Rating: 
Summary: an interesting failure
Review: The Wealth & Poverty of Nations is David Landes attempt to answer the question of what has caused some countries to advance economically while others have been left behind and mired in poverty. While Dr. Landes makes a worthy effort the arguments that he advances ultimately come up short.The central argument advanced in the book is that it is a country's culture (loosely defined) which is the determining factor in whether or not a country advances economically and scientifically. If Dr. Landes wanted to show that culture and economic development are intertwined he needn't have written this book - that fact should be obvious to anyone who is at all observant of the world around them. The real question, which is never addressed in the book, is which is the cart and which is the horse. Were what Landes considers to be the virtues of Northern European culture - openness to new ideas, industriousness, and scientific curiosity - really the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution or were they the result of economic changes that had been set in motion by other historical forces? The economic history of the United States clearly shows that this book may indeed have the cart before the horse. The northern and southern United States shared the same language, religion, and culture. Yet during the 19th century the North industrialized to the point that is was the equal of any industrialized nation in the world while the South remained a backward agricultural region. If culture is the determining factor, why the difference? Again if everything is so dependent on culture why has Britain become such a laggard? Did the culture which presumably propelled Britain to its status as the most advanced nation in the world in the 18th and 19th centuries somehow mutate into a different type of culture which has now reduced Britain to an also ran? Clearly, Dr. Landes's thesis needs some work. The book also suffers from several lapses in intellectual rigor that one simply wouldn't expect from someone of the author's stature. The correlation that Landes makes between Asian countries use of chopsticks and their successful microelectronics industries is bizarre to say the least. His statement in another part of the book that "In general, the best clue to a nation's growth and development potential is the status and role of women. This is the greatest handicap of Muslim Middle Eastern societies today" ignores Japan, where the status of women is not all that much better than in Muslim countries, not to mention what the status of women was in England or the United States during their eras of industrialization. The reason I am not harsher on this book is Landes's willingness to mention what just about every other academic, IMF and World Bank advisor, politician, and pundit considers sacrilegious - that during their period of rapid development and industrialization all countries pursued protectionist policies. This includes England, Germany, France, the United States, and Korea to name only the more famous examples. Japan, as Landes points out, was prohibited by foreign intervention from instituting protective tariffs but more than compensated by developing non-tariff barriers to imports. Landes gives much evidence to support the argument that protecting your own market is a necessary, although certainly not sufficient, condition for development and it is clear that he supports it. Unfortunately , for reasons of not being drawn and quartered by his colleagues in academia, he can never bring himself to state so explicitly. It is disappointing that in a book where he relishes taking on sacred cow after sacred cow he is unwilling to take on the biggest of them all in modern economic theory - free trade. However, he at least takes on the ridiculous arguments about comparative advantage. He cleverly, and accurately, points out present day Germans are better off due to their 19th Century ancestors not having followed the advise of economists to stick with their "comparative advantage" of growing wheat and trading it for British manufactures. While I obviously do not agree with the central thesis of the book it is a thought-provoking look at a very important topic and readers of all backgrounds and points of view will gain new insights. For that reason this is a book which should be read.
Rating: 
Summary: For better understanding of world economics.
Review: It is an excellent book, with a complete analysis of world economics. Landes links economics to history, human behavior and geography, to explain why the world and the nations are today what they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallowness masquerading as intellectual depth
Review: This book provides an OK overview of the divergent economic histories of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa. The author basically argues that Europe (and now the US) has triumphed in economic competition primarily because of superior culture, economic policies, and institutions. As a pretty conservative believer in the need for free markets and other spurs to innovation and effort, I can support that. However, the author constantly overgeneralizes and presents his own ill-informed prejudices as substantiated analysis. The real kicker is this: he claims the recent success of Taiwanese and Korean firms in high-tech manufacturing is due to manual dexterity gained from years of eating with chopsticks. For a much more worthwhile (if intellectually challenging) book on this subject, read Michael Porter's "Competitive Advantage of Nations." After reading that book, you will feel like you really learned something profound.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are looking for real scholarship look eslewhere
Review: This book is a horrible and pretentious work of historical fiction. Poor Mr. Landes, as an Ivy league history professor, has vested so much of his life teaching and perpetuating Euro-centric history. I am sure it now infuriates him that real scholarship has destroyed this neo-colonial view of the world. This book proves that he will go to any lengths now to justify this Victorian perception of history. He really needs to lift his own veil of ignorance and racism and admit that those cute little Asians ( whose little fingers make them so adapt to work with small parts)did have one or two great ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous perspective on the world
Review: There are many sources of relativistic, post-modern views of the world. However, there is something that does not sit right in the long run. It is better to be rich and healthy than sick and poor. This books shows how squandering human and material capital can lead a country into poverty and investing it wisely can help a country flourish. For anyone interested in the world, the book also provides a jumping off point to other fantastic books. It referred often to Albion's Seed, a wonderful book about the USA; to Cruelty and Silence - a disconcerting by important book about Iraq. The scope of the books is immense. Dr. Landes touches on topics as diverse as maleria, the Spanish Inqusition and Islam to present a case based on a satisfying balance of material and social factors that fit with common sense as well as the fine scholarship used in writing the book. I have been recommending it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Book That Leaves Reader Hungry For More!
Review: David Landes' book titled, "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations" is a fundamental reading for not only historians, but also for anyone involved in international work today. Dr. Landes takes the reader on a world-wind tour of the world from the beginnings of time to the present in a manner that leaves the reader hungering for more information. If there is one main idea that could summarize the effect this book had on the reader, it would be categorized as "extremely thought provoking". Dr. Landes presents the history of the world, written from a more objective view than the history books I remember reading as a youngster in grade school. I found myself many times wondering if this book was not only a "response" to Adam Smith's epic piece, The Wealth of Nations, but also a book containing many of the "dirty little secrets" that world historians thought improper or not appropriate to address. One striking example of a "dirty little secret" is Landes' detailed illustration of the effect the Spaniards had on the indigenous populations of the New World. His graphic description of the manner in which these people were virtually "wiped out" and "exterminated" in the wake of Spanish exploration and conquest, leaves one speechless. Another example is in his description of the slave trade and how it served as a vital part of the development of the New World . . . and the enrichment of the Old World. Again, one is left in awe of the dark side of Man's human nature, and hungering for more information. Dr. Landes presents some very intriguing arguments for why the world is the way it is today. For instance, he posits that those cultures and societies who chose to separate church and state were the ones who have succeeded today in their economic development (primarily the nations of the Western world). In contrast, those that chose to keep religion and government one entity did not advance primarily because of the inherent characteristic of most religions to suppress "new" or "radical" ideas (he primarily cites China and Muslim cultures as examples). Landes also cites the development of certain concepts and inventions, as well as their acceptance by societies, as "catalysts" for development. Examples of these catalysts include the water wheel, mechanical clocks, eyeglasses, and the wonders that spawned the Industrial Revolution. This book is a classic textbook that contains the fundamental knowledge required of one who aspires to be well versed in world history. It also serves to educate the contemporary person to heed the lessons of history, lest we succumb to relearning them all over again. History is replete with examples of the once powerful (Romans, Spanish and English), falling in stature and power because of such human fallacies as greed, complacency and ignorance. A riveting book and one I highly recommend to all who want to apply the lessons of history to our future.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: I read this book in India during May-June this year. I am not surprised that there are already more than 80 reviews. Perhaps it is one of the best books I read on this topic. I noted that several reviewers are critical and some believe that the author is a racist or Euro-centric or has no understanding and respect for non-European cultures. While some of these criticisms seem to be reasonable at times, one has to take a much broader view of this book and its main theme. In my view it is not very useful to debate now who invented this or that. All those inventions and knowledge are available to all. However, unfortunately this knowledge is not yet efficiently used for the benefit of the common man in many parts of the world (the developing world). Prof. Landes's book made an important point that there is something or more than something for the non-European world to learn from the mainstream European countries. By this he means (my interpretation) not the superficial aspects of their culture, values and life style. I see that as implying that the rest of the world would benefit by learning the problem solving skills of the mainstream European countries and using those skills and knowledge to alleviate the plight of the common man. So what is wrong with that? And why that is racist? Like Prof. Landes, I am amazed with the lack of these skills in many non-European societies. In my view this is due to the differences between the philosophies of these two worlds--a point Prof. Landes recognises somewhat but did not elaborate and pursue. Having said this, I also take the view that there is something the West can learn from the East. But the need for that is less urgent than the need for the rest of the world to learn from the mainstream European countries. Some of these issues fall beyond the scope of this book. I think that if the non-European world pays more attention to their education system and use the European theory of knowledge, the gap between these two worlds will decrease over time. This is a (very) time consuming process but I think that it is far better than revolutions. Virtually everyone who reads this book is stimulated to think and find his/her own solutions to the basic human problems. It is unreasonable to expect that all such solutions should be examined by one book. I congratulate Prof. Landes for his thought provoking, highly original and scholarly contribution.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the thesis?
Review: Landes seems to have used the approach often adopted by marketing professionals--keep 'em hanging on till the end. His thesis is most succinctly stated in the final chapter of the book. That means that the reader is left to try to figure out what all the myriad facts, figures and interesting anecdotes he throws out in the previous chapters are leading up to. It's a shame, because once you read the last chapter, you can almost see the logical framework that all these other details are supposed to support. While his tone is way too smug, and his general thesis fails to reach 'ultimate causes' as Jared Diamond's excellent book on a similar topic did so well, few readers will come away from this book without having learned something. It takes a long time to get through, probably because you have to keep asking yourself--"where is all this leading to?"
Rating:
Summary: Miseducation
Review: Wow. Landes writes this book in a convincing manner, as if it were a tour de force. Unfortunately, there is little force behind his understanding of the non-European world. "Why are some countries so rich, and some so poor?" This is the question the book attempts to answer. Landes has some good points to make. Early discussions of geography, and his insistance that different cultures produce different economies are well-received. I see two major areas in which this book falls on its face. Firstly, for the most part, he treats each nation as if it were an individual entity, acting in concert, moving towards a perdetermined goal, and accumulating wealth in concert. In this aspect, his analysis of any pluralistic country, like those countries in South and North America, fails. Also, his analysis of today's world fails, in that national boundries and soveirgnty hold less power than international monied interests. The nation-state as an entity is becoming antiquated. Secondly, and more importantly, his analysis fails because of his almost total lack of understanding of the non-European world, and the way in which non-European economies have developed. Examples abound. He claims that the religion of Islam keeps the Middle Eastern countries poor, yet praises the economies of other Islamic countries like Indonesia without discussing the effect Islam has there. He credits the "Japanese Protestant work ehtic" (how insulting can he get?) with creating the conditions for a strong Japanese economy. A look at history will quickly debunk this claim. The Japanese were able to create a large economy largely because of their great devotion to their leaders. I read the whole book, expecting some education after the first chapter. I was dissappointed, but more than that, I was afraid that people would read this book and think that the answer for non-industrialized nations is to be more like "us", whoever "we" might be. This thinking is little different in principle or end-product from the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and inquisitions of the 15th, 16th, 17th centuries. This book has more potential to miseducate than to educate. If you are looking for a book which will explain how the world got to be the way it is, I would suggest checking out Immanuel Wallerstein. Important books that discuss the world as it is now are William Greider's "One World, Ready or Not", John Grey's "False Dawn".
Rating:
Summary: Anecdotes, not analysis
Review: Two word summary: culture matters. What's wrong with the book is that Landes never proves, or even makes a satisfactory compelling argument for the above thesis. What's right with the book is that it is entertaining and informative. He supports his thesis with hundreds of fascinating historical and economic anecdotes. While interesting, even casual students of economic history will realize that these anecdotes are no substitute for a comprehensive (and especially quantitative) analysis. On the other hand, such anecdotes are eminently more readable for the casual student. I enjoyed the book greatly, though I disagreed with the author in some places and felt he was guilty of sins of omission in others. The book is thoroughly footnoted, with a massive bibliography for the reader who cares to dig deeper. But make no mistake, the book is a popularization, not an academic tract. I take issue with other reviewers' claims of the author's racism. I found him to be extremely even handed in his treatment of sensitive issues. This sensitivity and evenhandedness was surprising because early on he makes promises of being a radical iconoclast of politcal correctness, promises which I don't believe he ever delivers on.
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