In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

This book would not exist without the contributions of a number of people. My agent, Ted Weinstein, helped shape this work heavily at the proposal stage. My editor, Stephen Hull, helped me craft the structure and tone of the book and asked questions that helped me hone my arguments. Ellery Baines, my research assistant, was tireless in tracking down obscure pieces of data to flesh out the figures and examples. Molly Nixon served as frequent first reader and sounding board for ideas of all sorts. In addition, a host of people read early copies of the manuscript, in part or in full, and offered feedback that’s improved the book. I’m indebted to Alexis Carlson, Alison Park Douglas, Alissa Mortenson, Andy Becker, Becky Anderson, Brent Field, Brian Arbogast, Brian Retford, Brooks Talley, Dan Farmer, David Sunderland, Dona Farmer, Gabriel Williams, Gregg Maryniak, Jose Cordeiro, Kathryn Myronuk, Kevin MacDonald, Lars Liden, Leo Dirac, Nancy Linford, Neil Jacobstein, Pat Lasswell, Ratha Grimes, Ryan Grant, Scott Northrup, Suzanne Moon, and Tanya Lasswell. Thank you all. This book also owes much to the work of the late Julian Simon and his pioneering efforts to show the ways in which human ingenuity creates wealth and overcomes challenges. While I have placed far more emphasis on the very real problems that beset us and the systematic changes needed to address them, I believe Simon’s core insight is as profound and important now as it was during his life. Human minds are, indeed, the source of all wealth. It is up to us to harness and direct that power. acknowledgments ...

Share