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BOOK REVIEW Ð
A Splendid Exchange Ð (How Trade Shaped The World) William J. Bernstein. This is an excellent book. A kind off rollicking far ranging overview of how trade developed from the ancient world till today and how it shaped the world. The first 1Ú4 of the book is a bit slow but from there it picks up and becomes a very exciting read. The author can write, and write he does.
He covers everything from the effects of the Plague Ð The Black Death Ð in its various appearances and its effect on everything from the Arab conquests in the 7th Century to the rise of a labor shortage in Europe & its causing the rise of modern capitalism. From there he moves on to the rise of the Portuguese as seafarers and traders and how they were supplanted by the Dutch and then the British and finally the Americans. He also deals with the development of economic theories in modern times that is actually understandable to the layman.
This is an interesting companion read to Nial FergusonÕs The Ascent of Money. As both authors stat that while up till 1945 there is no proof historically that free trade causes rising prosperity, after 1970 there certainly is. Nor that free trade and cheaper importsÕ destroys jobs. It is actually only one of many factors in the destruction of certain categories of work. Well worth the read.
Maxim
"The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking."
Christopher Morley
Best Maxim
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