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How the West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World Paperback – June 1, 1987

by Nathan Rosenberg (Author), LE Birdzell Jr. (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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How did the West—Europe, Canada, and the United States—escape from immemorial poverty into sustained economic growth and material well-being when other societies remained trapped in an endless cycle of birth, hunger, hardship, and death? In this elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West's institutions—not corporate organization and mass production technology—that explain its unparalleled wealth.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 1, 1987
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.84 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0465031099
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0465031092
  7. Lexile measure
    1560L
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In this elegant synthesis of economic history, two scholars argue that it is the political pluralism and the flexibility of the West's institutions, not corporate organization and mass production technology-that explain its unparalleled wealth.

About the Author

Nathan Rosenberg, a leading expert on the history of technology, is an economist at Stanford University.

L.E. Birdzell, Jr. is an attorney and legal scholar, based in Newport, Rhode Island.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 58576th edition (June 1, 1987)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465031099
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465031092
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1560L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.84 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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Nathan Rosenberg

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Roger
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Explanation Yet
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
I have read every book and article I can find on what I will call the Modern Breakthrough -- from a destitute, illiterate, unhealthy Malthusian world of pretty much every place for all time, to the modern world of relative prosperity, health, freedom and knowledge. This book is probably the single best summary of the factors which were necessary to the breakthrough, or series of breakthroughs (they actually mention at least five -- the expansion of trading and markets, the first and second industrial revolution, the modern information/technology revolution, and science).

I will allow, no encourage, everyone to read the book themselves for the details, but the basic concept is that what was different in Western Europe from other times and places was decentralized authority and decision making. Problem solving necessary for the advancement of the human condition is a cooperative affair, but cooperation can emerge both top down (via hierarchy and control) and bottoms up in a decentralized, diverse way. The West blossomed by allowing more of the latter to emerge than in other societies controlled by custom, bureaucracy, despotism, the status quo, and guilds.

The West, concentrated first in Britain and later much broader, first and foremost did less to stop innovation. Just as dramatically, it created (greatly without conscious intent) institutions which actually required or demanded innovation, experimentation, incremental improvement, efficiency and organizational adaptiveness. The book is about the details illustrating this unique situation. How it evolved. Why it evolved. Why it was so different.
13 people found this helpful
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Kyle Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars 5-star content, 2-star production.
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'm only a third of the way through but I have to jump in after finding a bizarre production error.

But first, the content is top notch. It explores a period of history, the rise of capitalism out of the decline of fuedalism/manorialism that I'd only really known about in one-sentence soundbytes and brief fragments. The writing is precise, detailed, and thus dry, but it manages to not bog. It makes a good attempt at balance and to support its intermediate conclusions, but still retains a specific point of view. Most importantly, it has provided me already with pieces of a historical puzzle that puts the modern situation in a light I had not considered.

Now to the production. Overall, it is well put together. But somehow pages 109-114 and 115-120 have been transposed. So after finishing page 108 in mid-sentence, you have to skip ahead six pages to find 109, read six pages, jump back to where 115 comes immediately after 109, read six pages, then jump ahead again to continue the rest of the book. That's an incredibly sloppy mistake that I've never encountered before. I can't really take any stars off for it, because everything is there and it can be read, and it does not diminish from the content. But if I was one of the authors, I'd be appalled by it.

(Refers to the Basic Books paperback edition)
3 people found this helpful
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PhotogDog
4.0 out of 5 stars Historical Economic Review of America
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2013
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The book was properly written and informative. Gives a greater over view of the what, where and some whys of our growth and expansion. Not the complete volume to answer all your questions but a good beginning for further research, also full of great arguments and facts written and given in a light hearted and informative way. I would purchase this book again, worth the read. R/KMW
One person found this helpful
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zel22
5.0 out of 5 stars What Every Politician Needs to Know!
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book provides the best description of the origins of capitalism and why it is so superior to all other systems that there is no thinking person that would want socialism. It is written in "prof-speak" meaning that at times the language is overly long and complex, but if you can get through the doctoral thesis stuff, you will learn an enormous amount of history and economics that is rarely taught, much less applied, in our current environment of politically motivated ignorance.
2 people found this helpful
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Juan C.
5.0 out of 5 stars How the West Grew Rich
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2015
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Excelent analysis of how to create wealth. The book provides a very realistic theoretical framework of how wealth can be created in any place of the world.
One person found this helpful
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Barry E Magee
5.0 out of 5 stars is a good friend. Strongly suggested reading for any of you ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
The author, now 98 years young and as sharp as a razor, is a good friend. Strongly suggested reading for any of you financial guru wannabes out there.
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Zeljko Sablic
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but...
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2015
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Very comprehensive, but hard to read book. Not for an average reader in search for simple and short explanation. It took me three months to read it through!
2 people found this helpful
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Moshe Yanovskiy
5.0 out of 5 stars The book is perfect introduction in the most crucial issue of Economic History
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017
The book is perfect introduction in the most crucial issue of Economic History: why the West succeeded while the rest of the world not so... Institutions (private property safeguards, first and foremost) are matter. The authors pey also attention (maybe e little bit too much) on auxillary institutions like JSC legislation etc. This is highly recommended reading for the beginners.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Famy marie
5.0 out of 5 stars Occasion, mais parfait.
Reviewed in France on July 8, 2023
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Livre d'occasion en très bon état
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luigi turrio
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece in a poorly edited e-book vest/ un capolavoro in una veste e-book misera
Reviewed in Italy on September 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
The book is simply a masterpiece. It added a lot to my idea of world history, it is easily readable remaining accurate. If you are interested in history, politics or economics must read it. Unfortunately the kindle e-book vest is very poor. It's impossible to change fonts, the notes are not linked, it seems it was simply scanned and published without further revision.
E' un capolavoro. Ha arricchito moltissimo la mia idea della storia del mondo ed è di facile lettura sebbene molto accurato. Per chi ha interesse in storia, politica o economia è una lettura imprescindibile. Sfortunatamente la veste e-book è proprio misera. Non è possibile cambiare caratteri e mancano i link con le note, per certi versi sembra scannerizzato e pubblicato senza revisione.
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T. Burkard
5.0 out of 5 stars And you thought economics was boring...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2008
Verified Purchase
If you ever wondered why ancient China failed to capitalise on its undoubted technological superiority over the West, this is the book for you. We now take our pluralist, law-based society for granted, and we fail to understand how crucial these factors are to our prosperity and security. Alas, the concepts of liberty and private property are far from being the norm. The concept of limited government is alien to Oriental thinking, and indeed to most cultures. The Chinese, like most autocratic governments, understood that wealthy men (and women) were potential rivals for power, and they believed that the stability of society--to say nothing of their own necks--were at risk if their authority were challenged.

The Athenian experiment didn't last too long, and the concept of a pluralist society didn't re-emerge until the Renaissance, and the birth of societies based on trade and banking. The Dutch and later the British copied this model--these were countries which already possessed the rudiments of a pluralist, property-based economy.

Now, the Chinese have unleashed a genie that the aging Communist gerontocracy will never control altogether. However, the weakness of their political and legal institutions will soon be tested, especially if their markets in the West dry up. And dry up they most likely will, as we are moving away from the liberal concepts that made European civilisation great. Make no mistake, dead white European males created a revolution which has liberated the mass of mankind from wretched poverty, oppression and disease.

Rosenberg and Birdzell have written a masterpiece--it's well-written and non-technical. It should be a set text for all modern history courses--but of course, this will never happen. Our academics are steeped in post-modernist doctrine, and they are as distrustful of human freedom as were the mandarins in ancient China.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2016
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Very interesting
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