(J.L.) The Birth of Plenty by William J Bernstein - Nonfiction, 386 Pages

  • Pages 1-94

    In the beginning of the books, the author discusses how essential the right to own property is to a sucessful economy. He discusses this fact throughout history, starting with early societies, then Greece and Rome, and eventually medieval Europe. The chapter ends with the birth of proper property rights. 94 pages, total 544.
  • Pages 94-119

    In this part of the book, the author discusses how early astronomers such as Newton, Halley and Gallileo helped to break the corrupt Church's stranglehold on science. This, in turn, lead to improvements in the lot of humanity. 27 pages, total of 574.
  • Pages 119-204

    In this portion of the book, the author delves into the importance of transportation and communication, characterized by steam power and the telegraph. He then goes on to discuss money lending and stocks and how those make the economy flourish. 85 pages, total of 559
  • 204-227

    In this section, the author discussed why France was never as sucessful as England early on. He commented on how the best way to get rich wasn't to invent or be a good businessperson- it was to buy a government position. 23 pages, total of 622
  • Pages 227-321

    The author described why Spain ang Japan lagged behind so much in their rise to wealth, because of their dependance on plunder and isolated culutres, respectively. He then went on to talk about why countries in Latin America and the Middle East still lack prosperity. 94 pages, total of 716.
  • Pages 321-386

    In this final section, the author dicussed that while wealth isn't necessarily making the already wealthy happier, it is making people who gain wealth through the net increase in world technology happier because they are healthier. He also talked about a good economy's effect on a strong military. 65 pages, Total of 781.