Empire of Wealth, An : The Epic History of American Economic Power

Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Fabulous
Review: "An Empire of Wealth : The Epic History of American Economic Power" by John Steel Gordon is an absolutely fabulous work of History and Literature. If this fast moving and exciting survey of the greatest nation the world has ever known was placed in the hands of American students it just may revive the study of History in this country. In an age of political correctness and horribly written text books John Steel Gordon proves that history is not boring, only that there are boring teachers and badly written history books. I challenge anyone who has the slightest interest in the history of this nation to read the portions made available by Amazon, and not want to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A well written history book
Review: An Empire of Wealth is one of the most interesting American history books you can find. It encompasses the entire span of time of the nation, from early exploration to the present. The focus is on the history of economics in America, with a dash of political history tossed in where applicable for more understanding. The book is well written and easy to read, which is a lot more than can be said for the vast majority of history books.

The real problem with the book for me was that there was no major theme proposed to unite this broad look. Topics were covered in chronological order with not much logical connection beyond the preceding few pages. Maybe that's the point of the history of America's economy - it has no unifying theme other than progress.

At times Mr. Gordon did interject his love of unions and big government, even in the face of historical evidence to their detriment. Thankfully these minor defects did not ruin an otherwise well written book.

Rating:
Summary: Light reading for the History buff
Review: Economics is neglected to a criminal extent in nearly every facet of public life. Basic Econ should be taught in Elementary school but few people have the vaguest grasp of it beyond "Supply and Demand." This is not the book to correct the situation. "An Empire of Wealth" offers some insights, however unintentional, as to why Econ is held in such low esteem by other academic disciplines and the general public.

A quick and dirty benchmark for any U.S. history text is to flip to the index and look for Andrew Jackson (a famous President without being one of the hallowed "founding fathers.") Most of those who vilify Jackson focus on his forced removal of the Seminole Indians and defiance of Supreme Court rulings. Those who admire Jackson look at his populism and military prowess. Gordon writes off Jackson's victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans (a red meat moment in history if ever there was one) as "militarily inconsequential." But Gordon returns to Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the United States repeatedly and venomously in passages that appear to have been written with a cyanide or acid-tipped pen. Economists tend to resent populism, to have greater respect and trust for systems than for people. Individual economists often refuse to understand that populations do not behave rationally which is puzzling because it is Economics that has proven better than any other discipline that this is the case. Support or opposition to a national bank was a justifiably contentious issue. A people can not govern themselves using tools they do not understand. Only an Economist could think revoking the bank's charter with the approval of Congress could be considered Jackson's worst moment.

Gordon's strongest sections are those that discuss technological advances in the United States and how the economic environment contributed directly to the rate and success of these advances. But again the index shows a weakness. How can you examine technology and economics in the U.S. without a single mention of Nikola Tesla? Tesla was Edison's superior in every aspect but one: Edison was the better self-promoter. History is full of clever inventors who never bothered to get their inventions to market (Gordon mentions Babbage for instance.) A really terrific teaching example fell through the cracks: Tesla got short-changed but generations of consumers got better technology because Edison knew there was a buck to be made.

In another example of a too academic look at the world, Gordon discusses President Hoover's use of federal troops under Douglas MacArthur to decamp protesters in Washington D.C. in 1932. Gordon opines that Hoover should have fired MacArthur but "[i]nstead, he took full responsibility..." Of course he was right to take full responsibility; that's the difference between being the President and being and economist: live ammo.

As history marches on, Gordon discusses the role of U.S. industrial production in winning World War II and cites the admiration of Joseph Stalin OF ALL PEOPLE (emphasis mine.) How you take that tells a great deal about where you stand. Even as a Conservative, I think the fact that Stalin was not a free market capitalist seems like a pretty small infraction measured against the brutal slaughter of tens of millions of people. Those on the left are willing to overlook the tens of millions of people thing BECAUSE Stalin was not a free-market capitalist. Only an Economist could think a little swipe like that would draw any blood.

And if I haven't savaged poor Mr. Gordon enough, I want to mention another point that probably has more to do with Economists in general than with Gordon in particular. The Gold Standard is a fundamental and recurring issue in economic history. On page 278, Gordon makes the logical point that, under the Gold Standard, capital growth is limited by actual gold production. He then cites gold production in two different years IN DOLLARS! It seemed to me that almost any other measure would have done a better job of illustrating the point. Now since the Gold Standard, by definition, fixes the price of gold, the dollar figures accurately reflect the amount of gold produced in tons but why send your student digging for a calculator? It seems like a perfect teaching opportunity missed because Economists are reluctant to discuss gold in terms of anything but currency for fear of giving the impression they have any but academic interests in the stuff.

Economists alone are responsible for their PR problems. The first Economists laid the cornerstone off-kilter by reversing the dependent and independent variables in Supply and Demand charts. Economists have studiously failed to appreciate the immediate and global effect of their mutterings. They have the worst aspects of Social Scientists and Natural Scientists with the good qualities of neither. As I said above, we desperately need better Economics instruction in modern society. It is ridiculous that we obsess about teaching children to make change but never teach them that currency is a tool for measuring value. It is meaningless to talk about the changing value of a currency in terms of that same currency (e.g. a dollar being only worth x cents) but newsmagazines devote regular sections to such comparisons. Popular culture worships wealth but demonizes any means for amassing it other than sports or entertainment (or the lottery, I guess.) This is an enjoyable and light read if you are already well informed in U.S. History and are interested in economics. Using "Empire" to teach a class would be a disaster.

Rating:
Summary: Informative and enjoyable biography of the American Economy
Review: Forests have been cleared for all the books that have been written on American History. While a few stand out from the pack, it is harder to find one that is fresh, interesting, and informative. "An Empire of Wealth" is all of those things and I strongly recommend it to you. Instead of being a military, political, or diplomatic history, John Steel Gordon has written an economic biography of our country. Do not mistake this approach for a dry treatise on economics. Far from it, this book is full of struggle, wild success, bitter failure, dislocation from wrenching changes in the economy due to the rise of new technologies, and marshalling resources for war.

He begins with the resource rich, but hostile wilderness that the early explorers found. The British made the first permanent settlement at Jamestown in what is now Virginia. The settlers had come for gold, found mica that they mistook for gold ore, and only 38 of the 105 survived the first winter. They kept coming from England and they kept struggling until they began to grow and export tobacco. Mr. Gordon then takes us on a fast paced, and amazing journey through the nation's founding, the movement west, our major wars, depressions, and the rise (and fall) of technologies such as steam, the railroads, machine supported agriculture, banking, and international trade. He ends the book with the horrible events we experienced on September 11, 2001.

Not only is this a fun read for anyone interested in American History, it would be a fine addition to the history readings for high school or college students. I especially like the author's honesty about the good and the bad in our history without making us the bad guys or the source of all pain and suffering on the planet. The reader comes away with a richer understanding of our history and feels good about our place in the world.

The book has a particularly nice bibliography in addition to the chapter notes. The readings offered in the bibliography would enrich anyone and I also urge you to look at them and read as many as you can. There is also an index to help you find certain topics. (I am a big fan of indexes and cannot understand any modern book without one - given how easily computers can create them and allow the editor to work them into something useful. Yet, we still get books without indexes because people think they will be more popular. What I want is useful!)


Rating:
Summary: Good and entertaining history of the US's economy.
Review: I found this book to be extremely interesting. It covers the history of the US's economy from early colonial times right up through the current day. The book is written in an informative yet entertaining way, not like a dry college text book. If you're looking for a good book that explains how the US was built, then get this book.

Rating:
Summary: Economic and Technological History of the USA
Review: SOUNDS BORING, BUT NOT THIS BOOK. "An Empire of Wealth" answers the question how did the USA become such a powerhouse of wealth and opportunity. It skips over the political and military history and fills in the overlooked story of finance and inventions. The book is interesting because it gives the human and often humorous side of the story. It covers common things found in your home such as indoor plumbing, credit cards, and home computers. "An Empire of Wealth" explains the inter-relationship and progression of technology from gas lights to electric lights.

The best part of the book are the never ending bits of information that will make you say, "I didn't know that". Where did George Washington bank? Why was the Model-T car only painted black? How did Bill Gates get rich? The only criticism of the book is that it covers a lot of ground going from 1492 to 2004 in 460 pages. The section on the Great Depression was weak as was the economic events of the 1990's. Overall, John Steele Gordon's book is well worth your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: A Historical Page Turner?
Review: This book was required reading for my Business History class. I bought this book expecting boring text that I would probably not even read, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a very informative and enjoyable book. You can learn much about not only the history of American economy, but about American history as a whole. The best part is that you will enjoy the reading, which I found to be page turning. Not many historical books can be put in that category. Reading this book is a must!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Well written, fast paced and informative
Review: This has got to be one of the best history books that I have read. The book chronicles the start of the United States and the inovations and trials that made the nation great. I particularly enjoyed how it intertwined the innovations with information on the thoughts of politicians, businesmen, and others of the era, and how events such as slavery impacted the economics of the time.

This was a very well written book. I initially picked it up from the library, and then purchased a copy to add to my library.

Rating:
Summary: Very well written - but didn't say much
Review: This is a weird book in that it is very well written and found myself wanting to continue reading it from begining to end.

But as I read I found myself starting to ask myself - what is it teaching me? And as I continued through the naswer was - very little.

The South chose to not build railroads or factories - WHY? The battle to fund the transcontinental railroad was a major political fight for decades - no discussion of that fight. I could go on at point after point.

I'd say reading this is like watching the TV show Friends. It's an enjoyable experience but afterwards you haven't learned anything.

Rating:
Summary: A great insight on almost every page
Review: What a great effort by John Steele Gordon. Empire of Wealth covers the history of the economy of the United States from Jamestown through today and does so in an insight-filled, page-turning manner. Even as a fairly avid reader of economics and history, I found myself learning something about why our country is the way it is on almost every page in this book.

A great story of people, culture, technology, money, and a country - this book truly deserves its high rating.