domain of Contemporary Hunter-GatherersEYÜP ÖZVERENPART IIIFacing change: reflections of economic development and crises in historical and literary texts 11 Transforming Economic and Social Relations: Modern Economy in Novels of UşaklıgilREYHAN TUTUMLU SERDAR AND ALI SERDAR12 Mechanization Experience in Agriculture in Turkey: The Pomegranate on the KnollSELİN SEÇİL AKIN AND IŞIL ŞİRİN SELÇUK13 An Intertextual Analysis of the Village Novels by Village Institute Graduates: Socio-economic Scenes of the Turkish Village between 1950 and 1980ESRA ELİF NARTOK14 Theatre in Crisis, Theatre of Crisis: Economics and Contemporary Dram

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Book SynopsisEconomists, historians and social scientists have offered a variety of conflicting answers to the issue of the beginnings of capitalism and these deviating answers imply different conceptualizations of what capitalism actually is. This book provides a simultaneous inquiry into the origins of capitalism as well as provides a theoretical treatise on capitalism.The Origins of Capitalism as a Social System explores the line between what is and is not capitalism, (re)producing a theory of capitalism as a system of class domination and exploitation. Part I of the book focuses on the monetary theory of value and capital developed by Karl Marx, while at the same time critically reviews an array of economic and historical literature, both Marxist and non-Marxist. Following this, Part II expounds the first emergence of capitalism in Venice. It highlights the historical contingencies that made capitalism in the Venetian society possible, as well as the structural elements of the capitalTrade Review"In this grand style reconstruction of the genesis of capitalism, Milios brings together Marx, Braudel, Weber, Lenin, and his own analysis of ‘money-begetting’ modes of production, under the aegis of the Althusserian ‘aleatory encounter’ of social forces. In a path-breaking concrete analysis, he invents the Venetian Paradigm of decalage between financialization and proletarianization. It is impressive, convincing, and surprisingly actual.", Etienne Balibar, co-author of Reading Capital"The publication of this book is a rather significant moment in the history of reflections on capitalism, and moreover a turning point in the history of the transformative present. Raising yet once again the question of what capitalism as a system actually is, John Milios reassembles his subject of study, traversing centuries and places in history so as to identify and discern heterogeneous practices being objectivised – or not – in the name of capitalism, ultimately establishing a genealogy of a ‘capitalist state, beyond national territorialisation’. This book, or shall we dare say this ‘machine-book’, offers the bizarre completeness one might feel when reading an important book: full and empty at the same time.", Marios Emmanouilidis, Independent researcher"A fascinating book that provides us with an exciting new perspective on the origins of capitalism. John Milios asks more precisely than usual what distinguishes capitalism as a social system from precapitalist societies. Taking seriously that the origin of capitalism is a singular process, he avoids any deterministic approach to analyzing history. The – historically surprising – ascent of Venice as a leading commercial and colonial power during the 13th and 14th centuries, with its rather special form of original accumulation towards the end of the 14th century, is demonstrated to be a capitalist social formation which practically introduced capitalism to Western Europe. This book really provides us with a fundamental and exciting new turn in the long-lasting discussion about the origins of capitalism.", Michael Heinrich, Author of An Introduction to the three Volumes of Karl Marx’s Capital.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements, Introduction, Part I Capitalism and its origins: the theoretical context, 1 Marx’s notion of capitalism: a synoptic account, 2 Marx’s two approaches to the genesis of capitalism: the ‘productive forces - relations of production dialectic’ vs. ‘so-called original accumulation’, 3 Early forms of capitalism and wage labour: Lenin’s polemic against the Narodniks, 4 Capitalism and the agrarian sector: Karl Kautsky’s theoretical intervention, 5 Post-Second World War Marxist approaches to the ‘transition to capitalism’ question, 6 Non-Marxist approaches to the origins of capitalism, 7 Modes of production and the pre-capitalist money-owner, Part II Venice and the Mediterranean: a discourse on the birth of capitalism, 8 From a Byzantine exarchate to a major colonial power in the Mediterranean: a historical sketch of the rise of Venice up to 1204, 9 The Venetian social formation until the end of the thirteenth century: an unconsummated process of original accumulation, 10 War economics and the ascent of capitalism in the fourteenth century, Part IΙΙ After the encounter took hold: the reproduction of capitalism on an expanded scale, 11 Venice alongside the new capitalist powers, 12 Political power and social cohesion, Bibliography, Index

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Book SynopsisIn recent years it has become commonplace to downplay notions of an industrial revolution and argue instead that Britain''s transformation was gradual and incremental. In The Industrial Revolution and the Atlantic Economy Brinley Thomas contests this view, arguing that change in the energy base and hence in technology has enabled Britain to overcome an energy crisis and sustain dramatic population growth. Throughout these essays illustrate the organic approach to economic growth that Brinley Thomas pioneered.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Britain`s Energy Crisis in the Seventeenth Century 11. The First Atlantic Economy, 1700-1776 111. The End of the Charcoal Iron Age 1V. Feeding England, 1760-1846 : a View from the Celtic Fringe V. Henry Cort and the Primacy of Britain V1. Robert Owen (1771-1858) : a Hero of the Industrial Revolution V11. Demographic Determinants of British and American Building Cycles, 1870-1913 V111. Long Swings and the Atlantic Economy : a Reappraisal 1X. A Cauldron of Rebirth : the Industrial Revolution and the Welsh Language X. A Plea for an Organic Approach to Economic Growth.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisCovering a wide range of substances, including opium, cocaine, coffee, tobacco, kola, and betelnut, from prehistory to the present day, this new edition has been extensively updated, with an updated bibliography and two new chapters on cannabis and khat. Consuming Habits is the perfect companion for all those interested in how different cultures have defined drugs across the ages.Psychoactive substances have been central to the formation of civilizations, the definition of cultural identities, and the growth of the world economy. The labelling of these substances as 'legal' or 'illegal' has diverted attention away from understanding their important cultural and historical role. This collection explores the rich analytical category of psychoactive substances from challenging historical and anthropological perspectives. Trade Review'This is a fascinating book because it highlights the way history contributes to the shaping of moral attitudes.' – History Teaching ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction: Peculiar Substances 1. Alcohol and its Alternatives: Symbol and Substance in Pre-Industrial Cultures 2. Coca, Beer, Cigars and Yag'e: Meals and Anti-Meals in an Amerindinian Community 3. Nicotian Dreams: The Prehistory and Early History of Tobacco in Eastern North America 4. Betelnut ‘Bisnis’ and Cosmology: A View from Papua New Guinea 5. Kola Nuts: The 'Coffee' of the Central Sudan 6. Excitantia: Or, How Enlightenment Europe took to Soft Drugs 7. From Coffeehouse to Parlour: The Consumption of Coffee, Tea and Sugar in Northwestern Europe in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 8. Tobacco Use and Tobacco Taxation: A Battle of Interests in Early Modern Europe 9. Globalising Ganja: The British Empire and International Cannabis Traffic c. 1834 to c. 1939 10. Japan and the World Narcotics Traffic 11. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Cocaine in the United States 12. Building castles of Spit – The Role of Khat in Work, Ritual and Leisure 13. Afterword

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive evaluation of the Carolingian economy. Aspects of land and people, agrarian production and technique, craft and industry, and regional and international commerce are analysed, and the Carolingian economy is reassessed in a European context.Trade Review'The Carolingian Economy is an extremely useful compendium, orderly and deft in its presentation of a remote period's economics …Verhulst furnishes a concise and judicious synthesis, full of information and insight, that is actually fun to read.' EH.NET'… useful and accessible … model of synthesis … As a textbook it is presently without rival and well worthy of the best work if its dedicatee.' The Agricultural History Review'In this significant and very useful book, Verhulst presents us with a coherent and 'believable' image of the Carolingian economy.' Early Medieval EuropeTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Land and People: 1. Landscape and settlement; 2. Demography; 3. Agricultural production; Part II. Production: 4. Agricultural technique; 5. Craft and industrial practice; Part III. Commerce: 6. Organisation; 7. Directions of trade; 8. Money and price movements; Part IV. The Dynamics of Carolingian Economy: 9. The economy and the state; 10. The long perspective; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisBefore the age of Industrial Revolution, the great Asian civilisations - whether located in the Middle East, India, South-East Asia, or the Far East - constituted areas not only of high culture but also of advanced economic development. They were the First World of human societies. This 1985 book examines one of the driving forces of that historical period: the long chain of oceanic trade which stretched from the South China Sea to the eastern Mediterranean. It also looks at the natural complement of the seaborne commerce, its counterpart in the caravan trade. Its main achievement is to show how socially determined demand derived from cultural habits and interpretations operated through the medium of market forces and relative prices. It points out the unique and limiting features of Asian commercial capitalism, and shows how the contribution of Asian merchants was valued universally, in reality if not legally and formally. Professor Chaudhuri's book, based on more than twenty years' rTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. General Problems and Historical Events: 1. Trade and civilisation in the Indian Ocean: social, cultural, economic, and temporal dimensions; 2. The rise of Islam and the pattern of pre-emporia trade in early Asia; 3. The Portuguese seaborne empire in the Indian Ocean; 4. The Dutch and English East India companies and the bureaucratic form of trade in Asia; 5. Emporia trade and the great port-towns in the Indian Ocean; Part II. Structure and la longue durée: 6. The sea and its mastery; 7. Ships and shipbuilding in the Indian Ocean; 8. The land and its relationship with long-distance trade; 9. Commodities and markets; 10. Capital and trade in the Indian Ocean: the problem of scale, merchants, money and production; 11. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisWritten in non-technical terms, this book explains how the dynamics of big business have influenced national and international economies. A path-breaking study, it provides the first systematic treatment of big business in advanced, emerging, and centrally-planned economies from the late nineteenth century, when big businesses first appeared in American and West European manufacturing, to the present. Large industrial enterprises play a vital role in developing new technologies and commercializing new products in all of the major countries. How such firms emerged and evolved in different economic, political, and social settings constitutes a significant part of twentieth-century world history. This historical review of big business is particularly valuable today, when the viability of large enterprises is being challenged by small firms, networks, and alliances. These essays, written by internationally-known historians and economists, help one understand the essential role and functionTrade Review'… offers and intriguing perspective on the development and impact of big business on the modern world'. Law Society Journal'This is an extremely important book that … can be highly recommended as an admirable text for students in courses on business history, and as a guide to the state of play in a number of important debates for the scholar.' Australian Economic History Review'Big Business and the Wealth of Nations is an important book that should be prescribed reading in economic geography courses.' Progress in Human GeographyTable of ContentsPreface; Part I. Overview: 1. Historical and comparative contours of big business Alfred D. Chandler, Jr; 2. The large industrial enterprise and the dynamics of modern economic growth Franco Amatori; Part II. National Experiences of Big Business; Group 1. Prime Drivers in North America and Western Europe: 3. The United States: engines of economic growth in the capital-intensive and knowledge-intensive industries Takashi Hikino; 4. Great Britain: big business, management, and competitiveness in the twentieth century Geoffrey Jones; 5. Germany: competition abroad, cooperation at home, 1870–1990 Ulrich Wegenroth; 6. Small European nations: cooperative capitalism in the twentieth century Harm G. Schröter; Group 2. Followers in Western Europe: 7. France: the relatively slow development of big business in the twentieth century Patrick Fridenson; 8. Italy: the tormented rise of organizational capabilities between government and families Albert Carreras; 9. Spain: big manufacturing firms between state and market, 1917–90 Xavier Tafunell; Group 3. Late Industrializers in East Asia and South America: 10. Japan: increasing organizational capabilities of large industrial enterprises, 1880s–1980s Hidemasa Morikawa; 11. South Korea: enterprising groups and entrepreneurial government Alice H. Amsden; 12. Argentina: industrial growth and enterprise organization, 1880s–1980s María Inés Barbero; Group 4. Centrally-Planned Economies in Eastern Europe: 13. USSR: large enterprises - the functional disorder Andrei Yu Yudanov; 14. Czechoslovakia: the halting pace to scope and scale Alice Teichova; Part III. Economic and Institutional Environment of Big Business: 15. Organizational competences, size, and the wealth of nations: some comments from a comparative perspective Giovanni Dosi and Takashi Hikino; 16. Big business and skill formation in the wealthiest nations: the organizational revolution in the twentieth century William Lazonick and Mary O'Sullivan; 17. Government, big business, and the wealth of nations Thomas K. McCraw; 18. Constructing big business: the cultural concept of the firm Jeffrey R. Fear.

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Book SynopsisWhy did the industrial revolution take place in eighteenth-century Britain and not elsewhere in Europe or Asia? In this convincing new account Robert Allen argues that the British industrial revolution was a successful response to the global economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He shows that in Britain wages were high and capital and energy cheap in comparison to other countries in Europe and Asia. As a result, the breakthrough technologies of the industrial revolution - the steam engine, the cotton mill, and the substitution of coal for wood in metal production - were uniquely profitable to invent and use in Britain. The high wage economy of pre-industrial Britain also fostered industrial development since more people could afford schooling and apprenticeships. It was only when British engineers made these new technologies more cost-effective during the nineteenth century that the industrial revolution would spread around the world.Trade Review'Robert Allen has for decades been one of the broadest-ranging and most imaginative scholars in economic history. In this highly original and superbly-researched book, he has set new standards for the study of one of the most critical episodes of human history, the British Industrial Revolution. A must-read for scholars ranging from eighteenth-century history to the economics of modern growth.' Joel Mokyr, author of The Gifts of Athena and The Enlightened Economy'This important book should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand the origins of the industrial revolution. It puts technological change centre stage and places success in invention firmly in the context of economic incentives and business realities that made 18th-century Britain different. This is a stellar demonstration of how subtle economic analysis informed by detailed historical knowledge can provide a persuasive new interpretation of a defining moment in world economic history.' Nicholas Crafts, Professor of Economic History, University of Warwick'Bob Allen has written, in his usual transparent style, a brilliant book on two of the main questions of economics (or economic history): why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Great Britain, and why did it cause a fundamental break in long term economic development. He argues convincingly that relative prices - high nominal and real wages, and low energy costs - were fundamental in inducing British entrepreneurs and inventors to search for technological solutions that would be labour saving and energy (and capital) using, and that the same relative prices explain why this search process was successful on the British Isles, and much less so on the European Continent. He also demonstrates that, once this process of creative destruction was set in motion, the efficiency of the technologies increased so sharply, that they became highly competitive in different environments - and therefore, after 1820, began to revolutionize the world economy. One of the main strengths of the book is the intimate knowledge the author has acquired of both the technological processes involved, and the economics of industrialization - it is based on a perfect marriage between technological insights and economic analysis.' Jan Luiten van Zanden, author of The Long Road to the Industrial Revolution'Robert Allen's analysis will delight many economists, for he deals in measurable factors such as wages and prices … This is a beautifully written book, the language as clear as a brook and with the same tumbling energy.' The Economist'… the smartest thing I have read in at least a year.' Professor J. Bradford DeLong, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley'Robert C. Allen's The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective shows that it is still possible to say something new and important on this most crowded of topics, and to do so with lucidity.' Linda Colley, The Times Literary Supplement'… stunningly good study of the Industrial Revolution … The book is well written and is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the origins of industrial change in the eighteenth century.' Historical Association'This is the book you should use to teach the Industrial Revolution.' Journal of Economic History'The relationship between shari'a and politics is obviously complex. Feldman's book provides an excellent starting point for a subject notoriously difficult and little understood. Feldman gives us a good place to start from, from, for it runs counter to most Western thinking on the subject.' The European LegacyTable of Contents1. The Industrial Revolution and the pre-industrial economy; Part I: 2. The high wage economy of pre-industrial Britain; 3. The agricultural revolution; 4. The cheap energy economy; 5. Why England succeeded; Part II: 6. Why was the Industrial Revolution British?; 7. The steam engine; 8. Cotton; 9. Coke smelting; 10. Inventors, enlightenment, and human capital; 11. From industrial revolution to modern economic growth.

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Book SynopsisThe dynamic character of American industrialization produced imbalances between the supply of and demand for labor across cities and regions. This book describes how employers and job-seekers responded to these imbalances to create networks of labor market communication and assistance capable of mobilizing the massive redistribution of population that was essential to maintain the rapid pace of the nation's economic growth between the Civil War and World War I. It combines a detailed description of the emerging labor market institutions with a careful analysis of a variety of quantitative evidence to assess the broader economic implications for geographic wage convergence and for American economic growth. Despite an expansion in the geographic scope of labor markets at this time, the evidence suggests that labor market institutions reinforced regional divisions within the United States and left a lasting impact on the evolution of many other aspects of the employment relationship.Trade Review'Rosenbloom develops a number of … important themes in his carefully researched and rigorously argued book … the author of Looking for Work, Searching for Workers rightfully takes his place as the leading authority on labour markets during America's industrial coming of age.' Business HistoryTable of Contents1. Labor markets and American industrialization; 2. Job seekers, employers, and the creation of labor market institutions; 3. Employment agencies and labor exchanges: this impact of intermediaries in the market for labor; 4. Markets for skilled labor: external recruitment and the development of internal labor markets; 5. One market or many? Inter-city and inter-regional labor market integration; 6. Labor market integration and the use of strikebreakers; 7. Labor market institutions and American economic growth: lessons from the nineteenth century.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewNo one has written with more penetrating skepticism about the history of human rights than Samuel Moyn…In Not Enough, Moyn asks whether human-rights theorists and advocates, in the quest to make the world better for all, have actually helped to make things worse…This book, like the author’s last, is the rare academic study that is sure to provoke a wider discussion about important political and economic questions. -- Adam Kirsch * Wall Street Journal *[Moyn] effectively provincializes an ineffectual and obsolete Western model of human rights…Moyn’s book is part of a renewed attention to the political and intellectual ferment of decolonialisation, and joins a sharpening interrogation of the liberal order and the institutions of global governance created by, and arguably for, Pax Americana…[The book’s] critical—and self-critical—energy is consistently bracing, and is surely a condition of restoring the pursuit of equality and justice as an indispensable modern tradition. -- Pankaj Mishra * London Review of Books *No one has done more than Samuel Moyn to unsettle the story of human rights as a triumphal march of upgrades from Magna Carta to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…Not Enough asks us to rethink what human rights might accomplish if they were deployed not simply to set limits on state power, but to harness that power for the purpose of fostering economic equality. -- Benjamin Nathans * New York Review of Books *[S]peaks to the urgency of our contemporary politics… In Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World, Moyn suggests that our current vocabularies of global justice—above all our belief in the emancipatory potential of human rights—need to be discarded if we are work to make our vastly unequal world more equal… Best read as a companion history to Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Not Enough explains how—across the fields of development, moral advocacy, philosophy, and governmental policy—the ideal of sufficiency gradually supplanted what was once an ideal of equality for all… The apparent paradox exposed in Not Enough is what makes the book another tour de force: what are we to make of the fact that our age of human rights was coterminous with the age of neoliberalism? …Moyn implores us to consider: what is the value content of justice in our age of human rights, and how do we try to rectify inequality, if the social and economic rights enumerated in international human rights law put no ceiling on wealth creation? -- Patrick William Kelly * Los Angeles Review of Books *Why do the grimmest obscenities of economic inequality barely register on the human rights agenda? What is the historical explanation for this? Moyn’s book offers fresh and nuanced insight into these questions, surveying a dizzying array of protagonists, from eighteenth-century Jacobin revolutionaries to late twentieth-century Princeton postgrads. -- Adam Etinson * Times Literary Supplement *Not Enough makes it impossible to conceive of the current status of human rights in the same way again…[It] leads the critical and ethical heart to beat much faster. -- Mark Goodale * Boston Review *An engaging and illuminating intellectual history of the rivalry between those focused on rights and those who have insisted on a more substantively egalitarian approach to emancipation…Intended to help everyone, from policymakers to political theorists, avoid the mistakes of the past in order to shape the future more fairly. * Commonweal *Samuel Moyn breaks new ground in examining the relationship between human rights and economic fairness. If we don’t address the growing global phenomenon of economic inequality, the human rights movement as we know it cannot survive or flourish. -- George SorosPromises to cement [Moyn’s] reputation as one of the most trenchant critics of ‘liberal humanitarian’ foreign policy. -- Jon Baskin * Chronicle of Higher Education *[A] marvelous book. -- Nils Gilman * Los Angeles Review of Books *Human rights do not seem to be enough in our era of unshared affluence. Samuel Moyn’s fascinating and highly timely book explores how we ended up here despite the higher hopes for humanity pursued by multiple political and philosophical movements over the last two hundred years. This is essential reading for anybody who wants to understand the present age with its overwhelming challenges and breathtaking possibilities. -- Mathias Risse, author of On Global JusticeA brilliantly conceived and much-needed book on human rights and inequality. Moyn has a genius for writing history that is intelligent, surprising, and disciplined by fine judgment. -- Jedediah Purdy, author of After Nature: A Politics for the AnthropoceneMoyn provides important insights into how international and domestic inequalities have increased in recent decades…[His] trenchant critique of classical liberal economic and political thought questions many long-standing human rights assumptions. An important addition to the literature. -- C. E. Welch * Choice *

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Book SynopsisAn incisive history of the venture-capital industry.New YorkerAn excellent and original economic history of venture capital.Tyler Cowen, Marginal RevolutionA detailed, fact-filled account of America's most celebrated moneymen.New RepublicExtremely interesting, readable, and informativeTom Nicholas tells you most everything you ever wanted to know about the history of venture capital, from the financing of the whaling industry to the present multibillion-dollar venture funds.Arthur RockIn principle, venture capital is where the ordinarily conservative, cynical domain of big money touches dreamy, long-shot enterprise. In practice, it has become the distinguishing big-business engine of our time[A] first-rate history.New YorkerVC tells the riveting story of how the venture capital industry arose from America's longstanding identification with entrepreneurship and risk-taking. Whether the venture is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the latest Silicon Valley startup, VC is a state of mind as much as a way of doing business, exemplified by an appetite for seeking extreme financial rewards, a tolerance for failure and experimentation, and a faith in the promise of innovation to generate new wealth. Tom Nicholas's authoritative history takes us on a roller coaster of entrepreneurial successes and setbacks. It describes how iconic firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia invested in Genentech and Apple even as it tells the larger story of VC's birth and evolution, revealing along the way why venture capital is such a quintessentially American institutionone that has proven difficult to recreate elsewhere.Trade Review[An] incisive history of the venture-capital industry. * New Yorker *A detailed, fact-filled account of America’s most celebrated moneymen…It provides a valuable look into their world…Nicholas is at his best when he is charting just how reliant venture capital has been on the government—and just how far the industry has gone to try and shape government policy in its favor. -- Avi Asher-Schapiro * New Republic *An excellent and original economic history of venture capital. -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *Though it’s no secret that Pentagon money helped Silicon Valley to develop into a technology hub, Nicholas’s history sheds light on the less explored role of venture capital firms in bringing these new technologies to civilian markets. -- Jamie Martin * Bookforum *Whatever your view of venture capitalists, it’s worth studying where they came from. I had a vague familiarity with the role of U.S. postwar policy in the creation of the species, but I learned a lot more from Nicholas. And I’d never thought about their precursors in the old whaling industry! -- Stephen L. Carter * Bloomberg Opinion *Not only an insightful study of an asset class but a fascinating history which touches on fundamental questions of political economy. VC is distinctive mainly because it offers such a long view of venture capital’s evolution…[It] offers many lessons for attentive readers, explaining not only the present features of the venture landscape but also how we might address some of the widely recognized problems facing the U.S. economy today. -- Julius Krein * American Conservative *A penetrating history of the industry…I enthusiastically recommend it. -- Laurence B. Siegel * Advisor Perspectives *In his extremely interesting, readable, and informative VC, Tom Nicholas tells you most everything you ever wanted to know about the history of venture capital, from the financing of the whaling industry to the present multibillion-dollar venture funds. -- Arthur Rock, Arthur Rock & Co.VC is a captivating book that casts a historical light on the contemporary landscape of venture capital. Nicholas brilliantly explains the surprising origins of the financial practices and organizational structures of the VC industry we know today. -- Toby E. Stuart, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and venture partner, Avid Park VenturesRalph Waldo Emerson once called America ‘the country of tomorrow,’ and Nicholas’s book does a great job of showing how venture capital, a rocket fuel for entrepreneurial risk, played a fundamental and unique role in proving Emerson right. -- Mike Maples, Jr., partner, Floodgate

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive socio-economic history of Tyneside, told through the lives of three generations of the same familyTrade Review"Local history and family history combine in this 400-plus page work telling the story of four generations of the Chapman family within the backdrop of the history of the town over a 150 period, 1811-1963..."

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Book SynopsisThe Nazis created nature preserves, championed sustainable forestry, curbed air pollution, and designed the autobahn highway network as a way of bringing Germans closer to nature. How Green Were the Nazis?:Trade Review“Perhaps one of the greatest values of this book is to underscore once again the fact that environmentalism as a political belief system has never been value-free and thus has been able to take vastly different political forms.” * Technology and Culture *“Instead of courting controversy, How Green Were the Nazis? both draws on, and contributes to, recent trends in the historiography of the Third Reich. It treats the regime not as a ‘historical aberration’ but as a barbaric mutation of modernity that displayed ‘a mixture of atavistic and avante-garde ideas’ in environmental as in other policy areas.” * Environment and History *“The environmental ideas, policies, and consequences of the Nazi regime pose controversial questions that have long begged for authoritative answers. At last, a team of highly qualified scholars has tackled these questions, with dispassionate judgment and deep research. Their assessment will stand for years to come as the fundamental work on the subject and provides a new angle of vision on 20th-century Europe’s most disruptive force.”“An invaluable English introduction to the history of conservation in the Third Reich.”“The thesis brought forward by the editors regarding the ‘modernity’ of National Socialism is exciting.... The volume raises key questions and provides a very good basis for engaging with the history of conservation under Nazi rule.” * Historische Zeitschrift *“The picture that emerges is of a regime that seemed intent early on to protect the environment yet abandoned conservation as soon as serious war preparation commenced in 1936.... In introducing us to conservationists who threw in their lot with the Nazi regime, the volume does remind us that the desire to protect nature must be accompanied by an equally strong commitment to social justice and human rights.” * H-German *

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