The Wealth of Nations

By: Adam Smith

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words. Smith details his argument in five books:

• Book I. Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Power of Labour
• Book II. Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock Introduction
• Book III. Of the Different Progress of Opulence in Different Nations
• Book IV. Of Systems of Political Economy
• Book V. Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth

Taken together, these books form a giant leap forward in the field of economics. A product of the "Age of Enlightenment," The Wealth of Nations is a must for all who wish to gain a better understanding of the principles upon which all modern capitalistic economies have been founded and the process of wealth creation that is engendered by those principles.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

Simply a classic. Much better audio this time.

A couple of years ago, I purchased this title and really struggled with the quality of the audio. This newer edition is much better. As for the content, it is what it is. A classic that is the foundations to our current understanding of economics. It has great historical value but is not really an easy read. For me, its just something I had to get being an avid student in economics. I won't be giving a review of the subject matter since it is what it is and many have done much better that i could ever do. Just wanted to say this version has great audio!

You think you know Smith, you don't.

What did you love best about The Wealth of Nations?

Timely tremendous insight. His insights on finding a job when young, basic motivation, markets... He was so far ahead of his time.

Would you recommend The Wealth of Nations to your friends? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Regardless of affiliation, this is part of the core syllabus.

What does Gildart Jackson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accent is nice and he admirably pushes through the tougher material.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His insights on youth employment and guilds blew me away...

Any additional comments?

This is part of the modern cannon. You are not educated unless you understand what he was trying to say.

Brilliant

Smith is an outstanding writer and thinker. He wrote about the low beta anomaly centuries before we saw it empirically, and so many other insights subsequent economists had to discover.

Excellent excellent excellent

I thought my title said it all.. Why are you reading this? Stop reading and start listening already!

tedious in spots,but amazingly precient

It's amazing to me how he could have predicted so much so accurate advantage of roughly the American Revolution

Must Read

Outstanding in depth analysis of what builds nations including wealth, citizens, and defense. A great work on history and economics.

Important for history and enduring concepts

This was written just before the American Revolution. Listening to this audio has helped me understand what happened and why. It is also a great help in understanding economics today. Excellent presentation of important material.

Very informative and thorough

Adam Smith has done beautifully delivering, of the time, great insight not only into economics but by how whole societies are fun and maintained.

A Loooong Broad and Detailed Window into the Past

The first dozen chapters or so are still useful as an Economics 101 textbook. The middle chapters are more useful now as a history of minute details (right down to current rates of commodities in shillings and thrupence), and (if you look beneath what the author was ostensibly conveying), you will detect the dominant guiding mindsets and attitudes of the time. The last third of the book broadens the subject matter again. During the middle third, I had to take several breaks from it, listening to several other audiobooks during the interim. The author added insight as to the impact of various government systems and measures on an economy.

Brilliant

If you could sum up The Wealth of Nations in three words, what would they be?

Adam Smith is brilliant!!! Being able to listen to the wealth of nations as I commute weather it be on bart or by car is amazing!!!!