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How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness Kindle Edition

by Russ Roberts (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 107 customer reviews
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Length: 269 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Product Details

  • File Size: 766 KB
  • Print Length: 269 pages
  • Publisher: Portfolio (October 9, 2014)
  • Publication Date: October 9, 2014
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00INIXQA2
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,806 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsSurprisingly good book
By T.S. Daily on October 14, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I'm not usually in the habit of reading books on 18th century economist-philosopher's 2nd most famous work, but I like Russ Roberts a lot, and gave it a chance. Glad I did. Russ is thoughtful, and comes across as a genuinely good person. Adam Smith is surprisingly prescient for someone writing in 1759.

Long-time fans of econtalk or Cafe Hayek won't be surprised to know that Russ weaves in thoughts on emergent order, Fredrick Hayek, and the 2008 financial crisis, and the book is better for it in my opinion.

Finally, based on the one existing review (as of this time), I was expecting a heavy dose of the Talmud (not a bad thing), but I thought that review overstated it. Russ mentions it, but he also mentions Hume, Darwin, Hayek, Einstein, Warren Buffett, etc. Above all, this is exactly what the title says: an unexpected guide to human nature and happiness. Recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThoughtful and Interesting
By Johnny & Riza on October 20, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
While everyone thinks of Adam Smith as the author of Wealth of Nations, Roberts plumbs the depths of his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. I actually read Wealth of Nations. My first economics course assigned several sections and I just read the whole thing. His prose is indeed a bit dense for the modern reader but I enjoyed it. I went back recently to read Theory of Moral Sentiments and stopped a third of the way through. I don't know if I have lost my appreciation for turgid or whether the subject was less interesting, but I quit. I'm not proud of it but, like Spike, I'm man enough to admit it.

Roberts's book on the book (P.J. O'Rourke did a pretty good one on Wealth of Nations), conversely, enraptured me. Why didn't I get this out of it? Some authors are better read about than read. Even my hero Karl Popper falls into this class: Richard Dawkins, Michael Oakeshott -- perhaps I'll just put Smith on this list. Yet I would love to connect with ToMS as Roberts did.

Wealth of Nations is about economics; Theory of Moral Sentiments is about personal choices and structuring your life for optimal satisfaction. That's the conventional wisdom and Roberts does a great job comparing and contrasting the two works. But he asks first whether they are different as they appear. He tries to explain the heart of economics to casual contacts who think he can grace them with a hot stock pick:
<blockquote>Alas, I am not an accountant or a stockbroker, I explain. But one very useful thing I've learned from economics is to be skeptical of advice from stockbrokers about the latest stock that's sure to skyrocket. Saving you from losses isn’t as exciting as promising you millions, but it's still pretty valuable.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsAdam Smith's 'Other Book'
By Ira E. Stoll VINE VOICE on October 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, is best known for his 1776 book "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." But it is Adam Smith's "other book," "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," that is the subject of this new book by Russ Roberts.

Mr. Roberts, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, has been an economics professor, is a co-creator of the Hayek-Keynes rap video, and is the host of the EconTalk podcast. Yet, like Adam Smith himself, he seems to sense that economics alone, in the absence of some sort of moral keel or system, is an insufficient guide for human behavior or happiness.

The book begins with a useful brief biography of Smith, reporting that he "spent the last years of his life" as a Scottish customs commissioner, "collecting taxes for the government from importers." Mr. Roberts appreciates the irony here; he might have also mentioned that two other prominent advocates of liberty in Smith's period, Thomas Paine and Samuel Adams, also worked as tax collectors, though for Paine and Adams the work was at the beginning of their careers rather than at the end.

The rest of the book proceeds as an accessible gloss on Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments." "Life's not a race. It's a journey to savor and enjoy," Roberts writes. He quotes Smith as observing that, "We frequently see the respectful attentions of the world more strongly directed towards the rich and the great, than towards the wise and the virtuous." It's not that wealth and virtue are mutually exclusive, as some of today's campaigners against inequality would have us believe. But neither are they the same thing.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic Life Lessons and a Terrific Read!
By Bob Burg on November 1, 2014
Format: Hardcover
It’s his “other classic”…the one that few in our modern times have ever read. Including most economists!

After all, how could Adam Smith, the “Patron Saint of Capitalism” have written a book dealing not with economics but with…self-help!?

Yet, the author of "The Wealth of Nations" did indeed write "The Theory of Moral Sentiments." That book looked deeply into the connection between understanding human nature and how one can live a happy, peaceful and fulfilling life.

Fortunately, in this terrific new book by Russ Roberts, we are provided with insights into the brilliance of the 18th century Scottish philosopher in terms of understanding life, ourselves, and others.

Roberts’ writing style is warm and friendly. He helps us understand these principles by combining Smith’s timeless wisdom with compelling, modern-day examples.

As a more modern-day Libertarian author and philosopher, the late, Harry Browne taught (paraphrased), "Human nature is such that all people seek happiness as they individually understand it, and within the available choices they believe they have." As such, successful people do not deny human nature but rather respect and work within it. This means we must also take other people’s desires into consideration.

I saw a lot of that in this book. Above all, Adam Smith understood human nature. And, Russ Roberts definitely understands Adam Smith.

What are some of the many lessons we learn that can help us to live a happier life based on Smith’s insights? Just a few include:

While we are inherently self-interested, “we also care about other people’s happiness.”
“Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be {worthy of being loved}.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Fun, quick read.

Published 20 days ago by Bill
4.0 out of 5 starsLovely book

This book is a good introduction to the ideas of Adam Smith in particular and of the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment in general. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Alejandro Gaviria
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Good book.

Published 1 month ago by Adam H.F. Cui
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Now that's a funky way to honor The Adam Smith.

Published 2 months ago by Nick Wilson
4.0 out of 5 starsThe content is fine and interesting but the quality of the book looks...

The content is fine and interesting but the quality of the book looks like it was a first try at binding by a junior high votech class.

Published 2 months ago by BillHilton
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is much better, citing extracts of the original text and...

The Theory of Moral Sentiments is available for free, but written in a style that is a bit heavy going for the modern reader. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Graham Marshall
5.0 out of 5 starsCaptures the essence of what most need to know

Some reviewers have criticized this book as being less than scholarly and more like a self-help book. While I agree with their critique, i still enjoyed the read. Read more

Published 2 months ago by B. McGregor
2.0 out of 5 starsthe text is unduly facetious and dry insofar as It makes me no choice...

Poorly written and filled with the plethora of filibusters, this book is not a scholarly or knowledgeable book; it is just another self-help book on the market. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsWow. Everyone should read this book.

Wow. Everyone should read this book.

Published 3 months ago by Corey
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat Read!

Good and easy read with some great insights.

Published 4 months ago by Joe Camareno

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