An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power

Excellent

I'm maybe only a fourth of the way or less into this book, but it is a veritable treasure chest of information about the complete chronological history of the United States - step-by-step - from the early days, when the country was literally in its infancy, all through the building days of discovering so many of the things we take for granted today that we could hardly imagine life without, and how it was discovered, or invented, developed, refined, and evolved into the polished product or system that we presently enjoy.It's amazing how one invention, or discovery, leads to not only the original application, but is developed into many others, as it is broadened and expanded, and ends up being the basis for a myriad of things that we just could not survive without.As for example, the steam engine, which became the steamboat, and also the locomotive, as well as supplying power and heat and light, etc, etc, etc, - and how did we exist before all of that?It makes you think about how the world is full of so many brilliant people, who understand and are masters of so many things that work so marvelously, and which most of us have no conception whatsoever about, but which make life so incredibly easy to experience, it's almost beyond one's ability to describe.He absolutely includes everything that is relevant to life as we know it, and is so incredibly interesting in his presentation, that it is a pure joy to read.Think back to your time in high school, when History was a subject that was so stultifyingly boring that you looked at your watch every ten seconds or so, hoping to hear the bell ring so you could jump up and bolt out of the classroom.How different we would feel if we had had this single book, and how much smarter we would be today.Already, I can see that my only disappointment in this book will be when I have finished it, and there's no more to read.I can only imagine the pleasure that awaits me as I read even further into it, and can more readily identify with some of the things he writes about, because it will be something that happened within my own lifetime, and will be more familiar in my mind.But the way he describes everything he has written about thus far, I feel almost as if I have experienced it myself.Just as if you were describing something you had actually done , that's the feeling you have when you read all about it, like it happened to you, personally.If you love to read, and you want to know almost anything you could imagine about what happened in America over the past 200 years or so, you couldn't go wrong by getting this book.You'll pat yourself on the back as being the smartest person in the room, when you do.

This book traces the real history of America's rise to its position as the wealthiest country in world history. If you're looking for a victim tinged, class conflict scenario here, where the have-nots rise up against the haves against a back-drop of economic determinism, you won't find it. What you will find is the story underpinning America's greatness.Unfortunately the information in this book is not widely taught in the universities today just as it wasn't taught at Michigan State where I was in attendance some 45-50 years ago. What we got instead was the labor movement theory of history, but then Michigan is a labor state with the auto unions in control so what should one have expected?Though the author doesn't mention it, labor unions have always started with good intentions only to eventually destroy their host and their union specific - railroads, steel, airlines, automobiles, trucking, etc; they eat their own, witness GM and Chrysler today. The only growth in unions is with government workers and they don't need them due to civil service rules. But then their true purpose is to contribute mightily to the political party that represents them.In this tome we hear the story of American ingenuity where unbounded energy has operated within a legal system that protects private property, one where human capital has been allowed to develop and flourish. From exports like tobacco, sugar, rice, indigo, livestock, timber, cod and cotton, we're told of the development and importance of the corporation, double entry accounting, the steamboat, the locomotive, the railroads, steel, oil, automobiles, medicine and the computer. It can be said with no exaggeration that America has truly led the world.Too much academic attention and exaggeration has been applied to the parts of our system that have disenfranchised or harmed workers, and too little has been given to reporting how those like Rockefeller, Ford and Carnegie relentlessly lowered prices which allowed consumers everywhere to earn a surplus which upgraded their lifestyles and that of their families. The development of this empire of wealth and its success should be compared to every other country on the globe. It's no accident that the rule of law has contributed to the majority of developed countries in the world being of English origin or former British Colonies. Wouldn't it be interesting to look at England's impact on the nine million patents in the PTO, comparing it with all the other nationalities? They don't provide those stats, but one has to wonder why so many other countries have held their citizens back? The story here is that America didn't. It explains why people around the world come to America, still the land of opportunity (Hernando de Soto's, "the Mystery of Capitalism" offers poignant insights in this regard.)But nothing will stem the naysayer, the same type who stands in a howling blizzard in June trying to convince us that the globe is constantly warming due to mankind's' (read, "America's") development of carbon using industries. Sophistry is their routine and exaggeration of the negative, their method.This is a book on how America became the great nation it is, and everyone should read it. Perhaps the government will subsidize that exercise too, do ya think?

This is THE book for anyone who wants to understand America and its position in the world today. Mr Gordon's brilliantly pithy summary of the American story takes us from its hard-won beginnings up to its pre-eminent position today with barely a pause for breath. Unlike so many worthy historical tomes this elegant book covers every stage of the great American adventure, succinctly yet with considerable knowledge and attention to detail. A rare thing indeed.

Good read