Economic History

Most Americans — and people worldwide — understand that despite our remarkable technological advances, something is deeply wrong with the direction of our country and world.

If you asked most people what forces led to today’s unprecedented income inequality and financial crashes, no one would say the Federal Reserve. For most of its history, the Fed has enjoyed the fawning adoration of the press....

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries.....

Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist....

Called by H.L. Mencken, "one of the few economists in history who could really write," Henry Hazlitt achieved lasting fame for this brilliant but concise work....

In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th century, to uncover key economic and social patterns....

At the dawn of World War I, a young academic named John Maynard Keynes hastily folded his long legs into the sidecar of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle for an odd, frantic journey that would change the course of history....

More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals....

Money issues dominate the news, but economic jargon and the complexity of it all can be bamboozling for regular folks. Paul Sheard, a leading economist and research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, is known for his ability to see the forest and the trees and demystify complex economic phenomena....

An extraordinary mythology has grown up around the Third Reich that hovers over political and moral debate even today. Adam Tooze's controversial book challenges the conventional economic interpretations of that period....

The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system....

In this classic work of economic history and social theory, Karl Polanyi analyzes the economic and social changes brought about by the great transformation of the Industrial Revolution.

The defining, behind-the-scenes chronicle of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and dominant pop cultural entities in America’s history: Marvel Comics....

In Putinomics, Chris Miller examines the making of Russian economic policy since Vladimir Putin took power in 1999....

The Great Contraction, 1929-1933 argues that the Federal Reserve could have stemmed the severity of the Depression....

Rauchway tells the absorbing story of how FDR and his advisors pulled the levers of monetary policy to save the domestic economy and propel the United States to prosperity....

With the rising global demand for cotton - and thus, slaves - in the 1840s and 1850s, the need for white laborers in the American South was drastically reduced, creating a large underclass who were unemployed or underemployed....

In 2020, Emma Holten read an article stating that women were a net ‘deficit’ to society. Women apparently took more than they gave: they took more parental leave, frequently worked part-time, and typically worked lower paying jobs in the public sector.

MacArthur “Genius”Jacob Soll presents an intellectual history of the free market, from ancient Rome to the twenty-first century....

Throughout time, from ancient Rome to modern Britain, the great empires built and maintained their domination through force of arms and political power. But not the United States....

As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began....

The History of Money explores how money and the myriad forms of exchange have affected humanity, and how they will continue to shape all aspects of our lives....

Written by an award-winning economist and the YouTuber responsible for ‘Unlearning Economics’, Why We're Getting Poorer is a thrilling, iconoclastic guide to how the world really works.

In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past.

A brilliant investigative narrative: How six average Soviet men rose to the pinnacle of Russia's battered economy....

Eliezer Yudkowsky’s Inadequate Equilibria is a sharp and lively guidebook for anyone questioning when and how they can know better, and do better, than the status quo. Freely mixing debates on the foundations of rational decision-making with tips for everyday life, Yudkowsky explores the central question of when we can (and can’t) expect to spot systemic inefficiencies, and exploit them.

Die deutsche Wirtschaft war über Jahrzehnte führend in der Welt, ihre Produkte hoch angesehen und begehrt. Doch es findet ein fundamentaler Wandel statt, den weder Unternehmer noch Politiker antizipiert haben – mit dem Ergebnis, dass Deutschlands Wirtschaft mit Innovationsführern weltweit längst nicht mehr Schritt halten kann. In seinem Buch argumentiert Wolfgang Münchau, dass sich die Schwäche der deutschen Wirtschaft in Wirklichkeit schon seit Jahrzehnten zusammengebraut hat.

When scholars and policymakers consider how technological advances affect the rise and fall of great powers, they draw on theories that center on the moment of innovation—the eureka moment that sparks astonishing technological feats. In this book, Jeffrey Ding offers a different explanation of how technological revolutions affect competition among great powers.

In Top 10 Richest Companies in the World That Are Still Family Owned, Cassian Rose uncovers the stories behind ten global giants that remain under family control. From agriculture to luxury fashion, food production to discount retail, these companies generate vast revenues and own incredible assets. You may have driven their cars, used their cosmetics, or shopped in their stores—without ever knowing the dynasties behind them. This book explores how these businesses began, how they grew, and how their founding families continue to shape their destiny today.

Every country provides some form of direct cash transfer to people in need, and this provision of money reaches hundreds of millions of people worldwide. But these provisions are often accompanied by heated debates on whether and how such assistance should be provided. Seeking a way to better understand the current global debates on cash transfers, Timely Cash provides a historical overview of the concept.