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Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy Paperback – Aug. 28 2018

by Tim Harford (Author)

4.4 301 ratings

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NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 by BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, AND AMAZON

Look out for Tim's next book, The Data Detective.

A lively history seen through the fifty inventions that shaped it most profoundly, by the bestselling author of The Undercover Economist and Messy.

Who thought up paper money? What was the secret element that made the Gutenberg printing press possible? And what is the connection between The Da Vinci Code and the collapse of Lehman Brothers?

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy paints an epic picture of change in an intimate way by telling the stories of the tools, people, and ideas that had far-reaching consequences for all of us. From the plough to artificial intelligence, from Gillette’s disposable razor to IKEA’s Billy bookcase, bestselling author and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford recounts each invention’s own curious, surprising, and memorable story.

Invention by invention, Harford reflects on how we got here and where we might go next. He lays bare often unexpected connections: how the bar code undermined family corner stores, and why the gramophone widened inequality. In the process, he introduces characters who developed some of these inventions, profited from them, and were ruined by them, as he traces the principles that helped explain their transformative effects. The result is a wise and witty book of history, economics, and biography.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Riverhead Books
Publication date

Aug. 28 2018
Dimensions

13.28 x 2.21 x 20.78 cm
ISBN-10

0735216142
ISBN-13

978-0735216143
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“One of the joys of Tim Harford’s Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy is that it presents this perspective on economic growth so that the most casual reader can grasp it... It's great fun to dip into individual chapters of Fifty Inventions. Mr. Harford succeeds in teaching about productivity, economic growth, monopoly, regulation and other essential topics without resorting to technical terminology and intimidating charts and tables. Such a feat requires a kind of inventiveness in itself.” —Wall Street Journal

“Tim Harford is a master at picking out the perfect little story that explains some huge economic principle... He’s been my go-to guy for learning about the economics and math behind the world at large... perfectly crafted to light up the pleasure centers of my nerd brain.” —Roman Mars, 99% Invisible

“This is a lovely book: the kind of thing whose bite-sized morsels add up to a whole meal, but can be enjoyed and shared on their own.” —Boing Boing
“Fantastically enlightening... Harford effortlessly leaps across time and continents to show readers various inventions in a new light, revealing unexpected insights into 21st-century society.” —BookPage

“Tim reaffirms his status as one of the great (greatest?) contemporary popular writers on economics, this time turning his attention to technology.” —Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class

“[Harford’s] zest for his subjects makes them hard to resist; his lively, humorous style and wide-ranging curiosity make hard topics go down easily…Harford's contagious delight in his subject reminds readers not to take for granted the impact of objects and ideas so familiar they're easy to overlook.” —Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Tim Harford and MESSY

“Every Tim Harford book is a cause for celebration.” —Malcolm Gladwell

“One of the best writers who also happens to be an economist.” —Stephen Dubner

“Harford’s argument goes beyond aesthetics, resurfacing over and over in his engrossing narrative.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Utterly fascinating. Tim Harford shows that if you want to be creative and resilient, you need a little more disorder in your world. It’s a masterful case for the life-changing magic of cluttering up.”—Adam Grant, New York Times–bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

“Masterful.” —The Economist

About the Author

Tim Harford is an award-winning journalist, economist, and broadcaster. He’s the author of the bestselling The Undercover Economist, Messy, The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, Adapt, and The Logic of Life. Harford is currently a senior columnist at the Financial Times and host of the BBC Radio 4 program More or Less. He has been named Economics Commentator of the Year (2014), has won the Rybczynski Prize (2014–15) for the best business-relevant economics writing, and has won the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism (2006). He’s a visiting fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University and lives in Oxford with his family.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (Aug. 28 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0735216142
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735216143
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 272 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.28 x 2.21 x 20.78 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #291,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #130 in Engineering Patents & Inventions
- #818 in History of Technology
- #1,459 in Popular Economics (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 301 ratings

About the author

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Tim Harford

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Tim is an economist, journalist and broadcaster.

He is the author of nine books including “How To Make The World Add Up”, “Messy”, and the million-selling “The Undercover Economist”. Tim is a senior columnist at the Financial Times, and the presenter of Radio 4’s “More or Less”, “Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy”, and the new podcast “Cautionary Tales”.

Tim has spoken at TED, PopTech and the Sydney Opera House. He is an associate member of Nuffield College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. Tim was made an OBE for services to improving economic understanding in the New Year honours of 2019.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

301 global ratings

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Top review from Canada

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A Wonderful and Informative Read

Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2019

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I can't recommend this book enough. It covers the stories behind some of the most important innovations that changed the direction and face of our modern economies. For instance, did you know that barbed wire was considered more important and transformative than the telephone?

From the humble yet critical plough to futuristic cryptography, the book covers the connections and often tragic backgrounds of many technologies. Through it all it maps the common thread of innovation that has helped to form the tapestry of our complex modern economies.

It's immediately informative and easy to digest with short impactful chapters dedicated to each invention. This is definitely a book that will stay in your collection and influence your approach to creative thinking, especially when it comes to solving problems.

Top reviews from other countries

Bama Fan

Great book! One of my favorites of all time!

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is very well written, is engaging and was surprising. When you think of the 50 greatest inventions, the natural tendency is the fall back on the standard things we learned about growing up. However, Harford takes a different approach. Yes, there are some old favorites, but there are just as many that I was not expecting. The way Harford describes each one is in a way that keep your interest and makes you want to read the stories that help explain his rationale. The book is very accessible for anyone that is curious. I enjoy reading books that focus on technological history and even after reading books like Napoleon's Buttons, The History of the World in 6 Glass, Stuff Matters, The Innovators, The Idea Factory, and Stephen Johnson and Sam Kean books, Harford still finds a way to tell stories by introducing different concepts and research which helps to make it tough to put down and easy to enjoy. I learned so much from this book and it is definitely one that I will re-read in the future. I would recommend this for anyone as you won't be disappointed!

David Shulman

The Making of the Modern Economy

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Financial Times columnist Tim Harford has written a very enjoyable book about the inventions the brought about today’s globalized economy. At the outset he pays tribute to science historian James Burke who brought us “Connections” the late 1970s BBC series on the history of science.

As the title notes Harford discusses the origins and the implications of 50 inventions. I note ten of them below to give you a sample:
• Barbed Wire – Established the practically of legal boundaries in the American West.
• The Pill – Enabled female sexual autonomy that opened the way for women to enter the professions in the 1970s.
• The Dynamo – The broad transmission of electrical energy.
• The Shipping Container – Without which global commerce would be a shadow of its current self.
• The Elevator – Perhaps the foremost mass transit invention that enables dense cities.
• Double- Entry Bookkeeping – The way measure and control
the efficacy of enterprise.
• The Limited Liability Company – Enables risk taking on a grand scale.
• The Compiler – Enables computers to be programmed in English (well sort of).
• Property Registry – Converts land into tradeable capital.

There are, of course 40 more and Harford tells the story of all of them in a very breezy style. The chapters are short and that makes the book easy to put down and pick up with ease.

To sum up I highly recommend Harford’s book for lay readers, history buffs and economists alike interested in getting a better understanding how our world came to be.

7 people found this helpful

RN

An absolute delight!

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2020

Verified Purchase

This review may be biased by the fact that I am an avid reader of Mr. Harford’s work in the FT. That said, I had modest expectations from this book - it was mostly an impulse buy. However, my expectations were left far behind by this superb read! Contrary to what the title may imply, Mr. Harford has not tried to identify the top 50 list (which is sensible since that would only lead to endless debate and discussion). Instead, he simply chose inventions that has had a significant impact on humanity. Furthermore, rather than just explain the story behind the invention, he has tried to explain the (often unintended and wider) consequences of the invention. This was perhaps the most fascinating part of the story for me (even if I didn’t fully agree with the implications in some cases). Consequently, this book ended up giving me the rare pleasure of a unique alchemy of deep insight of a well written non-fiction book with the guilty pleasure of a fantastic piece of fiction (which is a testament to Mr. Harford’s outstanding capability to tell a good story). In my humble opinion, this book is a must read for everyone!

Charlie

Bland

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was not impressed with this. I had high hopes to read about all of the fascinating items that have created the world we live in today, but was left disappointed and found myself counting in my head how many items were left. There were some highlights and plenty of interesting tidbits but overall the chapters were not long enough to cover the items in detail. Maybe I had too high of expectations for this one- it will make a great "coffee table" book for people to quickly glance at and learn more about familiar items but I was hoping for a more detailed and connected story.

Mac

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

Super interesting. I also really liked that each product was its own chapter, very easy to read. I liked that it's easy to put away and come back to it later. Referred this book to a lot of folks.

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