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Great Work, but easier ways of getting the message
Adam Smith has rightly been described as the father of economics, and is most famous for `Wealth of Nations'. Of course he was the first to address some key questions, and did indeed lay the foundations for economics for a long time.
So celebrated has Smith become that many believe he set out to create a definitive, carefully-crafted treatise. In fact Smith, a true absent-minded eccentric professor (there are many stories of bizarre behaviour) wrote his book by standing with his hands behind his back against the fire and dictating. Consequently, it includes many passing thoughts which entered his head at the time - the huge index (compiled later, not by Smith) begins with `Abassides, during reigns of, Saracens opulent', which gives some idea of how his magnum opus rambles over a wide spectrum of human knowledge.
Nevertheless, Smith had some brilliant insights: his remarkably perceptive views on the functioning of the price mechanism, the division of labour and the free market (although he was not averse to some government intervention, control of monopolies, for example). All of this is still standard stuff in any A-level textbook. On the other hand, he never really addressed the question of widespread unemployment, probably assuming full employment to be the norm in his day, though it developed to be one of the key parameters of government policy during the twentieth century (and today, 2009, of course).
Added to this, the writing is in a style of his time, so is not always easy to read. That is where this book scores; it not only gives a useful introduction but includes many helpful footnotes and references.
If you simply want to know what made Smith great, there are probably easier and simpler ways of finding out - a good textbook will tell you in fewer pages. If you are studying philosophy, for instance, or researching and want references, then this book will be very useful. But if you are a casual reader, or simply want something thought-provoking, it is less easy to make a judgement - you may or may not find Smith readable, given that there are so many detours and the fact that macroeconomics proper lay some time in the future. But if you want to try, this version of his book is definitely the best way to do it!
The classic economic text - and more; hard going but rewarding
An abridged version of the five volumes comprising "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", first published in 1776 on the eve of the American War of Independence, there are nevertheless 454 pages in this edition, supported by a forty-five page introduction and almost 150 pages of notes.
The introduction, by Kathryn Sutherland, explains the structure of Smith's argument across those five volumes and why she included those elements that she did. It situates Smith's work in the intellectual context of the time. Sutherland, interestingly, is not an economist but a specialist in bibliography and textual criticism, and this may explain her greater interest in the background to Smith's ideas than in identifying the originality of his thought. As her excellent notes make clear, Smith drew on the work of many earlier writers. One of Smith's most famous examples, illustrating the importance of the division of labour into specialised but simpler tasks, pin making, is traced to an essay published by Denis Diderot in Paris in 1755. Much of his thinking on the nature of money was based on theories of John Locke writing almost a century earlier. It was interesting to discover so many of Smith's examples from the economy in the remoter parts of Scotland, often used as an example of a less developed economy than in England, were based on observations by Dr Samuel Johnson, notwithstanding that Adam Smith himself was a Scotsman, and Johnson an (adopted) Londoner who famously quipped that the finest sight in Scotland was the road to England! David Hume, Thomas Hobbes, du Halde, Mandeville are also extensively referenced, and Smith's many references to the classics and to trades and professions long since forgotten are fully explained.
In the context of the credit crunch of 2008, one particularly germane section of Volume II explains the development of "promissory bills" - paper money. That bankers might lend as many as five times their deposits of silver and gold was sustainable and useful, Smith said. Money, he argued, had no intrinsic value, even if it were gold or silver, but it was the "wheel of circulation" that facilitated the faster creation of value, and the creation of additional money through paper notes allowed for more rapid economic development than in an economy limited by the availability of precious metal coinage. It seems, from recent experience, that twenty times might be going too far!
I hate to think how many times I referred to Wealth of Nations back in school and university history essays without ever having read it. It is generally regarded as the first economics text, although, it much more than that, being also an historical explanation of the stages of economic development, an approach that was a precursor of Karl Marx's analysis, and a thesis on personal liberty and the proper role of government. It is rewarding to study the original, but it is not easy going. While Smith wrote clearly, I found myself having to re-read passages frequently to get my head around his long sentences and complicated structure. While the words he uses are, in the main still ones in common usage, I did realise that they were often invested with subtly different meanings. It is this, rather than any technical complexity of the underlying economics, that makes this a challenging read. Not for the faint hearted, but a rewarding read for those interested in economics and economic history. It is, as the series name suggests, a "World Classic". If, however, you want to get a rapid grasp of Smith's thinking, you might well be better to read a modern commentary.
Live an 18th century experience 
The book is extremely readable although published way back in 1776 (the same year as the American War of Independence). The language is clear and easy to understand, making you feel as if you are reading a contemporary author rather than someone who lived around 250 years ago.
The notes provided by Kathryn Sutherland make reading the book even more fascinating and instructive. Concepts that are strange to us (the feudal system, for example) are explained clearly and concisely.
Smith paints a very clear picture of the times he lived in and we get wonderful descriptions of the thrusting American colonies; the little-industrialised France; and under-developed China.
Smith is generally against anything that hinders trade and recommends that markets be as free as possible, but to associate him with more modern monetarist theories is quite unfair.
The Wealth of Nations takes a long time to read, but if you want to understand our current crisis properly, it is essential reading.
A useful crash course on Adam Smith's discourse
I can only describe this particular edition of Wealth of Nations as a useful crash course on Adam Smith's discourse, mindful of the fact that there were five editions of this historically significant work. But then that's the beauty of this condensed compendium.
Most editions available in the market draw on Smith's Wealth of Nation Volume I (Of the causes of improvement), Volume II (Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock) and Volume III (Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations) at the most. However, this edition contains healthy inclusions from Book IV (Of Systems of political Economy) and Book V (Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth). For this alone, the editor Kathryn Sutherland deserves credit.
It is not a mouthful but a practical handy book on Wealth of Nations. Those who have never studied economics would enjoy reading it too if they are so inclined, especially students of history and philosophy. Since this is a complex work authored over two hundred years ago, the editor's footnotes and references enhance comprehension.
Yet the wonderful details of Smith's key thoughts have not been stifled in any way - working of the markets, division of labour, general prosperity, government and taxation are all there. In essence, Wealth of Nations remains a true classic and I found this edition of it to be an easy and enjoyable read. Overall, its a handy reference book to have on your bookshelf.
where many things began
I loved this book, not for it's economic content but for it's wonderfully overarching principles and view of history, philosophy and economics. I have never studied economics in any way and read this book purely on it's historical importants, and yet I found it facinating. I would not say this is the book for anyone wanting to understand the complexeties of the modern ecomemy, interest rates, futures markets or whatever, but for those who whant a very complete and well thought out examination of how the human world is put together this work cannot be faulted.
Though it was writeen over 2 centuries ago this edition makes perfect sence of the text without changing it, it's almost 200 pages of footnotes provide innumerate refrences to interesting asspects of history and sociaology meaning that that you never have to go and look things up anywhere else, whilst the decision to mix smits own spellings and spellings and inconsistancies with a more modern english gives the book an atmosphere when reading it of what the authour really meant.
It's use today is primerilly one of historical importance, his analesis of tax collection for example bares hardly any relation to modern tax systems, or at least those in the weastern world, but wht it does do is represent a model of the world on which it is very easy to hang modern principles and situations, havingt read this book you realise just how integrated things can be, and how things have evolved.
Smith explains all this in wonderful deatail with many examples and explanations which mean that though his ideas may seem confusing the dedicated reader should not get to confused, and at the end I was very much left with the impression that it had all been worth it.
a real gem
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