The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor By David S. Landes (review)

based on articles Tomonaga had written in a semipopular science journal. The translator is a distinguished chemist to whom the spin properties ofatoms and molecules are dear. His excellent and faithful translation, with knowledgeable and sometimes critical annotations, attests to his fascination with the subject matter and the author. He took the understandable liberty of substituting some of the original (and probably unavailable) photos with equivalent ones ofbetter quality. In contrast to the original, the appearance of the book is most elegant and pleasant. Perhaps it is a reflection of the cultural differences between Japan, where the book was intended for a wider readership, and the United States, where it takes on a more scholarly and authoritative look, which it certainly deserves. Voichira Nambu Dept. Physics University of Chicago The Wealth and Poverty ofNations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. By David S. Landes. New York: Norton, 1998. Pp. 650. $30. Readers of this review cannot be compelled to read Landes' book. But every policy maker, political or economic, ought be required to understand the basic arguments made therein. To have international bankers or other economic policy makers , whether from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, or any other policy making agency like the U.N., work on economic developmentwithout benefit of these ideas is, to quote Dr. Landes, "pissing into the wind." Policies designed to "privatize" everything in sight without regard for the country's social, political, and religious institutions, their histories and practices, epitomizes blind worship at the holy shrine of the free market. I say blind worship because such people have not looked beyond the here and now. An example of such historic myopia can be found in a recent book, Eat the Rich by PJ. O'Rourke. Peter Passell reviewed the book in the October 13 New York Times Book Review. He characterizes O'Rourke as a fine reporter, with keen powers of observation. After observing successful and unsuccessful economies, O'Rourke concludes that free markets, defended by the rule of law, generate the best of possible worlds (p.13). If he's such a good observer, why is his conclusion flawed? His problem , not unlike many other observers, is that he sees only what is here. He fails to see what is not here: like many others (including policy makers) , he is blind to what may have been tried in the past, failed, and was abandoned. It is the job of the historian to mine the past, to look at what was attempted, what failed, and what may no longer be there. It is the duty of today's observer to honor the work of the historian when drawing inferences from observations of current events. David Landes is an historian and observer as well as a fearless inferrer. Landes attempts "to trace and understand the main stream of economic advance and modernization.'' (p.xi) . He will gain that understanding by answering the questions "How did the rich countries get so rich? Why are the poor countries so poor? Why did Europe ("the West") take the lead in changing the world?" (p.xxi). Neither the questions nor the task of answering them is trivial. Landes has done a 296 Book Reviews superb job, and he has done it with style and wit. His prose is beautiful and lucid; his erudition constantly evident. The few minor quibbles I will raise cannot detract from his work or my high opinion of it, but merely serve notice of how large and difficult a task Landes set for himself. The work comprises several different but interlocking histories. None ofthe histories is complete, since Landes has narrowed the focus to those factors which provide answers to his three questions. There is a history of invention and technology; of discovery and empire; of governance; of religion; of manufacturing; and even a sociology of knowledge and ideas. Throughout these various histories is woven the tangible effects of the intangibles of culture, the inhibiting and enhancing effects ofattitudes toward private property, money lending, entrepreneurship, and science. The book is not organized according to these histories but is segmented into chapters dealing with (among others): geography; invention; empire building; industrial revolution...