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The history of nations is a history of haves and have-nots, and as we approach the millennium, the gap between rich and poor countries is widening. In this engrossing and important new work, eminent historian David Landes explores the complex, fascinating and often startling causes of the wealth and poverty of nations. The answers are found not only in the large forces at work in economies: geography, religion, the broad swings of politics, but also in the small surprising details. In Europe, the invention of spectacles doubled the working life of skilled craftsmen, and played a prominent role in the creation of articulated machines, and in China, the failure to adopt the clock fundamentally hindered economic development. The relief of poverty is vital to the survival of us all. As David Landes brilliantly shows, the key to future success lies in understanding the lessons the past has to teach us - lessons uniquely imparted in this groundbreaking and vital book which exemplifies narrative history at its best.
Explores the historical meaning of time and its many perceptions and uses. This revised edition contains a new preface and discusses new findings on medieval and early-modern time keeping. Also new to this edition is discussion of contemporary high-tech uses of the watch as a mini-computer.
Sample Text
David Landes scrutinizes powerful family businesses in Europe, Japan and America to determine what factors can cause a dynasty to fourish or fail. Focusing on banking, cars and raw materials, he looks at the Fords, Rothschilds, Agnellis, Guggenheims, Rockefellers and Toyodas.
A sweeping global history of entrepreneurial innovation Whether hailed as heroes or cast as threats to social order, entrepreneurs—and their innovations—have had an enormous influence on the growth and prosperity of nations. The Invention of Enterprise gathers together, for the first time, leading economic historians to explore the entrepreneur's role in society from antiquity to the present. Addressing social and institutional influences from a historical context, each chapter examines entrepreneurship during a particular period and in an important geographic location. The book chronicles the sweeping history of enterprise in Mesopotamia and Neo-Babylon; carries the reader through the I...
The history of nations is a history of haves and have-nots, and as we approach the millennium, the gap between rich and poor countries is widening. In this engrossing and important new work, eminent historian David Landes explores the complex, fascinating and often startling causes of the wealth and poverty of nations. The answers are found not only in the large forces at work in economies: geography, religion, the broad swings of politics, but also in the small surprising details. In Europe, the invention of spectacles doubled the working life of skilled craftsmen, and played a prominent role in the creation of articulated machines, and in China, the failure to adopt the clock fundamentally hindered economic development. The relief of poverty is vital to the survival of us all. As David Landes brilliantly shows, the key to future success lies in understanding the lessons the past has to teach us - lessons uniquely imparted in this groundbreaking and vital book which exemplifies narrative history at its best.
Rothschilds • Morgans • Fords • Toyoda • Agnellis • Rockefellers • Guggenheims Dynastic family businesses have everything: extraordinary success, bizarre eccentricity, bitter rivalry – as well as pots of money and power. Yet almost no one has looked closely enough to see what it is that really makes them tick. In Dynasties, award-winning author David Landes casts his eye over some of the most powerful family businesses in Europe, Japan and America. On the way, he provides thrilling histories of the characters who have made their mark on the world and passed on a legacy – sometimes benign and sometimes not – to their descendants.
A galaxy of distinguished international economists and historians pit economic history against the shaky assumptions of the classical economic theory of natural growth. Their explanations consider the factors of technology, entrepreneurialism, and paths to economic growth, but each reflects an ideological wave of explanation that has marked the last two hundred years.