Books by Adam Smith
Adam Smith is seen as the ‘Founding Father’ of capitalism and modern economics.
Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor—a book about Smith’s friendship with David Hume—selected the best books about Adam Smith.
Books by Adam Smith have been recommended many times on Five Books.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
by Adam Smith
The Theory of Moral Sentiments, first published in 1759, was based on lectures on ethics Adam Smith gave after becoming a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. While Smith is better known for his later work, The Wealth of Nations (published in 1776, the same year as America's Declaration of Independence), which described the workings of the capitalist economy, Smith himself considered The Theory of Moral Sentiments the better of the two books. More than two centuries later its observations and insights continue to be relevant, as our interviews with politicians, economists and philosophers below make clear:
The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
The Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776, is the founding text of modern economics. But as our interviews with experts below make clear, its author, Adam Smith, was a moral philosopher and no unabashed cheerleader for the capitalist system he saw flourishing around him in Glasgow, a city grown rich from trade with the American colonies:
Interviews where books by Adam Smith were recommended
The Best Adam Smith Books, recommended by Dennis Rasmussen
Adam Smith tends to be seen as the founder of capitalism and modern economics, but he was, first and foremost, a moral philosopher. Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor—a book about Smith’s friendship with David Hume—selects the best books by and about Adam Smith.
The best books on Globalisation, recommended by Stephen D King
The Chief Economist at HSBC reflects on the hubris of the Western World and reminds us that history provides valuable lessons on financial crises and the constant changing shape of the world economy
Reading the Romantics, recommended by William St Clair
Who read Byron in his time? How much did a copy of Wordsworth cost? The scholar guides us through the astonishing history of reading in the Romantic period of English literature
Niall Ferguson on His Intellectual Influences
Harvard historian Niall Ferguson tells us about the diverse influences on his work, from Keynes and Tolstoy to an Austrian satirist. He explains how he prefers a philosophy of history that emphasises the contingent and the chaotic, rather than the neatly predictable.
The best books on The Culture of Management, recommended by William Hopper
The Chairman of the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London selects his top five books on managerial culture. He discusses decline in American traditional management excellence but remains optimistic for the future.
The best books on Economic Development, recommended by Pranab Bardhan
What is economic development? What does it take to make it happen? What can we learn from the days Britain was still a developing country? Eminent Indian economist, Pranab Bardhan, recommends the best books to better understand economic development.
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1
Reflections on the Revolution in France
by Edmund Burke -
2
A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful
by Edmund Burke -
3
A Vindication of the Rights of Men and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
by Mary Wollstonecraft, edited by Sylvana Tomaselli -
4
Letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
by Mary Wollstonecraft -
5
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
by Adam Smith
The Best Mary Wollstonecraft Books, recommended by Sylvana Tomaselli
The Best Mary Wollstonecraft Books, recommended by Sylvana Tomaselli
Mary Wollstonecraft lived by her pen and wrote trenchant critiques of the role of women and marriage in late 18th century British society. She died aged 38, a few days after giving birth to her second daughter, Mary Shelley. She is often remembered for writing the Vindication of the Rights of Woman, but it was not in fact her best book, says Cambridge intellectual historian Sylvana Tomaselli. Here, she recommends books to read to get a good understanding of the extraordinary Mary Wollstonecraft, and the writers she was both influenced by and reacting against.
The best books on Capitalism and Human Nature, recommended by Robert J Shiller
“You have to understand people first before you can understand how to devise an economic system for them” argues Robert J Shiller, the Yale economics professor and Nobel laureate. He chooses five books that explore who we fundamentally are, as human beings, and how that will determine the shape of a successful capitalism.
The best books on Compassionate Conservatism, recommended by Karl Rove
Karl Rove recommends five historical works that define, for him, the essence of American Conservatism.
