The Wealth of Nations: With a Foreword by George Osborne, MP and an Introduction by Jonathan B. Wright, University of Richmond [Hardcover]

Adam Smith (Author), Jonathan B Wight (Editor), George Osborne (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2007

The Wealth of Nations is a treasured classic of political economy. First published in March of 1776, Adam Smith wrote the book to influence a special audience - the British Parliament - and its arguments in the early spring of that year pressed for peace and cooperation with Britain's colonies rather than war. Smith's message was that economic exploitation, through the monopoly trade of empire, stifled wealth-creation in both home and foreign lands. Moreover, protectionism preserved the status quo, and privileged a few elites at the expense of long run growth. Smith wrote, "It is the industry which is carried on for the benefit of the rich and the powerful that is principally encouraged by our mercantile system. That which is carried on for the benefit of the poor and the indigent is too often either neglected or oppressed."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Adam Smith's enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see to the bottom of things."
--Robert L. Heilbroner


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

Introduction by D. D. Raphael --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Harriman House (May 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905641265
• ISBN-13: 978-1905641260
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

323 of 328 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go with Bantam, February 11, 2007

By 

Amazonian (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you're wondering which Wealth of Nations to purchase, get the Bantam paperback. This is Smith's complete and unabridged final version of the Wealth of Nations. It provides footnotes on Smith's wording, the historical context, and the differences between Smith's 5th edition and previous editions. In addition, the margin of the pages contain useful notes which summarize Smith's writing. For the price, this is clearly the superior choice.

Now, if you're wondering whether you should undertake such an endeavor, let me just say that Adam Smith was a professor of rhetoric. He explains everything so precisely, yet so comprehensible. Smith's writing is by no means difficult; I actually found it a surprisingly easy read given its antique nature. Once you get through the first chapter, you get quite used to Smith's writing style. If you put adequate time and energy into it, it's not hard at all.

266 of 281 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Watch Out!, June 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Wealth of Nations (Great Minds Series) (Paperback)

I have no criticism with Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations." My criticism is with the Great Minds Series edition of the book. The Great Minds Series is an abridged version. Huge chunks have been edited out of the book, yet nowhere do they let you know this before making the purchase. I bought this book specifically because I wanted to cite it, and I can't because the parts I wanted to quote have been edited out.

Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" is a worthy book for any private library, but purchase an edition other than the one offered by the so-called "Great Minds Series."

462 of 493 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Great Minds Series version has parts missing!, September 26, 1999

By 

Daniel Krawisz (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wealth of Nations (Great Minds Series) (Paperback)

I was origionally reading the text version of this book on the internet until the printed version came. I was downtroden, sickened, and even frightened to find that the Great Minds Series version of The Wealth of Nations is incomplete, yet gives no indication whatsoever of being so.

The introduction and chapters 2, 3, and 4 of book 3 are simply not there. They are not even listed in the table of contents. There is no discrepency in the page numbers, or any other teletale indication that it is incomplete. It is not written anywhere that it is an abrigement.

I want to point out how careless it is and how misleading to the reader in comprehending the philosophy of Adam Smith to print an incomplete book without any warning.