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The Invention of Enterprise
Book

The Invention of Enterprise

Entrepreneurship from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern Times

David S. Landes, Joel Mokyr and William J. Baumol
Princeton UP, 2010

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Background

Recommendation

Money might make the world go around, but the spinning wouldn’t happen without entrepreneurs and their innovations. This thorough examination of world entrepreneurship delves into many of the globe’s important economies, from the ancient Middle East to modern China. Edited by three scholars, David S. Landes, Joel Mokyr and William J. Baumol, this work is a collection of essays by more than 20 academics. While not exactly a page-turner, it serves up historical context that will help readers understand the cultural currents and political forces that shape entrepreneurship throughout the world. It’s intriguing to note, for instance, that most major economies (with the exception of the US) have harbored a deep-seated bias against entrepreneurs. getAbstract recommends this book to business people who love history or to historians who want to know about the development of commercial enterprise.

Take-Aways

  • Many financial tools already existed in the Near East in the third millennium BC.
  • During the Middle Ages, Europe transformed from a backwater into a commercial hub.
  • The Islamic world has had a love-hate relationship with entrepreneurship.

About the Authors

Economics professor emeritus David S. Landes teaches history at Harvard University. Joel Mokyr is a professor of economics and history at Northwestern University. William J. Baumol teaches entrepreneurship at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

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