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Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism
From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life. Americana takes us on a four-hundred-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things -- the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio, and banking to flight, suburbia, and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the twenty-first century. The result is a thrilling alternative history of modern America that reframes events, trends, and people we thought we knew through the prism of the value that, for better or for worse, this nation holds dearest: capitalism.
In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. We learn how Andrew Carnegie's early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of the nation's richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business; and how a 1950s infrastructure bill triggered a series of events that produced one of America's most enduring brands: KFC. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as America itself.
Entertaining, eye-opening, and sweeping in its reach, Americana is an exhilarating new work of narrative history.
In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. We learn how Andrew Carnegie's early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of the nation's richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business; and how a 1950s infrastructure bill triggered a series of events that produced one of America's most enduring brands: KFC. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as America itself.
Entertaining, eye-opening, and sweeping in its reach, Americana is an exhilarating new work of narrative history.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
December 17, 2017
Nice try, but no. The book is well intentioned but in my opinion fails to deliver on its promise. The author is well read and seems to come from a venture background. He has written a 400 year history of American capitalism that seems somewhat effective as an extended personal statement of the author’s views on the American experience with the market. I would have liked the book more if it had been good history along with being a heartfelt personal reflection on US business history. Every one of the chapters in the book, while containing nuggets of insight, come across as highly oversimplified efforts to condense a lots of material into a focused punchline filled statement of sorts. The trouble is that the general punchlines presented here are well known and covered much more effectively in the materials that Srinivasan draws from. The condensation process needed to transform 400 years into 500 flowing pages means that much of the nuance gets lost along the way.
There are some nice touches to the book. For example, looking at the voyage of the Mayflower from the perspective of venture funding is nice and insightful. Throughout the book, there are also lots of little vignettes that are worth noting, whether they be details of John Brown’s career to the ways in which Britain adapted to the loss of Souther cotton during the US Civil War. Most of this material is well known and not particularly new to anyone who does their own reading on US economic history. He covers the Robber Barons and brings up the oddities of some of the characters, such as Andrew Carnegie. The role of the Civil War in providing initial experiences to many of the stars of the Guilded Age is nicely done, however.
It is clear that Srinivasan has a story to tell and also that he is a fan of capitalism. That is certainly OK as a perspective unless one goes overboard in motivating Guilded Age history as a prelude for the Internet bubble of the 1990s, which takes one into a facile sort of looking backwards. But the story being told on business-government relations is not clear either. If one is singing the praises of markets, then US history is almost exclusively filled with examples where government involvement has been crucial - to the point of arguing for a mixed model. This comes out later in book when Mr. Srinivasan notes the role of the Chinese government in the emergence of the Chinese economy after Deng’s reforms after 1978. Srinivasan also notes the mixed US model in discussing this.
I guess my problem is that the book is written very confidently and it is clear that the author has a perspective, although it is seldom clear what the perspective is as it jumps around from chapter to chapter. If I add to this my own perspective that the history here is fascinating but far more complex then suggested in the book, then my trouble with the book is crystallized. Along this line, there are several chapters that have entirely too much glossing over of detail - for example the entire period from WW1 up through the start of the Cold War.
I did not see a lot of straight errrors in the book. I just did not get that much out of it. If one does not know much of the history, this book would be an engaging introduction. I do not see what the author adds on these topics over other well known sources. Even towards the end, the book reads like he is taking his narrative largely from Michael Lewis on Netscape. That is OK for an article, but it wears thin over 500 pages.
There are some nice touches to the book. For example, looking at the voyage of the Mayflower from the perspective of venture funding is nice and insightful. Throughout the book, there are also lots of little vignettes that are worth noting, whether they be details of John Brown’s career to the ways in which Britain adapted to the loss of Souther cotton during the US Civil War. Most of this material is well known and not particularly new to anyone who does their own reading on US economic history. He covers the Robber Barons and brings up the oddities of some of the characters, such as Andrew Carnegie. The role of the Civil War in providing initial experiences to many of the stars of the Guilded Age is nicely done, however.
It is clear that Srinivasan has a story to tell and also that he is a fan of capitalism. That is certainly OK as a perspective unless one goes overboard in motivating Guilded Age history as a prelude for the Internet bubble of the 1990s, which takes one into a facile sort of looking backwards. But the story being told on business-government relations is not clear either. If one is singing the praises of markets, then US history is almost exclusively filled with examples where government involvement has been crucial - to the point of arguing for a mixed model. This comes out later in book when Mr. Srinivasan notes the role of the Chinese government in the emergence of the Chinese economy after Deng’s reforms after 1978. Srinivasan also notes the mixed US model in discussing this.
I guess my problem is that the book is written very confidently and it is clear that the author has a perspective, although it is seldom clear what the perspective is as it jumps around from chapter to chapter. If I add to this my own perspective that the history here is fascinating but far more complex then suggested in the book, then my trouble with the book is crystallized. Along this line, there are several chapters that have entirely too much glossing over of detail - for example the entire period from WW1 up through the start of the Cold War.
I did not see a lot of straight errrors in the book. I just did not get that much out of it. If one does not know much of the history, this book would be an engaging introduction. I do not see what the author adds on these topics over other well known sources. Even towards the end, the book reads like he is taking his narrative largely from Michael Lewis on Netscape. That is OK for an article, but it wears thin over 500 pages.
July 25, 2017
This book is an excellent overview of 400 years of American capitalism with tremendous insights. It's a quick read, though roughly 500 pages. The stories are tight. Not too much detail, but enough to paint the picture and tie together the narratives. There are profound parallels to our modern world, and we all might hit pause on the iPhone and crack a history book. This one doesn't disappoint.
December 3, 2017
It's possibly just my finance background, but I loved this book. The book (incompletely, of course) recounts American history through the eyes of business. It provided a new point of view (and associated motivations that weren't traditionally told) on many events throughout history. I enjoyed how it told a number of entrepreneurial stories that I hadn't previously heard, especially in the gilded age and prior. I look forward to reading further books to learn more about the more interesting ones.
The book starts to fall flat as we get closer to present day, where there themes / stories were almost scatterbrained and shoehorned in, but given how much this "history" book drew me in for the first 75%, I still give it 5 stars - wish I had this in school to supplement my understanding of events.
The book starts to fall flat as we get closer to present day, where there themes / stories were almost scatterbrained and shoehorned in, but given how much this "history" book drew me in for the first 75%, I still give it 5 stars - wish I had this in school to supplement my understanding of events.
January 17, 2022
A good general history of the United States with an emphasis on the economic conditions/events. Of course, many people say, "follow the money" because it usually reveals what is so important to so many people.
August 16, 2017
The American capitalism in Global Economy
Adam Smith’s masterpiece of economic analysis, The Wealth of Nations, was symbolic in that its publication date of 1776 coincided with the Declaration of American Independence. Smith examined simple economic concepts in which that individuals are capable of setting and regulating prices for their own goods and services. He summarized capitalism in terms of common sense; as how markets move, why they move, and how variables affect the outcomes. He supported free trade and small businesses and his book provided the first integrated description of the workings of a market economy. The spirit of his work still lives on and it revolutionized the way governments and individuals view the creation and dispersion of wealth.
The author of this book does not discuss economics, but simply documents the American success from a historical perspective. Topics includes very diverse subjects like; venture, taxes, tobacco, cotton, gold, slavery, war, oil, steel unions, trusts, food, automobiles, radio, and TV to computing, startups and internet. The book takes a very simple approach at the history without discussing the economics or politics or sociological ramifications that impacted these economic factors. The book is very arbitrarily classified into four sections and various topics are jumbled together in 35 chapters. Each chapter in a section has no bearing on each other. The book does not flow smoothly as a reader would expect.
The author could have considered expanding on factors that helped capitalism to grow. For example, slavery is long regarded as an error in American history but its impact on the American economy is long forgotten. The expansion of slavery in the first eight decades after American independence led to the modernization of the United States. The South grew from a narrow coastal strip of tobacco plantations to a mighty cotton producer, and then grew into a modern, industrial, and capitalist economy. Another factor that could have a made difference is the unions and workforce. The Silicon Valley Technology and Wall Street greed is thrusting upon American lives. The "sharing economy” concept of companies like Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit has encouraged workers to become "independent" and their own CEOs. Hiring themselves out for ever-smaller jobs and wages while the corporations benefit enormously. Increased subcontracting and consulting services by corporations also has economic consequences in the long run. Social justice is not reaching out for the average American worker. I sense hearing Elton John’s hit song, “Don't let the sun go down on me.” Let us not allow sun to go down on American capitalism.
Adam Smith’s masterpiece of economic analysis, The Wealth of Nations, was symbolic in that its publication date of 1776 coincided with the Declaration of American Independence. Smith examined simple economic concepts in which that individuals are capable of setting and regulating prices for their own goods and services. He summarized capitalism in terms of common sense; as how markets move, why they move, and how variables affect the outcomes. He supported free trade and small businesses and his book provided the first integrated description of the workings of a market economy. The spirit of his work still lives on and it revolutionized the way governments and individuals view the creation and dispersion of wealth.
The author of this book does not discuss economics, but simply documents the American success from a historical perspective. Topics includes very diverse subjects like; venture, taxes, tobacco, cotton, gold, slavery, war, oil, steel unions, trusts, food, automobiles, radio, and TV to computing, startups and internet. The book takes a very simple approach at the history without discussing the economics or politics or sociological ramifications that impacted these economic factors. The book is very arbitrarily classified into four sections and various topics are jumbled together in 35 chapters. Each chapter in a section has no bearing on each other. The book does not flow smoothly as a reader would expect.
The author could have considered expanding on factors that helped capitalism to grow. For example, slavery is long regarded as an error in American history but its impact on the American economy is long forgotten. The expansion of slavery in the first eight decades after American independence led to the modernization of the United States. The South grew from a narrow coastal strip of tobacco plantations to a mighty cotton producer, and then grew into a modern, industrial, and capitalist economy. Another factor that could have a made difference is the unions and workforce. The Silicon Valley Technology and Wall Street greed is thrusting upon American lives. The "sharing economy” concept of companies like Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit has encouraged workers to become "independent" and their own CEOs. Hiring themselves out for ever-smaller jobs and wages while the corporations benefit enormously. Increased subcontracting and consulting services by corporations also has economic consequences in the long run. Social justice is not reaching out for the average American worker. I sense hearing Elton John’s hit song, “Don't let the sun go down on me.” Let us not allow sun to go down on American capitalism.
October 21, 2017
Even without a hypothesis, this book clearly tells us the story of the march of American capitalism from the Mayflower to the Occupy mvement.
Americana enumerates the different factors geographical, cutural and historical that has created the progress of this unique economy.
It covers topics diverse as tobacco and cotton to railoads, newspapers film, suburbia, computers and mobile phones, giving us a glimpse of the American free enterprise.
After reading this book, I am left with wanting to read a similar one for American industry.
Americana enumerates the different factors geographical, cutural and historical that has created the progress of this unique economy.
It covers topics diverse as tobacco and cotton to railoads, newspapers film, suburbia, computers and mobile phones, giving us a glimpse of the American free enterprise.
After reading this book, I am left with wanting to read a similar one for American industry.
August 20, 2018
A wonderful book. The author reviews the history of capitalism within the history of the US, focusing a lot on technological advances that spurred the advance of our economy. One recurrent theme is that our capitalism is not the unfettered kind that laissez faire right wing pundits like to claim it is, but that the interplay between government and private industry has led to most of our progress.
Although much of this story is probably familiar territory to most readers, the author adds fresh perspectives to material that I found refreshing.
Although much of this story is probably familiar territory to most readers, the author adds fresh perspectives to material that I found refreshing.
January 7, 2018
It's all about money. This is the story of how the quest for personal wealth shaped America. It's partly a story of innovation, but mostly about how those innovations were capitalized to make as much money from them as possible. Benefits to society were sometimes incidental, but the driving force was a capitalist trying to make a (preferably quick) buck. Often this meant finding ways to cut out the original inventors. There are few stunning insights or surprising revelations, and no value judgments or projections about the future, but it's an informative overview.
August 10, 2021
Great book for knowing the history of capitalism in America.
February 19, 2020
As for hundreds of years, the USA have been the center of innovation - part of this book can be called "the history of next big things". "The Americana" painted a freat perspective on the development of the most powerful economy in history. From Christopher Columb, trough Andrew Carnegie, Rockefeller to Steve Jobs and Marc Andressen. Many interesting stories about beginnings of U.S. Steel, IBM, Ford, GE, General Motors, NBC, Netscape, AOL, Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Wells Fargo to name a few. All mixed with sociological and political context. Audible version took 20 hours, but even 50 wouldn't be a problem.
A couple of conclusions:
1) Steamship, railroad, telegraph, oil - once they all were "the next big thing"
2) Today people who expect huge profits can invest in startups. Hundreds of years ago people invested in ships which were supposed to discover lands which will bring huge profits.
3) Serial entrepreneurs existed hundreds of years ago. One of them once invented the machine which boosts the efficiency of cotton production. As he couldn't defend his invention from copycats he switched to... the weapon market.
4) These days stories about startups and their rollercoasters&hustle are very common. That was exactly how Samuel Morse created the US telegraph. There were days when he had nothing to eat.
5) During the goldRush, some American icons were born. Like jeans (gold hunters needed to wear something) or the bank Wells Fargo.
6) The value of 4 million slaves was higher than the value of the gold mined in California for 10 years. Families without slaves were considered as the lowest social class. People who tried to rescue slaves were considered as a terrorist.
7) What Pultizer made with one of his newspapers was the pure blue ocean strategy. He removed factors that some target group didn't need (detailed political / law news), added more things which they needed (lighter articles about lighter topics) and lowered prices.
A couple of conclusions:
1) Steamship, railroad, telegraph, oil - once they all were "the next big thing"
2) Today people who expect huge profits can invest in startups. Hundreds of years ago people invested in ships which were supposed to discover lands which will bring huge profits.
3) Serial entrepreneurs existed hundreds of years ago. One of them once invented the machine which boosts the efficiency of cotton production. As he couldn't defend his invention from copycats he switched to... the weapon market.
4) These days stories about startups and their rollercoasters&hustle are very common. That was exactly how Samuel Morse created the US telegraph. There were days when he had nothing to eat.
5) During the goldRush, some American icons were born. Like jeans (gold hunters needed to wear something) or the bank Wells Fargo.
6) The value of 4 million slaves was higher than the value of the gold mined in California for 10 years. Families without slaves were considered as the lowest social class. People who tried to rescue slaves were considered as a terrorist.
7) What Pultizer made with one of his newspapers was the pure blue ocean strategy. He removed factors that some target group didn't need (detailed political / law news), added more things which they needed (lighter articles about lighter topics) and lowered prices.
October 9, 2017
3-1/2 stars, half a star taken away for my main criticism: the book is so big-picture the pixels don't reveal anything. This is a positive review: Bhu Srinivasan is a great writer, and this is a great read: 500 pages went like a good mystery novel. Unfortunately, the plot doesn't really make sense in the end because it's really just a series of short stories, like Kennedy's Profiles in Courage: what Capitalism in America did right and wrong to get us to where we are today. Srinivasan turns up a lot of interesting facts in his stories, but he misses a lot of basic stories on the way. Sometimes he gets it wrong: "The Valachi Papers" is not perhaps the best historicist resource on how the mob worked in the 40's and 50's, much less after that. Where is G..b..l W...rm...g? Not economic enough? The youngsters get a mention during the sixties and nineties, but only a sentence or two. Nike gets a mention for creating the concept of China (just kidding) but where is the slavery in clothes, fishing, maritime, etc.? He does see the slavery in the pre-war South and the subtle discrimination of Levittown (:)) but misses the Black Lives Matter follow-on, both as an event as as a fact. Having just seen "There Will Be Blood" has probably made me jaundiced, even as he devotes several pages to "The Jungle" and its consequences for the Progressives and Teddy Roosevelt. For a great but fictional big-picture view of American Capitalism, see "Barkskins" by Annie Proulx. Just as high level but a lot more revealing, maybe because she doesn't need to be constrained by explaining history, just by telling stories. Still, a great read.
March 18, 2018
I am intrigued by the idea of teaching history using silos or areas of interest, such as science/medicine, culture, or sports as examples. This would be a main text for the business/economics silo. Bhu Srinivasan follows American business starting with how the original colonies were structured and financed. I found out about this book from an episode of the podcast Backstory on the Civil War. Some of the interesting things I found out from this book:
How important the California and Alaska gold rushes were to the finances of the US Government
How several of the Confederate states came to the valuation of slaves cited in their Articles of Secession.
How venture capital got started and what role it played getting high tech companies off the ground.
The different business models used by inventors such as Samuel Morse and Thomas Edison.
The history of leveraged buyouts.
I listened to the first part of the book on audio. I did not care for the reader. To my ear, he had an attitude.
How important the California and Alaska gold rushes were to the finances of the US Government
How several of the Confederate states came to the valuation of slaves cited in their Articles of Secession.
How venture capital got started and what role it played getting high tech companies off the ground.
The different business models used by inventors such as Samuel Morse and Thomas Edison.
The history of leveraged buyouts.
I listened to the first part of the book on audio. I did not care for the reader. To my ear, he had an attitude.
August 4, 2021
Listen, Shrinivasan has drank the Kool-aid. That's fine. This is a sweeping hagiography of American capitalism. The author would definitely benefit from some history lessons on the impacts of American foreign policy to forcibly open up markets overseas on those countries. He would benefit from some basic education on the consequences of such a growth model on inequality, racial tensions, health metrics etc.
Putting these inadequacies aside, the book is actually a great read. The author tries to cover a lot of ground so of course details are limited and only a chapter or so is dedicated to each turn of history (railroads, banking, internet etc). But even then, he manages to enrich it with some interesting stories, brings to life some of the great characters (Carnegie for e.g.) and there are tons of references for further reading if of interest. If you can keep the caveats above in mind and absorb the material with a bag of salt, then this is a read well worth the time. I enjoyed the book, even if I had to roll my eyes at the naivety/ignorance of the author now and again.
Putting these inadequacies aside, the book is actually a great read. The author tries to cover a lot of ground so of course details are limited and only a chapter or so is dedicated to each turn of history (railroads, banking, internet etc). But even then, he manages to enrich it with some interesting stories, brings to life some of the great characters (Carnegie for e.g.) and there are tons of references for further reading if of interest. If you can keep the caveats above in mind and absorb the material with a bag of salt, then this is a read well worth the time. I enjoyed the book, even if I had to roll my eyes at the naivety/ignorance of the author now and again.
July 5, 2022
I'm a storyteller. I believe we live in to the stories we tell ourselves. One of America's enduring stories is that we practice laissez faire capitalism.
Srinivasan has captured America's unique blend of democracy and capitalism whereby we appreciate the benefits of capitalism while holding on to our Collective right to control its abuses.
This is an amazing oversight starting with the pilgrims and moving all the way up to the iPhone.
I rank this along with The Ascent of Money, and Guns, Germs, and Steel as a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the world we live in today.
Srinivasan has captured America's unique blend of democracy and capitalism whereby we appreciate the benefits of capitalism while holding on to our Collective right to control its abuses.
This is an amazing oversight starting with the pilgrims and moving all the way up to the iPhone.
I rank this along with The Ascent of Money, and Guns, Germs, and Steel as a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the world we live in today.
April 18, 2021
Very very good. Walks you through 400 years of USA from an economics & capitalist lens. Small chapters each logging their journey from tobacco, cotton, railroad, gold, slaves, oil, steel, auto to internet and many many more in between. One of the best reads in recent time.
October 9, 2018
The author’s thesis is that American history is the story of capital going where it is treated best. This perspective is presented with vignettes that point out that while political freedom is important, it was not necessarily unique to America, but the ability to capture wealth was indeed best adapted in the New World.
Chapter names correspond to industries and institutions that have created wealth in America, e.g., Tobacco, Taxes, Cotton, Slavery, Steam, Railroads, Retail, Unions, Automobiles, Bootlegging, Television, Computing, Finance….among others.
Srinivasan begins with the English Mayflower: immigrants who had attained political and religious freedom in Holland but lacked the ability to attain wealth and a desirable standard of living. Therefore, with the help of venture capital, the members of the Mayflower community set sail for America. He notes that this community crossed the Atlantic not so much for political or religious freedom but for economic opportunity.
Srinivasan discusses slavery from the standpoint of property wealth and points out that the dilemma was never to be easily resolved-- there was just too much wealth at stake for the South to voluntarily give up the institution, and the North didn’t have the capital to make up those losses. The dollars and cents calculations of the value of each slave, while coldly intellectual, puts the point to his hypothesis that decisions have been made for purely financial reasons and war was indeed inevitable.
“...there is ample evidence to suggest that slavery had morphed from simply being a pool of owned labor to be coming, in effect, monetary base of South. In most farming societies, the most valuable asset was the land….The South was different. Not only could the land be owned, but the lifetime value of labor inputs, human beings, could also be owned with clear and transferable legal title. Most important, just like land, slaveholders could pledge their slaves as loan collateral. Indeed, slaves made for a much better form of collateral than land. Land prices have far greater variability based on size of parcel, location, microclimate, crops grown, soil depletion, water access. And unlike a slave land could not be moved. For the borrower, it was easier to sell one or two slaves than to break off a portion of their land (p. 127).”
Plantation owners borrowed against their slaves which were used as capital. This made for economic dependence on the way of life which was not easily disassembled. Owners of slaves were heavily leveraged against their slave capital and any devaluation meant financial ruin. In effect, continued slavery was untenable but any resolution was not economically feasible, therefore, war was inevitable.
Srinivasan notes that through most of American economic history, capital was helped along by various institutions that aided the generation of wealth. Automobiles as consumer products had a slightly different trajectory, that of pure capitalism.
“That [Henry] Ford, having gone through two automotive failures and on the verge of turning forty, looking to compete with dozens of new entries in the automotive field each year, could still raise any capital at all was an affirmation of the principles laid out by Adam Smith, and every classical economist since: That despite the risk of total loss, money finds Its way to opportunity when the potential rewards are high enough. In this, the birth of the automobile was the pure free-market at work. Unlike the steamboat, which developed out of a monopoly grant; or the railroad, which needed the state's power of eminent domain to provision the land needed for tracks; or the telegraph which received $30,000 from the federal government to prove its viability; or cotton which grew into America's top pre Civil War export with state-sanctioned slavery; or steel which needed tariff protection for decades to compete with British imports, the automobile was a product of the tinkerer and inventor, the iteration of thousands of mechanical minds like Ford’s (p. 283).”
The further growth of the automobile, however, was aided by the government sponsored highway system. Capitalism is never pure. State sanctioned and financed institutions have always pushed capital into burgeoning fields.
Srinivasan also notes that American capitalism has been marked by gritty individuals who often had a single purpose but often lacked formal education. Much of the grit was borne of ambition and an ability to navigate the markets and see which priorities would garner capital investment.
“Apple [Computer] was also the age-old American startup. Just as unschooled men of humble beginnings with endless old hustle -- Luck and Pluck, has one Horatio Alger title went-- found American capitalism the ladder to conquest, this was the start of another example of the American storybook. Democracy was only a political equalizer; this free market was Darwinian competition. In the earliest days of the Republic, when men first learned to navigate upstream with steam power it was the gritty, unschooled Vanderbilt who conquered the market. The thirteen-year-old Carnegie -- fresh off the boat from Scotland, having seen his father displaced there as a casualty of the Industrial Revolution-- worked the boiler room without seeing the sun for days on end, made his way up as messenger boy at a telegraph office, and eventually dominated the American steel industry. During trial testimony taken well after he was established as a titan, Henry Ford couldn't identify the decade of the American Revolution, speculating that it might have happened in the 1800's. But who cared? The market was not an exam for scholars -- the right answer was when the customer paid (p. 432).”
Even the current environment sees the dance of government, social institutions and capitalism working together to generate wealth, often accumulated by a few individuals or corporations, putting a lie to the notion of a pure free market. Other countries now emulate the US model.
“The strong central government in Beijing was setting the economic trajectory for over a billion people the same way Washington had done for over a century. The tariff on steel was central to the success of Carnegie and other domestic producers during the Gilded Age. Federally guaranteed home loans were and remain the backbone of the housing Industry, and with it, the construction industry. Consumer bank deposits were similarly federally insured. Vital developments in radio, television, satellites, mainframe computing, and the internet have been achieved through military expenditures. America, the leading food producer in the world had pages of farm subsidies on the books. The automakers had essentially been taken over during the Second World War-- they weren't allowed to make cars for private sale for nearly 3 years. Later, automakers would receive significant bailouts and government backed loans. And indeed the participants in the American economy were largely educated at public schools and colleges. Retirement was taken care of for Americans through Social Security. Capitalism in America was not arms-length ideology; it was an endlessly calibrated balance between State subsidies, social programs, government contracts, regulation, free will, entrepreneurship, and free markets. The Chinese looked to do the same thing, albeit with one less political party than the Americans had (p. 485).”
Srinivasan attempts to tackle the dilemma of wealth inequality, noting that American capitalism--- as all capitalism-- creates wealth in ever unequal distribution. Now we are faced with an increasing consumer class in the United States at a time when labor is done largely overseas. He ponders the sustainability of such a situation.
The thesis of this book is nuanced and new. The author presents entertaining anecdotes artfully assembled to create a narrative of our economic history. The perspective of wealth creation is a useful adjunct to a more traditional study of history and renders a better understanding of how we got to where we are.
Chapter names correspond to industries and institutions that have created wealth in America, e.g., Tobacco, Taxes, Cotton, Slavery, Steam, Railroads, Retail, Unions, Automobiles, Bootlegging, Television, Computing, Finance….among others.
Srinivasan begins with the English Mayflower: immigrants who had attained political and religious freedom in Holland but lacked the ability to attain wealth and a desirable standard of living. Therefore, with the help of venture capital, the members of the Mayflower community set sail for America. He notes that this community crossed the Atlantic not so much for political or religious freedom but for economic opportunity.
Srinivasan discusses slavery from the standpoint of property wealth and points out that the dilemma was never to be easily resolved-- there was just too much wealth at stake for the South to voluntarily give up the institution, and the North didn’t have the capital to make up those losses. The dollars and cents calculations of the value of each slave, while coldly intellectual, puts the point to his hypothesis that decisions have been made for purely financial reasons and war was indeed inevitable.
“...there is ample evidence to suggest that slavery had morphed from simply being a pool of owned labor to be coming, in effect, monetary base of South. In most farming societies, the most valuable asset was the land….The South was different. Not only could the land be owned, but the lifetime value of labor inputs, human beings, could also be owned with clear and transferable legal title. Most important, just like land, slaveholders could pledge their slaves as loan collateral. Indeed, slaves made for a much better form of collateral than land. Land prices have far greater variability based on size of parcel, location, microclimate, crops grown, soil depletion, water access. And unlike a slave land could not be moved. For the borrower, it was easier to sell one or two slaves than to break off a portion of their land (p. 127).”
Plantation owners borrowed against their slaves which were used as capital. This made for economic dependence on the way of life which was not easily disassembled. Owners of slaves were heavily leveraged against their slave capital and any devaluation meant financial ruin. In effect, continued slavery was untenable but any resolution was not economically feasible, therefore, war was inevitable.
Srinivasan notes that through most of American economic history, capital was helped along by various institutions that aided the generation of wealth. Automobiles as consumer products had a slightly different trajectory, that of pure capitalism.
“That [Henry] Ford, having gone through two automotive failures and on the verge of turning forty, looking to compete with dozens of new entries in the automotive field each year, could still raise any capital at all was an affirmation of the principles laid out by Adam Smith, and every classical economist since: That despite the risk of total loss, money finds Its way to opportunity when the potential rewards are high enough. In this, the birth of the automobile was the pure free-market at work. Unlike the steamboat, which developed out of a monopoly grant; or the railroad, which needed the state's power of eminent domain to provision the land needed for tracks; or the telegraph which received $30,000 from the federal government to prove its viability; or cotton which grew into America's top pre Civil War export with state-sanctioned slavery; or steel which needed tariff protection for decades to compete with British imports, the automobile was a product of the tinkerer and inventor, the iteration of thousands of mechanical minds like Ford’s (p. 283).”
The further growth of the automobile, however, was aided by the government sponsored highway system. Capitalism is never pure. State sanctioned and financed institutions have always pushed capital into burgeoning fields.
Srinivasan also notes that American capitalism has been marked by gritty individuals who often had a single purpose but often lacked formal education. Much of the grit was borne of ambition and an ability to navigate the markets and see which priorities would garner capital investment.
“Apple [Computer] was also the age-old American startup. Just as unschooled men of humble beginnings with endless old hustle -- Luck and Pluck, has one Horatio Alger title went-- found American capitalism the ladder to conquest, this was the start of another example of the American storybook. Democracy was only a political equalizer; this free market was Darwinian competition. In the earliest days of the Republic, when men first learned to navigate upstream with steam power it was the gritty, unschooled Vanderbilt who conquered the market. The thirteen-year-old Carnegie -- fresh off the boat from Scotland, having seen his father displaced there as a casualty of the Industrial Revolution-- worked the boiler room without seeing the sun for days on end, made his way up as messenger boy at a telegraph office, and eventually dominated the American steel industry. During trial testimony taken well after he was established as a titan, Henry Ford couldn't identify the decade of the American Revolution, speculating that it might have happened in the 1800's. But who cared? The market was not an exam for scholars -- the right answer was when the customer paid (p. 432).”
Even the current environment sees the dance of government, social institutions and capitalism working together to generate wealth, often accumulated by a few individuals or corporations, putting a lie to the notion of a pure free market. Other countries now emulate the US model.
“The strong central government in Beijing was setting the economic trajectory for over a billion people the same way Washington had done for over a century. The tariff on steel was central to the success of Carnegie and other domestic producers during the Gilded Age. Federally guaranteed home loans were and remain the backbone of the housing Industry, and with it, the construction industry. Consumer bank deposits were similarly federally insured. Vital developments in radio, television, satellites, mainframe computing, and the internet have been achieved through military expenditures. America, the leading food producer in the world had pages of farm subsidies on the books. The automakers had essentially been taken over during the Second World War-- they weren't allowed to make cars for private sale for nearly 3 years. Later, automakers would receive significant bailouts and government backed loans. And indeed the participants in the American economy were largely educated at public schools and colleges. Retirement was taken care of for Americans through Social Security. Capitalism in America was not arms-length ideology; it was an endlessly calibrated balance between State subsidies, social programs, government contracts, regulation, free will, entrepreneurship, and free markets. The Chinese looked to do the same thing, albeit with one less political party than the Americans had (p. 485).”
Srinivasan attempts to tackle the dilemma of wealth inequality, noting that American capitalism--- as all capitalism-- creates wealth in ever unequal distribution. Now we are faced with an increasing consumer class in the United States at a time when labor is done largely overseas. He ponders the sustainability of such a situation.
The thesis of this book is nuanced and new. The author presents entertaining anecdotes artfully assembled to create a narrative of our economic history. The perspective of wealth creation is a useful adjunct to a more traditional study of history and renders a better understanding of how we got to where we are.
April 29, 2020
The book is exactly what the title promises, American history told through the central lens of its capitalism. It's perfect for history, and particularly American history, enthusiasts BUT dare I say even more so for fans of capitalism and economy in general as there is huge focus on the subject. For me these topics will always be a heavy and unpleasant (maybe because I've not read enough or maybe I fail to see its immediate utility to my life in any special way), but nonetheless a necessary read, so I'll always rate it low (liked it/it was OK). It's the first published work of an Indian author whose family immigrated in the US when he was 8 and then who hopped the nation's main cities due to his mother's career. The book really starts from the roots (the New England's colonies) up until the very recent times (the golden age of Silicon Valley). If you're familiar with a lot of these items, you'll speed read through the book as I have. The author focuses more on economy, instead of politics, as the main drive behind all types of events, including his personal life. It was particularly cool to see the natural birth of modern day's venture capital funding, details about trades through colonial exports, the rupture between the American colonies and mother England, the revolutionary war and so on and so forth, which the author deems it all standing behind financial motives. It made me think that money did rule the world, as it also continues to do so.
June 23, 2020
I think it's a great idea to write history based on enterpreneurial / capitalistic / industrial events instead of political ones. The author delivered a fascinating story of economic history of the USA. Even i really don't need another arguments to bemore pro-business or pro-USA i got some more.
I'd love to read a version of this book about Poland. Or Germany. Or China.
I'd love to read a version of this book about Poland. Or Germany. Or China.
December 30, 2022
Liked the concept, liked how the chapters were organized (roughly chronologically, with each section dedicated to a particular industry that shaped America - e.g., Tobacco, Food, Internet), but where was The Point?
Also, Dayton-Hudson’s Target originated in the Midwest. It was not a retailer of the Northeast that then expanded into the Midwest, as is erroneously stated in the Roads section.
Also, Dayton-Hudson’s Target originated in the Midwest. It was not a retailer of the Northeast that then expanded into the Midwest, as is erroneously stated in the Roads section.
November 10, 2017
Really interesting look at American capitalism and the country's history. Some great stories there that make you re-think what you thought you knew.
February 28, 2019
This book is a fascinating look at capitalism through the perspective of American history. It is kinda long, but very easy to read. I learned so many things I did not know. Highly recommend!
December 7, 2020
Easy to read American history from a capitalism view point. Not a ton of new material if you already are well versed in modern American history. Still a great read.
January 31, 2021
Phenomenal book, looking at the US from the perspective of different industries that have driven its economy. Highly recommend
January 2, 2021
This felt like a good US history/economy refresher course. I liked the thematic chapters as organizing principle - enjoyed parts 1 & 2 best, 3 next, 4 least (probably because of familiarity with all of the more contemporary themes - didn’t feel like there were any new takes here). The personal stories and meandering/pivoting paths behind name-brand inventors and magnates that I didn’t previously know were entertaining and the book certainly does a good job of solidifying the allure and glory of entrepreneurship, and commands respect for the risk taking that drives economic progress.
October 20, 2023
This book reviews 35 industries starting with tobacco and ending with the internet and mobile phone. The author devotes about 15 pages to each topic and so at times it reads as overly simplistic, however I was interested in fast paced broad brush strokes and this book fulfilled that expectation.
August 17, 2019
Besides the fact that cotton and tobacco represented the number one exports of this nation in the early part of the 19th century, I don't think I learned anything new from this book. It was a disappointment. It provides the history that its title encompasses but it doesn't really add much to that history in the way of commentary. It fails to generate much excitement about the great moments in technological advancement or universal availability of new appliances and tools that have changed the world. In short, it is a pedestrian work.
December 22, 2019
This afternoon, I finished Bhu Srinivasan's "Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism".
It's always exciting to have people read books with you. Sometimes the thought that those you started the book with have finished reading and are asking for a new recommendation can only encourage you.
This book was not an exception. Not unlike some of the other books I have journeyed this year with, this was one that had me studying dozens of reference materials to further understand the topics under discussion.
Bhu chronicles the start of the American nation through the efforts of foreign men of means driven by appetites for glorious gains willing to overlook the possibility of loss on a venture - the Virginia Company - to gaining independence from the British monarch and asserting its authority as a world superpower through its unique nuance of capitalism.
With the book broken into four interesting parts containing 36 chapters, it describes the several contributions to the economic supremacy of this unlikely group of independent colonies.
How tobacco seeds brought from England found such a fertile land in America that it quickly became the America's dominant export, accounting for nearly 80 percent of its total export. Fur, the next-largest export item, accounted for around 5 percent.
In discussion about slavery contributed to America as a nation, so much nuance is lost. It was interesting to see Bhu acknowledge that for a while it was more expensive to keep slaves than indentured servants - European immigrants who worked for a certain number of years, mostly 7 years, and then provided some of the abundant lands after their servanthood - because of the upfront allocation of capital and their high mortality rate. However because land is not unlimited, owing slaves and their acclimatization to the new environment eventually made owing and keeping them a better economic decision. And for this, the nation would fight a really bloody civil war, the South vs the North, to emancipate them.
Quick fact: Save for a few slaves owners in Washington (representing 0.075%), the United States remains the only country to abolish slavery without paying compensation to slave owners.
Like I always say, I read every book with Nigeria in mind. Imagine my surprise to see that as far back as 1792, facing the “extreme difficulty” of separating seeds from cotton, men would get to work seeking and finding a solution; a solution without which America would never have been much of a cotton producer. Eli Whitney's invention’s impact on the lives of people, nations, and war and peace was staggering. Just to mention one of such impacts: This mechanical act of separating cotton from its seeds led to America supplying over 70 percent of the world’s raw cotton. It's 2019 and Nigerians are still manually picking stones from beans before cooking. Our rice farmers are telling us to help them pick stones from the rice before cooking (You don't believe me? Ask me and I will send you links).
Then there were the captains of industry like Carnegie, JP Morgan, and Rockefeller who embodies or were seen to embody the free market ideology. Perhaps no one practiced free market strategies more than Vanderbilt. While government tariffs propelled men like Carnegie, Vanderbilt's strategy was simple: enter a market, undercut prices to the point of causing pain (by at least 50%), and get bought out.
Indeed the trajectory of America as an economic miracle was fuelled by the notion of everyone for himself at the time after the basic rule for law and order are established. This led to unprecedented wealth and raised standard of living because people will use the impetus of survival to produce and innovate, which then led to the need to regulate and punish untoward behaviour in the market, for instance the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration, which then led to provision of more infrastructure like Canals, Railroads, Roads, etc., which led to even better environment to produce for the consumer. For many countries, the government insistence of knowing all that may be wrong before providing citizens the freedom to create handicaps the entire process of wealth creation.
It's interesting that much of what separates early America from the world was progressive leadership. Once the government recognizes what it has leverage in, it leaves the American market to create. Vital developments in radio, television, satellites, mainframe computing, and the Internet were achieved through military expenditures to win World War I & II, and thereafter left to the market to commercialize and make available for and to all.
Some products of capitalism may appear mundane but their impacts are extraordinary. Take the typewriter as an example, this device was what brought the first thousands of women into the modern office setting.
For what it's worth, I leave the book with a deep acknowledgment of the impact of Franklin Roosevelt on modern America and his intervention in the market. To guarantee the safety of bank deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created. To regulate the entire American stock and bond markets, the Exchange Act of 1933 required companies to report their financial condition accurately to the buying public, establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission. Safety nets such as Social Security for retirement and home loan guarantees for individuals were added to the government’s portfolio of responsibilities. Franklin created the largest peacetime escalation of government in American history. The effects are still felt today.
I however disagree with some postulations in the book. Bhu claims Herbert Hoover lack of intervention in the market led to the Great Depression, yet he failed to mention that unemployment peaked 9 percent in December 1929 and was down to 6.3% in June 1930 until Hoover imposed higher tariffs to save American jobs by reducing imported goods, then unemployment rose above 20% in 1932 and stayed above 20 percent for 23 consecutive months.
Bhu also praised Franklin Roosevelt for expanding federal intervention and credited the New Deal for ending the depression, yet I found it curious that he devoted just a few paragraphs to Ronald Reagan (mostly as a Hollywood star) and never mentioned his non-intervention in the 1987 stock market as President which was followed by two decades of economic growth with low unemployment. For someone who to conservatives is the very definition of limited government and the ability of markets to self-correct, I expected more to be said about Ronald Reagan in a book about American capitalism.
The criticisms notwithstanding, I found Americana a thought-provoking and eye-opening book on the intricacies of the market and democracy. I took more notes on Google Keep reading this book than I did any other this year.
I have had a few people I respect name it their best book of the years they have read it (it was published in 2017), and while I would not go as far as saying that it's my favourite book of the year, I would say it is one of the best history books I have read, perhaps because it's written by a polymath immigrant who offers perspectives I have seen many natives miss.
It's always exciting to have people read books with you. Sometimes the thought that those you started the book with have finished reading and are asking for a new recommendation can only encourage you.
This book was not an exception. Not unlike some of the other books I have journeyed this year with, this was one that had me studying dozens of reference materials to further understand the topics under discussion.
Bhu chronicles the start of the American nation through the efforts of foreign men of means driven by appetites for glorious gains willing to overlook the possibility of loss on a venture - the Virginia Company - to gaining independence from the British monarch and asserting its authority as a world superpower through its unique nuance of capitalism.
With the book broken into four interesting parts containing 36 chapters, it describes the several contributions to the economic supremacy of this unlikely group of independent colonies.
How tobacco seeds brought from England found such a fertile land in America that it quickly became the America's dominant export, accounting for nearly 80 percent of its total export. Fur, the next-largest export item, accounted for around 5 percent.
In discussion about slavery contributed to America as a nation, so much nuance is lost. It was interesting to see Bhu acknowledge that for a while it was more expensive to keep slaves than indentured servants - European immigrants who worked for a certain number of years, mostly 7 years, and then provided some of the abundant lands after their servanthood - because of the upfront allocation of capital and their high mortality rate. However because land is not unlimited, owing slaves and their acclimatization to the new environment eventually made owing and keeping them a better economic decision. And for this, the nation would fight a really bloody civil war, the South vs the North, to emancipate them.
Quick fact: Save for a few slaves owners in Washington (representing 0.075%), the United States remains the only country to abolish slavery without paying compensation to slave owners.
Like I always say, I read every book with Nigeria in mind. Imagine my surprise to see that as far back as 1792, facing the “extreme difficulty” of separating seeds from cotton, men would get to work seeking and finding a solution; a solution without which America would never have been much of a cotton producer. Eli Whitney's invention’s impact on the lives of people, nations, and war and peace was staggering. Just to mention one of such impacts: This mechanical act of separating cotton from its seeds led to America supplying over 70 percent of the world’s raw cotton. It's 2019 and Nigerians are still manually picking stones from beans before cooking. Our rice farmers are telling us to help them pick stones from the rice before cooking (You don't believe me? Ask me and I will send you links).
Then there were the captains of industry like Carnegie, JP Morgan, and Rockefeller who embodies or were seen to embody the free market ideology. Perhaps no one practiced free market strategies more than Vanderbilt. While government tariffs propelled men like Carnegie, Vanderbilt's strategy was simple: enter a market, undercut prices to the point of causing pain (by at least 50%), and get bought out.
Indeed the trajectory of America as an economic miracle was fuelled by the notion of everyone for himself at the time after the basic rule for law and order are established. This led to unprecedented wealth and raised standard of living because people will use the impetus of survival to produce and innovate, which then led to the need to regulate and punish untoward behaviour in the market, for instance the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration, which then led to provision of more infrastructure like Canals, Railroads, Roads, etc., which led to even better environment to produce for the consumer. For many countries, the government insistence of knowing all that may be wrong before providing citizens the freedom to create handicaps the entire process of wealth creation.
It's interesting that much of what separates early America from the world was progressive leadership. Once the government recognizes what it has leverage in, it leaves the American market to create. Vital developments in radio, television, satellites, mainframe computing, and the Internet were achieved through military expenditures to win World War I & II, and thereafter left to the market to commercialize and make available for and to all.
Some products of capitalism may appear mundane but their impacts are extraordinary. Take the typewriter as an example, this device was what brought the first thousands of women into the modern office setting.
For what it's worth, I leave the book with a deep acknowledgment of the impact of Franklin Roosevelt on modern America and his intervention in the market. To guarantee the safety of bank deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created. To regulate the entire American stock and bond markets, the Exchange Act of 1933 required companies to report their financial condition accurately to the buying public, establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission. Safety nets such as Social Security for retirement and home loan guarantees for individuals were added to the government’s portfolio of responsibilities. Franklin created the largest peacetime escalation of government in American history. The effects are still felt today.
I however disagree with some postulations in the book. Bhu claims Herbert Hoover lack of intervention in the market led to the Great Depression, yet he failed to mention that unemployment peaked 9 percent in December 1929 and was down to 6.3% in June 1930 until Hoover imposed higher tariffs to save American jobs by reducing imported goods, then unemployment rose above 20% in 1932 and stayed above 20 percent for 23 consecutive months.
Bhu also praised Franklin Roosevelt for expanding federal intervention and credited the New Deal for ending the depression, yet I found it curious that he devoted just a few paragraphs to Ronald Reagan (mostly as a Hollywood star) and never mentioned his non-intervention in the 1987 stock market as President which was followed by two decades of economic growth with low unemployment. For someone who to conservatives is the very definition of limited government and the ability of markets to self-correct, I expected more to be said about Ronald Reagan in a book about American capitalism.
The criticisms notwithstanding, I found Americana a thought-provoking and eye-opening book on the intricacies of the market and democracy. I took more notes on Google Keep reading this book than I did any other this year.
I have had a few people I respect name it their best book of the years they have read it (it was published in 2017), and while I would not go as far as saying that it's my favourite book of the year, I would say it is one of the best history books I have read, perhaps because it's written by a polymath immigrant who offers perspectives I have seen many natives miss.
May 7, 2020
This book was an excellent intertwining of US history and capitalism. I enjoyed Srinivasan's writing style, and sheer detail he was able to include on so many industries, beginning with the Mayflower and ending with smart phones. While the book was in chronological order, which in and of itself was quite well done, each chapter reads as its own story on a specific industry so you can hop around if you'd like. From the Revolutionary war to tobacco, slavery, and the Civil War then on to railroads, oil, and the industrial revolution - I found it very interesting to see how the country evolved from a land of immigrants to the powerhouse it is today - and how each industry formed and was capitalized.
A few highlights for me were: the the Union forces using ships to cut off the south's exports to significantly cripple their economy during the Civil War, the formation of suburbia post-WW2, Rockefeller recognizing the value of the oil refinement process and using his shrewd practices to create a monopoly, Henry Ford's creation of the assembly line to create efficient production and a vehicle that his workers could afford, Prohibition's influence on organized crime through bootlegging, the early days of Silicon Valley, the creation of junk bonds to finance LBO's in the 80's, the sneaker culture created by Nike with the ultimate help of Michael Jordan, the battle between Netscape and Microsoft for the internet. Great read, highly recommended for this interested in both business and history.
A few highlights for me were: the the Union forces using ships to cut off the south's exports to significantly cripple their economy during the Civil War, the formation of suburbia post-WW2, Rockefeller recognizing the value of the oil refinement process and using his shrewd practices to create a monopoly, Henry Ford's creation of the assembly line to create efficient production and a vehicle that his workers could afford, Prohibition's influence on organized crime through bootlegging, the early days of Silicon Valley, the creation of junk bonds to finance LBO's in the 80's, the sneaker culture created by Nike with the ultimate help of Michael Jordan, the battle between Netscape and Microsoft for the internet. Great read, highly recommended for this interested in both business and history.
September 2, 2020
Um livro muito bem estruturado sobre a história dos EUA do ponto de vista dos empreendedores e dos diferentes mercados que se desenvolveram nos EUA durante 400 anos. O autor também amarra muito bem cada etapa da formação do páis com os incentivos (econômicos, sociais e morais) de diferentes grupos / estados.
Algumas ideias que se destacaram para mim: forma como os colonos encaravam a relação com a Inglaterra pré-revolução (e como Inglaterra poderia ter evitado a independência), diferenças entre os founding fathers e os "robber barons", contraste econômico e moral entre o Norte e o Sul pré-guerra civil, como a guerra civil foi de fato vencida pelo Norte, o desenvolvimento dos catálogos de produtos, a evolução do papel da mídia como um quarto poder e os insights sobre a linha de montagem / papel do fordismo para a segunda guerra e para o pós-guerra.
Recomendo demais esse livro!
Algumas ideias que se destacaram para mim: forma como os colonos encaravam a relação com a Inglaterra pré-revolução (e como Inglaterra poderia ter evitado a independência), diferenças entre os founding fathers e os "robber barons", contraste econômico e moral entre o Norte e o Sul pré-guerra civil, como a guerra civil foi de fato vencida pelo Norte, o desenvolvimento dos catálogos de produtos, a evolução do papel da mídia como um quarto poder e os insights sobre a linha de montagem / papel do fordismo para a segunda guerra e para o pós-guerra.
Recomendo demais esse livro!
January 2, 2018
In Americana, Bhu Srinivasan basically rewrites your high school US history textbook through an economic lens. It's a mildly interesting concept, and it leads to some fascinating anecdotes and a greater emphasis on certain points that tend to be overlooked in history lessons, but overall it doesn't have anything too orginal to say.
For example, the fact that the collective value of salves in the South on the eve of the Civil War was in the neighborhood of $4 billion, and as such was the largest asset class in the US. I mean, I'm sure that general fact was mentioned in my high school history class, but it definitely wasn't the emphasis. Furthermore, the typical plantation owner was in debt, often using his slaves as collateral against future income from crops, or just to generally fund his lavish lifestyle. Srinivasan points out that even if a hypothetical abolitionist slaveowner wanted to free his slaves, he could no more do that than the average American today could donate their mortgaged home to charity.
There are also a lot of really interesting tidbits about the various titans of industry of the Gilded Age - how they got started, interesting misadventures or political opions they had. (Did you know that Andrew Carnegie tried to buy the Philippines from the US government after the Spanish-American war in order to give the nation its independence?)
But in the end, it doesn't amount to much of a coherent story. Without a driving narrative, it starts to drag on after a bit. I mean, anyone would be hard-pressed to weave a singular thread through 400 years. I feel like the whole thing would have worked better in a different format, which the author even mentions in some introductory material. This would have made a great podcast series. But as a book, best enjoyed in small pieces rather than all at once.
For example, the fact that the collective value of salves in the South on the eve of the Civil War was in the neighborhood of $4 billion, and as such was the largest asset class in the US. I mean, I'm sure that general fact was mentioned in my high school history class, but it definitely wasn't the emphasis. Furthermore, the typical plantation owner was in debt, often using his slaves as collateral against future income from crops, or just to generally fund his lavish lifestyle. Srinivasan points out that even if a hypothetical abolitionist slaveowner wanted to free his slaves, he could no more do that than the average American today could donate their mortgaged home to charity.
There are also a lot of really interesting tidbits about the various titans of industry of the Gilded Age - how they got started, interesting misadventures or political opions they had. (Did you know that Andrew Carnegie tried to buy the Philippines from the US government after the Spanish-American war in order to give the nation its independence?)
But in the end, it doesn't amount to much of a coherent story. Without a driving narrative, it starts to drag on after a bit. I mean, anyone would be hard-pressed to weave a singular thread through 400 years. I feel like the whole thing would have worked better in a different format, which the author even mentions in some introductory material. This would have made a great podcast series. But as a book, best enjoyed in small pieces rather than all at once.
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