“The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor”, by David S. Landes

650 pages, W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN-13: 978-0393040173

In his landmark (and controversial) book The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, David Landes, retired history and economics professor from Harvard University, has written an epic and grandiose work of economic history that attempts nothing less than to explain why some societies were economically successful and why others were not over the last 1000 years. He has not retired, however, from academic controversy, for in the politically correct discourse that passes for open debate in today’s universities, it simply is not fashionable to attribute economic success to cultural factors. Landes doesn’t hesitate to demolish along the way arguments of those who explain the West’s success in terms of exploitation of the Third World, imperialism, colonialism, and racism; these may have been symptoms of the West’s success, but not the causes. The breadth of this work is staggering as he covers not only economics, but technology, religion, military history, cultural practices, politics, and geography.

Though the scope of this work may be vast, the author’s assurance never falters as he manages to find just the right balance between sweeping overview and illuminating insight. His views are often fresh and arresting, as, for example, when he identifies the technological factors in Medieval Europe that laid the foundation for take-off and sustained economic and industrial growth from the 15^th Century onwards. He is particularly impressive on the theme of why the West achieved worldwide dominance in the last half-millennium, not just in terms of outright power and wealth, but of thought and values, as well, and on why potential competitors – such as China and India – got left behind. The treatment of the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, and of the relative fall and rise of Britain and Germany in the process, is especially enjoyable; also effective is the treatment of the success of Japan in making the transition to an industrialized society, this being very interestingly counterpointed with the failure of Mohammed Ali’s Egypt to do the same. One’s enjoyment of the book is enhanced by the fact that the writer does not hesitate to state his case with strength and conviction, and is obviously not concerned with concessions to transient fashions in historical retrospectively. One may not agree with each and every opinion or viewpoint but it is a pleasure to see them expounded with such conviction, energy and elegance.

The problem some readers may have with The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is that Landes gives an unvarnished, no-holds-barred, tell-it-like-it-is, narrative; many individuals (to say nothing of nation states) want to blame everyone but themselves for their short comings. But that’s what made this book so valuable (the only part I might disagree with is the implied generalization that some groups of immigrants to the United States do well because of their homeland’s culture; I believe that many of those that emigrate to this country are a sub-set, a non-representative group that is NOT a cross section of their home population, a select group of entrepreneurs, risk takers, or else the desperate, and are looking to make a killing or else have nothing to lose and take risk and make it big or else fail trying and try again). Reality can be a bitter pill to swallow, but this is Landes’ topic in a nutshell: This is how things are, not how we would like them to be. The West is dominant; capitalism has triumphed; socialism has failed; Imperialism spread much that was good and, yes, was concerned with material profit (and there is nothing wrong with this: “God, Gold and Glory”, to quote Landes). Like it or not, this is simply the honest-to-God truth. This book contains not only lessons but solutions to anyone who wants to see them and should be required reading for every political candidate, from dog catcher to President.

“The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall”, by Christopher Hibbert

364 pages, William Morrow and Company, ISBN-13: 978-0688003395

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall by Christopher Hibbert, the late English writer, historian and biographer, is a remarkable account about the meteoric rise and calamitous fall of perhaps Florence’s most powerful and influential family. Known for its eccentric and fascinating members, the Medici was a family of prestige that had a considerable impact over the Papacy, the development of a stable government in Florence, the finances of Italy and foreign nations, as well as the unity of the numerous kingdoms within the boundaries of Tuscany. Hibbert’s work attempts to shine a light on these just-this-side-of-respectable folks through a series of biographies of each and every member of the Medici clan, thoroughly examining the lives of its most significant representatives, such as: Cosimo de’ Medici “il Vecchio” (the Elder); Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici “il Gottoso” (the Gouty); Lorenzo de’ Medici “il Magnifico” (the Magnificent); Piero de’ Medici “il Sfortunato” (the Unlucky); Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany;  Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Ferdinando de’ Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany; Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici (Pope Leo X); Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici (Pope Clement VII); Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici (Pope Pius IV); Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici (Pope Leo XI); and many more, besides.

It was an imposing family, indeed, of which the Tuscans, especially the Florentines, depended on economically, politically, religiously and sociably. They all intended, in one way or another, to reach a maximum, stable union between the members to fortify their administration and gain more power and, and while some attempts succeeded brilliantly – the family produced four, FOUR, Popes! – often outside factors such as wars and venomous adversaries – like the Pazzi, Albizzi and Borgias; or religious leaders such as Girolamo Savonarola and Pope Sixtus IV – produced major setbacks to the flourishing and decaying glory of this political, financial and religious dynasty. It also seems to me rather peculiar how, even when their economic atmosphere and social strata varied from one generation to the other, the head members greatly resembled each other in their passions, activities and interests, despite of Florence’s drastic alterations. It was not always all blood-and-guts all the time: from the 15^th to the 18^th Century Florence underwent an unpredictable but relatively safe period of governance, economics and religion under the directorate of the Medici. They were responsible for the creation of the Medici Bank, one of the largest and most remarkable banks in Europe during its heyday; the creation of four Popes (see above); two queens of France (Caterina de’ Medici, wife of Henri II, and Marie de’ Medici, wife of Henri IV); and so on and so forth. The magnitude of the Medici’s historical footprint, which can still be admired in present day, will remain as a cultural and societal treasure in the years to come.

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall effectively portrays the vibrant (and violent) era known as the Renaissance: the development and expansion of Italian territory, the multiple invasions of Tuscany and, lastly, the multiple and lasting achievements of the Medici. It demonstrates how the Renaissance, despite of its popularity as a prosperous period of time, faced numerous hitches and wasn’t a time of static restfulness and splendor. Despite the turmoil (or maybe because of it) some of history’s most acclaimed artists, writers, poets, scientists, musicians, scholars and philosophers lived during this period and, eventually, motivated the foundation of many social movements, ideologies and philosophies. This book not only expounds deeply the social structure, intricate customs and political complexity of that time, but also gives the reader a wider perception of the Renaissance itself.

“After the Victorians: The Decline of Britain in the World”, by A.N. Wilson

624 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN-13: 978-0374101985

A. N. Wilson, the English writer and newspaper columnist, has given us a remarkable history of Britain in the 20^th Century and a sequel to his earlier book, The Victorians (reviewed by me on August 22^nd, 2013 – as I’m sure you knew already) described the rise of empire in the 19^th Century; the current volume presents the story of the decline of this selfsame empire. Filled, as it is, with helpful anecdotal support for the main thesis and this makes for pleasurable reading, the main thrust of the work is the analysis of the way in which the pretensions and myths of the Victorian era lingered into the next century and mischievously influenced the events of post-Victorian Britain. Winston Churchill figures prominently in the book, as one would expect: while his public career spanned the first-half of the 20^th Century, his worldview was profoundly Victorian – and yet he (ironically, reluctantly) presided over the events of World War II and its aftermath that dismantled the Victorian conceits and ushered Britain into a diminished place in world politics.

Wilson does not miss any of the cultural events that explain or frustrate the decline and this thoroughness adds to the enjoyment of the book. The two volumes of A. N. Wilson’s treatment of empire constitute a fresh way to study the 19^th-and-20^th-Centuries of Britain. This is an excellently researched and documented work that appeals to both sides of the brain, a compelling read with a clean chronological line and an interdisciplinary look at English social and political life. From Laurel and Hardy to the discovery of DNA, Wilson chronicles change on the island itself and in the nation’s place on the world stage. Some of this decline, as Wilson interprets it, is discretely laid at the feet of the United States. This is a motif appears time and time again; Wilson believes that England survived the Great Depression in a more effective and humane fashion than did the United States, and later trumpets the socialized health plan of the late 1940’s as an act of beneficence beyond the capacities of the US political system (he concedes, however, that without American military force life under Hitler would have been unbearable, consigning the American nation to a kind of necessary evil status; how thoughtful of him).

The first and last chapters of this work convey a different mood than the rest of the work, with the first featuring the clotheshorse Bertie and the last the young and charming Princess Elizabeth. That royal succession could be celebrated uninterrupted so soon and so enthusiastically in 1952 after two generations of war and its attendant dictatorial demands upon the citizenry is a strong indication that the mystique and identity of England is not gone. The author knows this, but he mourns the loss of place enjoyed by his country in the 1800’s and he is cautious about the future. In the final analysis, like a true Victorian he carries a thinly veiled disgust with the decline of civilization itself, with perhaps the unexpressed regret that much of the desecration was self-inflicted.