Saving Adam Smith: A Tale of Wealth, Transformation, and Virtue

Economic science, like most social sciences, builds upon the works of previous generations. In order to leave time for new research and discovery, the accumulated wisdom of past generations is taught to new generations through summaries in textbooks and lectures. This logical progression of economic science makes sense if the ideas and importance of past discoveries can be easily (and properly) conveyed by individuals unfamiliar with the original texts. For example, few physicists need to read the work of Newton to understand his discoveries and their importance to an understanding of how the world works today. To some extent, the same may not be true about economics. While some ideas, such as a consumption function might be easily conveyed without reading the original texts, the same may not be true of all economic insights. The distillation of a lifetime of work into a few paragraphs may not only fail to properly convey the important nature of an author?s work, but the distillation process might, over time, distort the message so much that it an economists work is frequently interpreted to mean something very different from what was originally intended. University of Richmond economist Jonathan B. Wight clearly believes this to be the case with Adam Smith. Since few economists today read THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, let alone the book Smith thought was his best THE THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS, their knowledge of his work is often limited to ?the invisible hand.? The invisible hand is frequently taken to mean that selfishness is enough to make markets work. As Wight demonstrates in the book, Smith?s true insight was that ?selfishness is simply not enough? to make markets work.Wight has undertaken an important task with this book. Not only is it good fiction (at least to a graduate student in economics), it is good economics and good pedagogy. SAVING ADAM SMITH will do more for economics than 90 percent of the articles in the AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW.

All anyone ever hears about Adam Smith concerns his Wealth of Nations, everywhere from Economics class to movies like "A Beautiful Mind." This book is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Adam Smith as a person and about what he really thought. Instead of dry biography, this book brings Adam Smith and his theories about economics and society directly into today's world. The story is funny and the characters are interesting and likeable; the novel makes the economic theories relatively painless. I've heard that a true economist is someone who sees something work in real life and wonders if it would work in theory; I think it's important for people to learn that this icon of economics was more complicated than that, and because of that I highly recommend this book.

I read Saving Adam Smith because the author, Dr. Jonathan Wight, was coming to my school as a visiting author. I did not know anything about Adam Smith or economics before I read it, but I learned about markets, economy and self interest v. greed. I thought the book was easy to read and I was surprised to understand the economic theory in the book. I liked the adventerous plot that kept me intested. I liked the storyline about the drive across country and all the trouble they got into. It was a fun book to read.

Saving Adam Smith is a remarkably moving, and at the same time instructive novel of ideas. The fictional story to which Smith's ideas are tethered carries the reader along, all the while helping him or her better understand economic and moral principles often buried beneath the dry,lifeless prose of less proficient academic writers. This is a lively and engaging novel that makes a deep and lasting impression. In the age of the Enron debacle, or the S & L scandal, a book like this is essential reading that makes clear the abiding relation between economics and the moral life. Saving Adam Smith is a novel that teaches the mind while nourishing the heart. It is ideal for academic and non academic reader alike.

I own my own business, am extreemly busy, and guard my time (especially my free time). I won't go to movies or buy a book unless I know I'm going to enjoy it. So when a friend thrust Saving Adam Smith into my hands, I was a little skeptical. A business novel? What did I need with that? My life is a business novel, why read one for fun? On his recommendation I took it on vacation and picked it up one day ... and I loved it. It's full of economic sense mixed with a little history and philosophy thrown in, tied up in an exciting story that kept the pages turning. I hate wasting time, which is why I don't usually read fiction. With this book I got enjoyment and learned something useful at the same time. It's definitely a book I'll keep, if I don't loan it to friends first. A great read and highly recommended.