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BusinessWeek reviews A Splendid Exchange

June 10, 2008

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I like how BusinessWeek kicks off a book review, with: The Good, The Bad, and The Bottom Line. Sometimes I wait until after I've read the review to look at this section, just because I like to see if it succinctly sums up the praises and criticisms raised in the review. Here's how this week's review of A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J.

I like how BusinessWeek kicks off a book review, with: The Good, The Bad, and The Bottom Line. Sometimes I wait until after I've read the review to look at this section, just because I like to see if it succinctly sums up the praises and criticisms raised in the review. Here's how this week's review of A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein begins:
5,000 Years of Raucous Trade
Vivid characters and bizarre tales enliven this chronicle of how commerce defined cultures and shaped history
By Steve LeVine The Good: Fascinating stories about trade through the millennia The Bad: The treatment of today's trade issues feels a bit tacked on The Bottom Line: A fun read about an important topic
A Splendid Exchange is a hefty book, weighing in at 494 pages, but from all accounts it is an enjoyable and lively read. Pietra Rivoli, author of The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy (one of Jack's favorite books), says, "Bernstein illuminates modern debates in a sweeping history of international trade, weaving skillfully between rollicking adventures and scholarship. His history of trade from the ancients to the present is a story of our irrepressible urge to exchange goods, which in turn fostered exchanges of art, science, and ideas. The story of trade is the story of humankind; all in all, a happy story indeed." Check out the book here: http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=9780871139795

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