Rating: 
Summary: An interesting, but hard read
Review: The Wealth of Nations handles a lot of economical phenomena in a concrete but sometimes complex way. On one hand the book is filled with ideas, some convincing, some out-dated, some fundamental to the current believe in free-markets. These ideas are combined with appealing (or appalling) examples of the injustice done to people by disturbing the free-market. On the other hand however, I find that certain sections of the book require a lot of concentration. The book is an interesting, but slow and at times difficult, read.
Essentially, it is a treatise on the power of individuals to maximise their own wealth and therefor a support for the natural liberty of men and an argument for free-markets. Not as a perfect system in which there will be no misery, but as a system that gives individuals the greatest (and most just) opportunity to gain happiness and which will be the quickest to respond to changes in supply and demand (and therefor decrease the misery which is created when governments ignore gaps between supply and demand).
It is not a book that believes in the pure goodness of companies (but explicitly states that companies have a interest which is directly opposite to that of society as a whole. I.e. the interest of companies is to create a supply shortage so they can ask prices above costprice), but says that the best way to break the power of these companies is the allow free competition. It also reveals that political decisions that at fist glance seems compassionate, might in fact be inhumane, cruel and the cause of much suffering (because on the long run they lead to a supply shortage). The examples given here, are still relevant to view the decisions made by politicians in today's so-called free market countries.
Rating: 
Summary: A life accomplishment to finish, life changing to read.
Review: The Wealth of Nations ranks among the best of the unread classics. As a double major in Business and International Relations, I naturally never read this book until after I graduated. Similar to Clauswitz's "On War" for the military strategist, or Plato's "Republic" for the political philosopher, this is a must read for anyone who lives in a free-market economy. Adam Smith goes through a completely exhausting and methodical explanation about the nature of money. The multitude of examples and depth of discussion could stop a Mack truck, but the lessons are critical. It teaches you about the true nature of money; where it comes from, what it means. That, in turn, as you reflect on your own life, will illustrate much about how you prioritize your own life. Along with Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," this book will indisputably change your perception of the nature of money and a how person chooses to earn their living. The only drawback to the book is that it is brutally boring--but get a large cup of Java, sit back, and dig in. Nobody said it was going to be easy. THIS IS A MUST READ.
Rating:
Summary: Capitalism by it's first advocate
Review: This 18th Century book is a well-reasoned broadside against mercantilism and state-run monopolies. Suprisingly, it is incredibly easy-to-read, even compared to modern fiction novels, and you can just open it and let your eyes fall where they may. Vital reading for those who promote or oppose the free-market. Read about capitalism from a temperate, intellectual proponent, rather than a right-wing extremist or left-wing radical. Also, important details on the living standards of the factory worker in 18th Century England from someone who actually lived in those times, rather than biased guesswork on the part of later 19th Century writers - it'll change your perspective!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but a struggle to get through
Review: This book is the classic bible of capitalism and it explains the mindsets of advocates of free-trade perfectly. It gives a clear, proper - though sometimes a bit long - explanation of the laws of the market and exposes the logical workings of the "invisible hand". However, as it was written for its own time, it refers to
contemporary events, people and nation-states, and that makes it hard for anyone but a history buff to understand many of Smith's points. Outdated and mutated words appear on almost every page and adds to this complicating It seems as if Smith's text was left completely intact. The book is also very long - almost 600 pages - and at times it relatively dull. For these flaws I felt it necessary to remove one star. However, the book deserves the other four stars for its remarkable clarity in destroying socialist arguments for the conscious ability of humanity to put the interest of the group ahead of their own.
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Summary: Classic of Economics
Review: This book is the seed of modern understandings of economics and therefore the key to unlocking the uncertainties of 18th century economic life to the degree that the world has reached unseen wealth at the present. I think there is a strong connection between the influence of this one book and the relative wealth of today's world 100 years later. Although much of the theories in this book are outdated, especially when it comes to international economics, there is still much in this book to be studied. For that reason, I think it is worth reading by all.
Rating:
Summary: Great Insights from A Classic Thinker, Highly Valuable+Valid
Review: This book is, was, and will remain an all-time classic, and that for many years to come. It is probably one of the first works to have provided an analytic foundation for the link between human behaviour and economics (others have followed in these footsteps: M. Weber, L. Von Mises, F. Hayek, M. Friedman, and so forth). Adam Smith did not lay the foundation of modern economics on ever changing local conditions and political circumstances, but on the ideals of freedom and independence of Man, that is, he laid the foundation in a perspicacious insight of Man himself. Just as others have done later on in other fields, Adam Smith saw the global outcome of human activity from an independent moral point of view, with the necessity of each independent part given enough freedom and independence to be able to contribute to the benefit of the sum of all individual parts. Adam Smith came up with the conclusion that in the activity of Man, just as in chemistry, biology, zoology and ecology, each component has to be given enough freedom and independency in order to be able to contribute to the success of the whole. His thinking laid the foundation for the view of the economic outcome of the activity of Man as some sort of a self-regulating meta-system, a giant organism with a life of its own, rooting in each part's own and personal self-preservation instinct, i.e. the sum of all parts represents and mirrors the characteristics and interests of each individual component. The pages of this book are imbedded in some kind of a genius of lucidity. The most objective thought was of course the insight on the invisible hand and on the open hand, but there are plenty of other gems to be found in this seminal and groundbreaking work. Adam Smith is also one of the first to explicitly state that the wealth of a nation should not to be determined in a time-frozen evaluation of its present assets, but in its economic and industrial output, i.e. what was to become the national GDP's with its effect on economic balance sheets, and so forth. Such considerations are still very valid and instructive when comparing economies such as those of continental Europe (typically capital intensive and usually less productive) with those of the U.S. and some Far-East countries, more efficient in capital allocation and re-allocation. Adam Smith was also one of the first to oppose mercantilism and protectionism by seeing in them the principal reins of the increase of global general welfare, a way of preserving economic privileges, sooner or later doomed to vanish with the general progress of civilization. By and by, this is an excellent edition, and the Editor's introduction is quite helpful for gaining some insight in the general historic repercussions of Adam Smith's work.
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Summary: The Tao of Economics
Review: This is one of the truly great books produced by the Western world. Although much has been written on economics since, it considerably broadened my perspective to read it in the original. I can't help feeling that those who pan Wealth of Nations as an apology for exploitation simply haven't read it. That's simply not what the book is about. For if you really do care about the underpriveleged masses -- and it's imminently clear that he really does -- then you better consciously organize your state in such a manner that money will flow naturally where it's most needed. I'd been told before I read it by several people that AS was, for example, apologizing for the East India Trading Company? Does his apology for EIT include the lengthy chapter which discuss in full detail how and why the East India Trading Company was responsible for an wide array of abuses in the Far East, and why no similar company would be legal if a society were fully moral and knew its own best interest? Nor is it a blind apology for laissez faire economics, though it does recommend non-intervention by the government insofar as that is possible. Still he fully recognizes the need for social services, rightly understood and rightly executed. In fact, I can't see how anyone who reads it could view it as an apology at all -- it's simply a statement of fact. Adam Smith is not the one carrying an ideology around on his shoulder. You may not like it that the world works this way -- that's another matter. But that IS the way it works... you are made to see that for yourself. It is not imposed on you as dogma. And after reading AS, I'm left feeling very happy that that's the way the world works. I think the most fundamental idea I am left with after reading all those pages, is that wealth is a verb, not a noun. Land and labor (i.e. food and farming) are the bottom line of economics. Treat your farmers well. Unjust practices in trading will ultimately backfire. The dynamo which runs the machine that creates wealth lies within each individual - it is the individual's will to better his or her condition. To the degree that this aspect of human nature is given the power to express itself , the nation will be vitalized internally.
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Summary: foundation of capitalism with a flaw
Review: This master reference book sure laid the foundations for capitalistic theory and politics, but one element is not demonstrated or rather its demonstration has since proved untrue. A.Smith says the welfare of a nation brings the happiness of its individuals, and it does NOT.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint of heart
Review: Though Smith's "Wealth of Nations" is a true classic written in lucid English, and the foundation of our modern economy, I cannot say that it is all-too-important for most people to read this book. Weighing in 700+ pages for a typical printing, this work is not a quick and easy read by any stretch of the imagination. Many of Smith's great metaphors are found in the first quarter of the book, and I felt bored reading the latter parts. It is not that Smith was wrong, by any means, but rather that many of his arguments are now well-accepted and can be demonstrated in much more succinct manners. I feel that Smith's multitudes of examples are not particularly important to the average man. With that said, I reiterate that this is an important work that should be understood by everyone - but this does not necessarily mean reading all of it. For anyone studying economics, of course, this work is the bread and butter of your field - and is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible of Economics
Review: To be an economist without having read "The Wealth of Nations" is like being a priest without having read the Bible. As is often the case with second hand accounts, textbooks have distorted and watered down Adam Smith. Going back to the original text is both refreshing and enlightening. The "Wealth of Nations" remains the most truthful defense of the economic science. But remember that Adam Smith also wrote "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"; for Smith, economics was a search to better people's life rather than simply a quest to optimize mathematical functions or estimate variables using econometric models. To simply associate Smith with expressions such as the "invisible hand," does not do him justice. Take, for example, the opening chapter on the division of labor: first, Smith defends the division of labor as being efficient; then, he defends it as an essential component of the freedom to allocate one's labor to one's talents; finally, he links the division of labor to trade: without the freedom to exchange the fruits of one's labor, the division of labor is meaningless. The point is that Adam Smith defends the rationale for the market, rather than just explain its mechanics. Anyone studying economics in school would think that economics is all about efficiency; this preoccupation, inevitably, breeds economists who support the market simply because it works. But to read Adam Smith is to enter the realm of an economic science where the ultimate benchmark is not efficiency but human freedom and welfare. That is, probably, what Smith would remark if he were to sit in an economics class today, and why the "Wealth of Nations" is as revolutionary today as it was two centuries ago.
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