On The Wealth of Nations: Books That Changed the World | 
| Author: P. J. O'rourke
Publisher: Grove Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 106836
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0802143423
Dewey Decimal Number: 330.153
EAN: 9780802143426
ASIN: 0802143423
Publication Date: December 21, 2007
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Condition: ** Possible marking on cover. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases.
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Product Description
In On The Wealth of Nations, America’s most provocative satirist, P. J. O’Rourke, reads Adam Smith’s revolutionary The Wealth of Nations so you don’t have to. Recognized almost instantly on its publication in 1776 as the fundamental work of economics, The Wealth of Nations was also recognized as really long: the original edition totaled over nine hundred pages in two volumes—including the blockbuster sixty-seven-page “digression concerning the variations in the value of silver during the course of the last four centuries,” which, “to those uninterested in the historiography of currency supply, is like reading Modern Maturity in Urdu.” Although daunting, Smith’s tome is still essential to understanding such current hot-topics as outsourcing, trade imbalances, and Angelina Jolie. In this hilarious, approachable, and insightful examination of Smith and his groundbreaking work, P. J. puts his trademark wit to good use, and shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and why the pursuit of self-interest is so important.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Supremely disappointing April 25, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I probably will not finish reading this book. I thought, "What a great opportunity to learn a bit about Adam Smith's work without having to slog through some 900 pages of difficult English."
Alas, I feel O'Rourke seems more interested in showing off than helping out. It would appear he accepts Smith's words as Holy Writ, needing no explanation, and that any opportunity to take a cheap shot at anyone at all left of center is a major goal.
At one point he says, "'The Theory of Moral Sentiments' is daytime TV if daytime TV were produced by PBS, featuring a host who is like Bill Moyers, except intelligent."
Mr. O'Rourke seems not interested in explaining or helping us understand "The Wealth of Nations," but in demonstrating how clever he is at crafting attacks on those with whom he disagrees. I'm not interested.
I am still looking for a good "trot."
Would be a better book April 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
O'Rourke's exposition of Adam Smith's ideas on economics is informative. The book, however, would be better without the sophomoric obiter dicta.
 Wealth is not a pizza April 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book is a basic gloss of some of Adam Smith's high points, which is useful. Less useful, however, are PJ's ironic asides, pop-culture references, and deeply confusing non-sequiters. It is often difficult to determine whether O'Rourke is making an actual argument or just being curmudgeonly. So instead of trying to parse Smith you end up trying to parse PJ, which is also difficult but has much less of a payoff.
 Nice Read April 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Can be easy or hard to read depending on how one approaches it, wants to gain from it, and how much already knows about the subject. I found it interesting to learn that 200 year old ideas are still applicable. I read it nice and slow, savoring a maximum of one chapter at a time, and perhaps re-reading it later. Reading the original work is not a realistic possibility. So it is good to have a condensed version of Adam Smith's ideas.
I found PJ's writing style and humor to be so interesting that I have ordered his other older books.
A must read! January 18, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I should have been exposed to a reliable, useful exposition of Adam's Smith's ideas in my History, Political Science, and Economics classes. None of them did as good a job as O'Rourke has done, distilling 900 pages down. O'Rourke ties Smith to today's issues. So far I have given away copies of this book to government officials, teachers, and friends. Please do the same.
It is frightening to discover that so many politicians' proposed solutions to current problems have been tried and failed, with historical examples and explanations documented by Smith. Where is our sense of history! Smith offers not belief, but fact. We all want to solve society's problems, but the solutions ought not cause greater problems than they cure.
After I listened to the CDs, I bought hard copy to underline. Now I leave it on my iPod so when I shuffle, I get 3 minutes of pithy insight, interspersed with cleansing music. Put this on your permanent reading and rereading list.
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