NORMAN, Jesse - Adam Smith: Father of Economics (2018)

New York: Basic Books, 2018. First edition, September 2018. Hardcover in dust jacket. ISBN 978-0-465-06197-6.

A modern intellectual biography of Adam Smith, placing his economic thought within the wider moral, political and philosophical framework of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Norman argues against reducing Smith to a simple advocate of laissez-faire or self-interest, drawing together The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments to present him as a thinker concerned with markets, institutions, morality, culture and the conditions of a flourishing commercial society. The book also traces Smith’s influence on later economics and political thought, making it a useful introduction to both Smith himself and the development of modern political economy.

Publisher’s quarter-bound boards, with dark spine lettered in green, in the original green and white dust jacket. Book in near-fine condition, with only light handling wear. Dust jacket very good to near fine, with minor creasing and rubbing at the spine ends and upper edge. Binding square and firm; contents clean and bright.

A clean first-edition copy in the original dust jacket, suitable for readers of Adam Smith, intellectual history and the history of economic thought.