The Essential Adam Smith

by Adam Smith

Book Overview

The sheer strength of his great work, The Wealth of Nations, discourages many from attempting to explore its rich and lucid arguments. In this brilliantly crafted volume, one of the most eminent economists of our day provides a generous selection from the entire body of Smith's work, ranging from his fascinating psychological observations on human nature to his famous treatise on what Smith called a "society of natural liberty," The Wealth of Nations.

Among...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393955303
• ISBN13: 9780393955309
• Release Date: March 1987
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Chapters are abridged

This is a nice compilation of Smith's writings, but be aware that the chapters are abridged. In some cases a lot of the text in individual chapters is missing and that was frustrating for me. This book is great for general reading and understanding.

Condensed Capitalism

To understand capitalism, read the Wealth of Nations. But, to really understand it, as well as the other ideas of Adam Smith, read his essential works. This book allows the reader to fully grasp the concepts of capitalism and get a clear picture of how and why it works. Thankfully, Heilbronner did not dilute the works of Smith, he just condensed them for the modern day reader. With this book you can cut through the jargon and see the real points that Smith was trying to get across.

A Great Introduction to Adam Smith's Ideas

After reading Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers, I decided to read Smith's Wealth of Nations, but found myself daunted by the length and language of the book. Then I discovered Heilbroner's Essential Adam Smith and was hooked. The book offers the essential parts of Wealth of Nations, as well as a good sampling of some of his other works. As a result, I have not only read the entire Wealth several times, but have also read everything by and about Smith that I can find. Heilbroner's book is a good way to get to the heart of Smith's thinking, but, like me, you will probably find yourself wanting to learn more about the man, his ideas, and his life. Enjoy!