A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World

What could be more boring than a book about the history of trade? This may well be the thought that passes through most people's minds when they contemplate the rich cover of Bernstein's latest tome. Yet such an expectation turns out to be totally incorrect. A Splendid Exchange is also A Splendid Read.Bernstein has a remarkable ability to inter-leave arcane details with big-picture perspectives and the result is a work that delights as it informs. I personally learned something new on almost every page, even though I thought I was already fairly well informed about several of the subject areas covered in the book. Second-rate writers often try to impress with displays of recondite learning or excessive verbosity; Bernstein does neither. His prose is light and assured and carries the flow of his thesis forward as on a bubbling ever-cresting wave.He superbly illustrates a general historical point with the specifics of an individual life, as when he notes almost in passing that the first human to circumnavigate the globe was not a well-known historical personage such as Magalhaes (Magellan) or Drake, but rather a slave who has hitherto largely remained absent from the annals of nautical history.As Bernstein points out, humans are the only species to engage in trade. It is a fundamental characteristic of our species, and all the rest of human nature comes into play in its furtherance. The rapid expansion of Islam is partly explained by the fact that Muslims were under religious injunction not to pillage fellow believers, but could consider pillage an almost blessed act when perpetrated on non-believers. Not surprisingly, upon learning of this useful distinction the non-believers rapidly converted, thus sparing themselves further depredations - but forcing the might of Islam to push its boundaries ever-forward in search of new people to loot and slaughter. And lest we fall into the lazy trap of equating Islam alone with violence and intolerance, there's a salutory chapter of the Portugese expansion into the East, which amply demonstrates that no religion, nationality, or ethnic group has any monopoly on repellant behavior.Equally interesting is Bernstein's observation that the Boston Tea Party, far from being all about "no taxation without representation" as faithfully portrayed in the Disneyesque world of American school text books, was actually cant to disguise the protection of middle-men and thus ensure the continuation of overly-high prices for the hapless American consumer of tea.Despite the catalogue of stupidities, atrocities, and double-dealings that is inevitably a large part of any history of humanity, this book ultimately is an optimistic work. Trade, as Bernstein enables the record to show, has been almost single-handedly responsible for the fact that the vast majority of humankind no longer has to grub roots out of parched ground nor resort to trying to bring down the occasional ruminant with wooden spears. Just as today finds no shortage of anti-globalisation protesters, so throughout history people have complained that this wicked invention called trade has been upsetting cozy monopolies and creating social unrest. In the process, it has also created opportunity and wealth and well-being for the vast majority of humankind. This really should be a basic text book for anyone at undergraduate level who has any curiosity at all about why humans have been able to construct this modern world in which we live.If there were only three books I could take into exile, this would be one of them. The other two would be The Constitution of Liberty by Hayek and the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. All three shed important light on the human condition in realms both large and small, and all three are a pleasure to read and re-read at one's leisure.

"A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World" is a thorough description of the effect of commerce, trade, and exchange on the world. It also describes many of the changes and continuities of trade throughout world history. William Bernstein contributes to many themes of history, such as culture, interactions, and politics. However, his most prominent contribution is to the economic world. Bernstein relates everything in his book to trade/commerce, and the effect is a very narrow view of history. While many major or important events are covered, they are seen only through the lens of an economic viewpoint.Despite this limited viewpoint, I would recommend this book to other students or people interested in history. It is interesting to see how much of an impact trade has on the world. For example, Bernstein describes the effects of trade on social systems, disease, political power, and technology. In addition, his purpose is fully completed. Bernstein's goal in writing this book was to explain how commerce shaped the world. He does this very effectively, especially through his writing style. He writes about an instance in which trade affected the world, and then takes it a step further to explain how that effect can still be seen today.In the end, the book becomes more than a history of economy. It is a history of the world, simply relayed through an economic stance. The comparisons in it, such as free trade to mercantilism, are interesting and detailed, and add to the credibility of the author. All of the information in the book, not just the major things, is also very detailed. For example, the author does not only describe trading, he describes its impact and its products' impact. A key example of this is the section on Opium Wars, which shows this political and economic conflict through the lens of trade. The well-researched, historically accurate book is definitely a good review of world history. Aside from its limited point of view, it is a wonderful, eye-opening description of trade and its impact, which are still things that dominate the global economy.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that anyone interested in history and trade or economics should acquire. Mr. Bernstein writes well. He has an elegant and witty prose and whilst obviously well versed in his subject he is never pompous or boring. He takes the reader through the history of world trade from Mesopotamia to Doha. Obviously a free trader at heart he has however no religion he tries to preach - indeed he makes the point that the United States would not have grown the way they did in the 19th century without fierce protectionism - and he peppers his account with plenty of fascinating anecdotes. Who would have suspected for instance that an enterprising trader was delivering ice - yes, blocks of ice sawed off in the North - to Calcutta, of all places, shipping it from the New World long before refrigeration, steam powered ships or even electricity ?My only criticism is for the publisher. Once again, we are treated as imbeciles assumed not to buy or read a book that has footnotes in the text. The footnotes to Bernstein's masterpiece are at the end of the book, which is an absolute pain in the neck to the eclectic and curious reader. Moreover they are not complete. For instance, if you are interested in finding out why President Andrew Jackson was actually against lowering tariffs for certain goods from the South, footnote 15 on page 322 sends you to page 418, which cryptically says "Ellis, 158-177". Now, who on earth is this fellow "Ellis"? To find out, you have to work your way through the bibliography and go to page 433 to learn of a Richard Ellis who wrote a book entitled "The Union at Risk". For his next book, Mr.Bernstein may consider going to a publisher who does better in this respect. Otherwise, the book is a delight.