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“In this splendid book, Jesse Norman not only presents an excellent introduction to the life and ideas of Adam Smith, but also explains why—and how—Smith’s insights can help us solve some of the most difficult social and economic problems of the contemporary world. Smith loved lucidity and relevance, and I think he would have been very happy with Norman’s book.”
— Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics
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“Adam Smith is one of the world’s greatest and least understood thinkers, and we may need him now, more than ever. Norman’s beautifully written book offers an energetic and clear-headed overview, with a host of fresh and valuable insights. Highly recommended!”
— Cass Sunstein, New York Times bestselling author
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“Jesse Norman provides two outstanding biographies for the price of one: a beautiful and original account of Adam Smith’s life, well grounded in the epochal events of the eighteenth century enlightenment and a penetrating and fresh account of the subsequent life of Smith’s main idea, the central role of exchange in shaping human society.”
— Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything
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Very readable...[Norman] does a fine job of applying Smith's thinking to a number of such modern challenges. In all, he never loses sight of Smith's implicit injunction to think more broadly than just economics.
— Forbes
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A wise book accessible to the general reader...You'll want to read Mr. Norman and then Smith if you have any thought at all of getting beyond the clichés of left and right...Engaging, intelligent, educational.
— Wall Street Journal
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Remarkable and intensely readable.... Norman is a Conservative MP, and the very existence of the book, which draws on his background as a philosopher but also displays wide knowledge of economics and the history of the Enlightenment in 18th-century Edinburgh, is a rejoinder to those who fear that the intellectual has disappeared from politics, along with respect for facts and contact with reality.
— Financial Times
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In this splendid book, Jesse Norman not only presents an excellent introduction to the life and ideas of Adam Smith, but also explains why - and how - Smith's insights can help us solve some of the most difficult social and economic problems of the contemporary world. Smith loved lucidity and relevance, and I think he would have been very happy with Norman's book.
— Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics
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A worthy addition to the literature surrounding Smith and that of modern conservative thought.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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Well-written, well-argued, and intensely thought-provoking.... I hope some of the author's parliamentary colleagues summon up the moral and intellectual strength to read it.
— Simon Heffer, Spectator
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Norman has written a wonderfully clear account of the life and thought of Adam Smith.
— Sunday Times
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I can't recommend this biography too highly.
— Dan Hannan, Sunday Telegraph
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Norman's book...critiques what he calls 'crony capitalism'--a system he believes Adam Smith would have detested.... Accomplished and eloquent.
— New Statesman
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It is a cause for rejoicing that we live in a country in which a front-line politician like Jesse Norman has the capacity and the energy to write an important work of revisionist biography with a direct and important impact on the intellectual underpinnings of liberal free-market thought. If we want to be well governed, we need to be governed by people who have the capacity not merely to act but also to think--and Jesse Norman, as this book amply demonstrates, is one of those people.... A wide-ranging, beautifully written book.
— Oliver Letwin, Telegraph
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Masterly.... Smith's thinking, properly understood, holds vital lessons for the greatest questions in modern political economy.... The book tells the reader something else too: that amid the superficiality and hysterics of modern British politics, an admirably thoughtful brain is lurking.
— Edward Lucas, The Times (UK)
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A compelling, original and well-judged exploration of the great thinker's life and ideas.... We need more people like Norman in politics.
— Julian Glover, Evening Standard
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[Norman's] book is partly devoted to rescuing Smith from the misconceptions and simplifications of his fans, and trying to capture the real range and complexity of his thought...something badly needed in British politics.
— Times Higher Education
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Norman is an excellent tutor for an intellectual journey of this kind. One topic leads gracefully into the next, nothing goes on for too long and even the modern economists become comprehensible.
— Andrew Gimson, Conservative Home
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[Norman is] thinking though his politics in an unusually thorough fashion...The British people are fortunate to have him.
— David Warsh, Economic Principals
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Jesse Norman tackles head on the challenges politicians and business leaders face in trying to rebuild trust in markets and capitalism as the best means to deliver national income, wealth, investment, job creation and prosperity.... Lucidly written, compellingly argued, this is a significant book at a crucial moment in Britain's history. One can but hope it is read widely and the challenge embraced willingly by those who determine our future.
— Mark Fox, Reaction
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Jesse Norman has brought his keen eye and unique experience to a notoriously difficult subject, and the result is an exceptionally insightful new guide to Adam Smith. As Norman brilliantly shows, both Smith's economics and our own must be understood as an extension of moral philosophy.
— Yuval Levin, author of The Fractured Republic
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Jesse Norman provides two outstanding biographies for the price of one: a beautiful and original account of Adam Smith's life, well grounded in the epochal events of the eighteenth century enlightenment; and a penetrating and fresh account of the subsequent life of Smith's main idea, the central role of exchange in shaping human society.
— Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything
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Adam Smith is one of the world's greatest and least understood thinkers, and we may need him now, more than ever. Norman's beautifully written book offers an energetic and clear-headed overview, with a host of fresh and valuable insights. Highly recommended!
— Cass Sunstein, Harvard University
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A splendid introduction to [Smith's] life and lasting influence...This scholarly and well-crafted book will impart pleasure and knowledge to a range of readers...Highly recommended.
— Library Journal
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A finely written and complex biography.
— New Criterion
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[Norman] is a sure guide to the range, complexity, and influence of Smith's work.
— Choice