Product Description
In the 1970s and 1980s the Texas wildcatter was a recognizable figure in popular culture. Since then, the wildcatter's role is less celebrated but still important, as shown in the new introduction to this edition of a book originally published in 1984 by Texas Monthly Press.

Drawing heavily on oral histories, this book tells the story of the West Texas independents as a group, looking at their business strategies in the context of their national, regional, and local conditions. The focus is on the Permian Basin and southeastern New Mexico over the sixty-year period in which the region rose to prominence on the American oil scene, producing about one-fifth of the nation's output. It is a story that covers vast technological change, governmental regulation, and economic fluctuation with profound implications for the oil and gas community.

The new introduction brings the story up-to-date by addressing not only the subsequent careers of the wildcatters described in the book but also the role of independents in the current economy. ... Read more

Product Description
Charles Feinstein surveys five hundred years of South African economic history from the years preceding European settlements in 1652 through to the post-Apartheid era. Following the early phase of slow growth, he charts the transformation of the economy as a result of the discovery of diamonds and gold in the 1870s, and the rapid rise of industry in the wartime years. Finally, emphasizing the ways by which the black population was deprived of land, and induced to supply labor for white farms, mines and factories, Feinstein documents the introduction of apartheid after 1948, and its consequences for economic performance, ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Real History of Apartheid
This is an excellent survey of South African economic history, with an emphasis on developments after the discovery of diamonds and gold in the late 19th century.The narrative ends with the democratic transition in 1994.

As the book explains, gold mining was the driving force behind South Africa's skewed development.The need for cheap black labor led to racist legislation aimed at driving blacks off the land and making them dependent on employment in mines and on farms.Taxes levied on the mines paid for excellent infrastructure and for subsidies to white farmers; meanwhile, high tariffs nurtured manufacturing industries that fed the mines' demand for industrial inputs.These policies enabled whites to carve out a nice life for themselves on the backs of blacks and gold.

The system foundered when gold exports declined in the 1980s and South Africa's inefficient manufacturing sector couldn't export to take up the slack.The central problem was the reliance on cheap, low-skilled black labor:the domestic market for manufactured goods remained small, while high unit labor costs hobbled manufactured exports.Growth slowed and eventually turned negative, investment dried up, unemployment skyrocketed, and sanctions undermined the balance of payments.By the 1990s, the material basis for apartheid had collapsed.

Feinstein's book tells this fascinating story in clear, if dry, prose.Anyone interested in South African history or general economic history will enjoy it.However, readers unfamiliar with the basic concepts of national income accounting may find some sections hard slogging.

... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (45)

Opens up the reality behindfree trade theory -
I read this book after the book by Thomas Freidman, The Lexus and Olive Tree, and thought this ( lexus & olive tree ) is the best book ever on globalization. How wrong I was. The bad Samaritians explains in depth the hidden layers on "how and why" the free trade theory is being perpetuated by the rich nations for its own selfish gains.

The author cites all the details with all due references ( unlike Freidman's own experiences which cannot be corroborated ). The book opens your eyes as it cites various facts on how the now developed rich nations, a century back never followed any rule of free tradebefore become sophisticated enough - a complete double standards stand

The book in the end also has chapters on how the developing nations can cope up with the pressure of free trade giving us pointers on proposed solutions. The book (Bad Samaritans) is best read after reading Lexus and the Olive tree, opening up a new dimension to how the free trade can have its ugly head if not tamed properly.

More then one way to modernization
While the US continues to think its the "master of the Universe" -and that there is only one way to modernization, most only its own advocated way.

But Korea for example went a completely different way, and become just about as successful, more so by many accounts especially post the US induced global financial crisis. This book explains so well why -and is easily understood even by non-economists.

As just one example, fining companies and executives in abusive listed companies is one way to use a stick. Pointing this out to others, then avoiding these by so then telling others about their bad practices is another, perhaps a more effective way?

As to, "Without law people fall back on something older, relationships, trust. This is fine for locals who have the relationship."

That is the whole point and more Westerners better start getting the message to look for experienced people on location; this rather then number crunching in ivory towers -or though lazy Exchange Traded Funds investing. Its an excellent book to all those whom want to understand more about emerging Asia and how one country rose high up the latter on a completely different model then advocated by traditionalist Westerners.


Best Regards,
Paul Renaud.
[...]

Egghead Economic Recipe
This book could only have been written by an egghead academic insulated from the utopian solutions he prescribes. While the author does offer some valid criticisms of neoliberal capitalism, many of the arguments and logic he presents are full of holes. This is pie-in-the-sky UN economic institute material, hopefully never to be taken seriously by political leaders of the developed world.

Bit heavy handed
The process of exchange, the naurally induced human desire to trade with others and a trait not possessed by any other species on earth, is at the threashold of
the transactional system that evolved into capitalism.Without such imperative the world would nevr have progressed.Trade is a conerstone for the development of civilization and like any other human driver it is fought with problems.It mjght have been valuable if the author had noted that capitalism, a form of basic human exchange, is a model for wealth accumulation and not for equal distribution of its product.There is no real secret as the commercializtion of the world, today's modern globalization, has come with both good and bad. A bit more balance as to the pros and cons along with a more in depth and wider historic examination of the emrging process in antiquity ould have made for a better book.But on the otherhand the presentation of the author's arguments are well researched and presented even if they are based on some limited and biased present world economic events.In the end we live in a borderless integrated world that requires some new direction and the term curently applied, globalization, needs to atke into account taht the process is a contiuing one with adjustment and change still coming. A good book that needs to be read alongside others on the core subject to get a well rounded insight.

A Much Need Antidote
I am honestly surprised by how good the reviews this book has received on here. I was expecting a torrent of one star reviews by right wingers and libertarians. I am pleasantly shocked.

This book is much needed and should be read in every high school economics class. The stories by bourgeois economists of the mystical "free market" and the magical powers of "free trade" are fed to Americans like they are self-evident truths. I know, because I used to be one. The one big problem facing the free market religion is reality.

Reality is much more dynamic than the simplistic "I give you an orange, you give me an apple, we both benefit" spiel of right wing economics. Ha-Joon Chang has shown this simply and clearly in this book. Anyone can pick up this book and understand what is in it. It is a most valuable book.

Also, Ha-Joon Chang goes into great depths detailing the practical criminal nature of the WTO, the IMF, various trade agreements and the destructive enforcement of intellectual property rights.

This book is clear, concise, doens't mince words, well documented and well written. It will change minds. A 5 star if ever needed. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume surveys the economic history of British North America, including Canada and the Caribbean, and of the early United States, from early settlement by Europeans to the end of the eighteenth century.The book includes chapters on the economic history of Native Americans (to 1860), and also on the European and African backgrounds to colonization.Subsequent chapters cover the settlement and growth of the colonies; British mercantilist policies and the American colonies; and the American Revolution, the Constitution, and economic developments through 1800. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1914.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Magisterial, the work of a master
This book begs to be reviewed. It is magisterial in scope, thesis, and evidence gathering. To read it is to follow along with the mind of a master. The book's title gives the thesis - to study nature's ecosystems as economies. Predator and prey are construed as consumer and producer. Ecosystems are compared as between different evolutionary eras, continents versus islands, and different climactic regimes to pull out principle relations among and between economies such as power. An easy sample: "Ecologically, this means that powerful entities are large, fast, wide-ranging, rapidly metabolizing units capable of exerting strong forces, storing and regulating resources, and responding appropriately to a wide variety of circumstances.Power makes for prolific producers and demanding consumers with a wide reach." (p. 124)

The book gave me the sense of the author's being onto something really important, but at the same time the thesis came off somewhat diffuse and without the punch of a mature new theory (why I gave only 4 stars). On the other hand the ideas and the evidence presented are dazzling. The author's specialty, animals with shells, especially came into view as a startlingly large and important group of organisms with great evolutionary variety of shell strength and design against various predators in different "economies." I try to imagine someone's reading it who is not engaged in the advances of evolutionary theory or in the massive new evidence being gathered or who is not intrigued with the biology/economics similarities. Often the animal stories version of natural history are there, but I am afraid that the abstract complexes of organisms dominate. Still, with work, an exciting book to be grateful for. ... Read more

Product Description
This major contribution to Ottoman history is now published in paperback in two volumes: the original single hardback volume (CUP 1995) has been widely acclaimed as a landmark in the study of one of the most enduring and influential empires of modern times. The authors provide a richly detailed account of the social and economic history of the Ottoman region, from the origins of the Empire around 1300 to the eve of its destruction during World War One. The breadth of range and the fullness of coverage make these two volumes essential for an understanding of contemporary developments in both the Middle East and the post-Soviet Balkan world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

amazing
this is simply the best book on economic history of the ottoman empire...you cant find a better study than this wonderful piece of historiography on the subject...

from the archives: nuts and bolts about agriculture & trade
I wouldn't say that social history enters much into the book.The authors have written a straightforward translation and interpretation of the Ottoman archives laying out patterns in revenue from land taxes and customs fees.Reading like a series of focused essays without quite as much synthesis as I would like, still it was a worthwhile read.Most valuable were the new insightsI got into the relative importance of trades routes and the organization of land ownership and taxation over time.Also interesting to see was the primacy of slaves and silk in the customs revenue stream, and the impact of commercial motives on Ottoman military expansion.All in all, this is a fine book for those wanting deep knowledge of the early Ottoman economy, civil and state.

One of the best in Ottoman Studies
People often avoid books like this because they are not as easy readers as "popular" history books, which often do rely on other people's research. Inalcik's work is amazingly detailed and accurate in details. This book is one of his many valuable contributions to this field. Understanding the economic and social forces at play in this time period has an importance beyond the Ottoman history, as most readers of this book would agree.

best book about this subject
According to my knowledge this is the best book ever written about Ottoman History. Instead of reading nonscholar books like Lord Kinross's Ottoman Century's I recommend it to everbody. This book studies economic history ofOttoman empire which is essential to understant political history and soon. A must read for all interested about Ottomna history.

The Best review of ottoman social and economic history
if someone wants to investigate ottoman history Inalcýk's books may be sophisticated guides for him.He managed to approach with a new methodology to ottoman history with a special emphasis on social and economic life.Hewrote a lot of papers and books stemming from his own archieval studieswhich became main sources for ottoman history studies. In this bookÝnalcýk discusses the most neglected period of ottoman social and economichistory,with little attention to political history that had been widelydiscussed by hiscollegues before. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (22)

Unreadable edition
This "General Books" edition was apparently made by using optical character recognition to typeset from an existing copy of the original book. The result is unreadable because the technique produced gibberish where there were smudges, underlining, etc. in the original copy. I have re-ordered (but not yet received) a more expensive copy of the book which appears to have been digitized and reset--and free of errors. Google also has a downloadable (pdf) version made by digitizing a copy of the book from a university library. Despite the errors, I've slogged through about three chapters and am blown away by the sense of being in the presence of genius--that's why I re-ordered the book in a more expensive edition. Because this is an important work, I think Amazon should delete the shoddy "General Books" edition from its offerings.

Poor quality book
While the subject is interesting and provides a world of insights, it is outragious that this particular edition is sold.The errors are in virtually every paragraph and become a distraction.Read a different book.

Not this edition!
Maynard Keynes' Economic Consequences of the Peace has long been recognized as a classic, and it takes on new significance in light of the recent meltdown on Wall Street.But if you want to buy a copy, you should forget this edition.It appears to have been scanned from an earlier copy, but no effort was made to clean up the text after scanning it.As a result, there are whole sections of gibberish, a mix of characters and symbols that makes no sense whatsoever.Much of the book is literally unreadable.

Kindel Edition lack formatting
I note that this Kindle edition has all the text, but none of the formatting. It does not have an active table of contents.

A much nicer version is available from Gutenberg - download the .mobi version. You can easily supply your own TOC by highlighting the chapter headings.

DO NOT BUY the "General Books" LLC edition
Do not buy the cheaper "General Books" LLC edition (featured above). It has so many typos and spacing problems that it is impossible to read.
... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa 1994. The jury cited the book as "an ambitious, skilfully written, and exhaustively researched synthesis of African economic history in the 19th century." The citation goes on to say that "the book is an exercise in convincing challenge to hitherto accepted orthodoxies, terminologies, and interpretations, outstanding, pioneering work, destined to become highly influential, and providing such a wealth of information and details as to elevate the study of African economic history to a new pedestal." ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Survey that Begs for a Revised Edition
Arndt traces the origins of the term "economic development" and the change in its dominant meanings from ones dealing primarily with economic growth to those dealing with social equity/justice.Two of the last three chapters outline the critiques of the "left" (i.e. dependency theorists and neo-Marxists) and the "right" (i.e. Westerners skeptical of developing countries' capacities for economic development and non-Westerners who worry that it has corrosive effects on traditional societies).This is a good historical survey of the idea from the end of World War II through the early 1980s.

For anyone with some familiarity with contemporary development literature, what is striking is what is missing.There is no discussion of the impact of the monetarist or Austrian schools on economic development.While not many of these economists focused on economic development, their work was influential in changing the decision-making emphasesof policymakers in the 1980s and 1990s.The return to largely neoliberal approaches in development aid by the World Bank and individual countries has been quite controversial in the economic and public policy literatures, but is not addressed here.As a previous reviewer noted there is scant discussion of the "Asian tigers" model of economic development.Perhaps, these omissions are due to its publication date of 1987.This work begs for a revised edition.

Basically, this is a good starting point especially for those interested in policy and political economy.However, you also need to turn elsewhere to understand developments of the last 20 years.(BTW for those who like to write in the margins, this work has half-inch outer ones.)

A Must Read for anyone interested in this topic.
An excellent book. A classic in the field of developmental economics. ... Read more

Product Description
Not since the publication of Carlos Díaz Alejandro's Essays on the Economic History of the Argentine Republic in 1970 has there been a new standard reference for those seeking a more quantitative understanding of Argentina's development. Research in the "new economic history" in the intervening years has led to a more sophisticated interpretation of the past. This book provides access to the latest research, focusing on long-run economic change, major developments in policymaking, and important shifts in institutions and ideas. The lessons from Argentina's turbulent economic past represent the essential context for the issues that confront scholars, students, and policymakers today. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

John Nye's War, Wine, and Taxes
In doing some of my research on imperialism, I ordered this book authored by a Mason Economist John Nye. This book is about the political economy of Anglo-French trade from 1689 to 1900. This may seem boring to you but as you can see in the title, it definitely is not. The purpose for my research in the book is how the British empire raised their revenues . As Nye shows, they partly did this through excise taxes that are also known as indirect taxes. He mainly focuses on the taxes of wine and alcohol.

I could not better sum it up than he has here at the beginning of his book:

"Why do the British drink beer and not wine? How did commercial tariff policy designed to protect domestic interests help the British state raise revenues to the point where Britain emerged as the leading European power of the eighteenth century? These two seemly unrelated issues are at the heart of one of the most important and underexplored cases in modern economic. history."

Obviously, this is what he explores throughout his book. Nye explains that the reason why the citizens of Britain drink beer and not wine is because of tariffs on French wine. This shows the competitive nature between both Britain and France during this time. Nye also busts the myth that Britain was all about free trade at this time. They in fact had many tariffs to protect domestic industries and were plagued by rent seeking activity. This means that the parliament would create these tariffs in exchange for stuff from the domestic industries.

There really isn't any bad stuff to say about this book.I just wish he went into more about imperialism, but that is my research program so I am being a purely self interested.This book is well researched and not to hard for the layman to understand. There are some graphs and at the end of his book, Nye runs his model and his regression. Anyone who loves history and economics will love this book. ... Read more