Reviews
"An essential read for anyone interested not only in US economic history but also American economic prospects . . . a tremendous achievement." ---Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist, This spectacular history traces the rise and the plateau of the American economy since industrialization. ---Jay Weiser, Weekly Standard, [A]n essential read for anyone interested not only in US economic history but also American economic prospects . . . a tremendous achievement. ---Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist, Winner of the 2017 Excellence in Financial Journalism Book Award, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, "Looking ahead, judging presidents by policies rather than outcomes may be all the more important. In a new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , the economist Robert Gordon argues that we are in the midst of an era of meager technological change. Yes, we now have smartphones and Twitter, but previous generations introduced electric lighting, indoor plumbing and the internal combustion engine. In Mr. Gordon's view, technological change is just not what it used to be, and we had better get used to slower growth in productivity and incomes." --N. Gregory Mankiw, New York Times, "If he's right, and one links this with growing income inequality, our would-be leaders will have difficulty in making the case for achieving the American dream through steady incremental progress achieved through collaboration and political compromise." --Michael Hoffmann, Desert Sun, "This is a book well worth reading--a magisterial combination of deep technological history, vivid portraits of daily life over the past six generations and careful economic analysis. . . . [ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] will challenge your views about the future; [and] it will definitely transform how you see the past." --Paul Krugman, New York Times Book Review, "A new book by economist Robert Gordon-- The Rise and Fall of American Growth --is causing quite a stir." -- City A.M., Gordon's encyclopedic The Rise and Fall of American Growth , a new history of modern U.S. economic life, [is] perhaps the best yet written. ---Jonathan Levy, Dissent, "Northwestern Bob Gordon's new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , offers a deeper explanation for the underlying mechanics behind slowed economic growth." ---Jon Hartley, Forbes.com, "A towering achievement that will utterly transform the debate on U.S. productivity and growth. Robert Gordon chronicles the stunning swiftness with which American lives have advanced since 1870, and raises profound questions about whether we have benefitted from one-offs that cannot be repeated. Combining eloquent description with forceful and clear economic analysis, Gordon's voice is gripping and compelling. This is economic history at its best." --Kenneth S. Rogoff, coauthor of This Time Is Different, "The biggest challenge for studies of long-run growth is measuring not income but prices. We have records of how much money people earned in 1870 and of the sales of goods and services. But how should we compare an 1870 dollar with a 2015 dollar? We are so used to using a standard Consumer Price Index inflation adjustment that we forget the reckless assumptions needed to compare currency values across a century-and-a-half divide. . . . [ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] is full of wonder for the miraculous things that America has accomplished." --Edward Glaeser, Wall Street Journal, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth makes use of economic history to argue that Americans should expect the rate of economic growth to be, on average, slower in the future than it has been in the recent past. Gordon is the most important exponent of the pessimistic view working today and this is an exceptional book." --Louis Cain, Loyola University Chicago, "Normally, these kinds of big-think books end with a whimper, as the author totally fails to identify solutions to the problem he is writing about. But Gordon's conclusion offers some admirably definitive policy advice." --Matthew Yglesias, Vox, Robert Gordon's new book The Rise and Fall of American Growth has taken the economics world by storm this winter. ---Myles Udland, Business Insider, "Authoritative. . . . The book puts anyone who argues that sluggish growth is not the new normal on the defensive. He or she needs to argue against not just the evidence of continuing modest productivity growth but also against Gordon'e(tm)s compelling narrative." ---John G. Fernald, National Association for Business Economics, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth makes use of economic history to argue that Americans should expect the rate of economic growth to be, on average, slower in the future than it has been in the recent past. Gordon is the most important exponent of the pessimistic view working today and this is an exceptional book." 'e"Louis Cain, Loyola University Chicago, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] has set the wonky world of economics aflame." --Ryan Craig, TechCrunch, Gordon's book offers the definitive account of how the many technological innovations between 1870 and 1940 dramatically improved life in the United States. ---Richard A. Epstein, Hoover Institution's Defining Ideas, "A towering achievement that will utterly transform the debate on U.S. productivity and growth. Robert Gordon chronicles the stunning swiftness with which American lives have advanced since 1870, and raises profound questions about whether we have benefitted from one-offs that cannot be repeated. Combining eloquent description with forceful and clear economic analysis, Gordon's voice is gripping and compelling. This is economic history at its best." 'e"Kenneth S. Rogoff, coauthor of This Time Is Different, Robert Gordon has written an engaging economic-based history of America. . . . Gordon is to be commended for helping to stimulate a national debate on the current low level of economic productivity. ---Allan Hauer, Innovation: The Journal of Technology & Commercialization, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth , is a deep dive into the past with an eye to the future. . . . [The book] is part of a fascinating debate about future prospects for the American economy." --Knowledge@Wharton, "If you want to see how far we have come and how tough life was a century and a half ago, read Gordon's book." --David R. Henderson, Regulation, "Professor Robert J. Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a magisterial volume that will benefit any serious student of economics, demographics or history." --Wendell Cox, New Geography, Gordon makes a compelling case for why the era of fast growth in America ended around 1970 and will not return in the foreseeable future, if ever. ---Dick Meyer, DecodeDC, "This book is as important as it is unsettling. Gordon makes a compelling case that the golden age of growth is over. Anyone concerned with our economic future needs to carefully consider his argument." --Lawrence Summers, Harvard University, A New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University, "So much of what the presidential candidates and the American people want to accomplish over the next four years and beyond depends on the U.S. economy growing faster, and more inclusively, than it has in recent years. This year's hot economics book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , by one of America's most distinguished macroeconomists, Robert Gordon, casts a pall on whether this is possible, arguing that the U.S. had a golden century of increasing innovation from roughly 1870 to 1970, but this was unique." ---Robert Litan, Fortune.com, Based on an impressive range of quantitative data and literature . . . its approach to the concept of the standard of living is innovative. ---Simone Selva, Economic History Review|9780691147727|, Magisterial. . . . While the book has gotten attention because of its bold projection of slow growth in the future, this is actually just one small element of a magnificent and detailed presentation of how our economy has changed since 1870. Most people don't fully appreciate what life was like in the past and Gordon gives a blow-by-blow description of how people lived in America from 1870 on. In addition, he carefully explains how each new innovation was created and how its adoption changed people's lives. ---Stephen Rose, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a tour de force with an immensely important bottom line. It is packed, page after page, with insights and facts that every reader will find fascinating and new. A profound book that also happens to be a marvelous read." --George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, The book's great contribution is the tapestry it weaves of all the innovations that changed most Americans' lives beyond recognition in the century from 1870 to 1970. ---Martin Sandbu, Financial Times, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth is essential reading for anyone interested in economics." -- Choice, "What is novel about Gordon's approach to this problem is that he doesn't try to find political causes for our economic woes. . . . [E]xhaustive and sweeping in scope, and novel in its thinking about growth." ---Chris Matthews, Fortune.com, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , by Robert Gordon, is that rarest thing: a work of densely researched macroeconomics that is compulsively readable. ---Bill Morris, The Millions, In an important new book, economist Robert Gordon makes the case for pessimism. He believes that technologies like smartphones, robots, and artificial intelligence aren't going to have the kind of big impact on the economy that earlier inventions--like the internal combustion engine and electricity--did. ---Timothy B. Lee, Vox, "Robert Gordon, author of The Rise and Fall of American Growth , which is the Thomas Piketty-esque economic must read of the year, is gaining traction in policy circles with a persuasive argument that the inventions that drove growth and productivity over the last 100 years or so weren't the personal computer or the Internet, but the internal combustion engine, indoor plumbing and electricity. . . . His conclusion: unless the techno-optimists come up with some really seismic invention quickly, our children are likely to be worse off economically. . . . Those who keep track of such things should bone up on their Gordon." --Rana Foroohar, Time, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago. . . . [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: 'Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower?" ---Paul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency, Rich with detailed information, meticulous observations, and even anecdotes and stories . . . a fascinating read. ---Ricardo F. Levi, Corriere della Sera, Gordon argues that we are not going to get another surge soon and that there are several headwinds that are going to work against faster growth, including income inequality, education as a differentiator and not an equalizer, the debt overhang, and demography. ---John Mason, TheStreet.com,, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth is likely to be the most interesting and important economics book of the year. It provides a splendid analytic take on the potency of past economic growth, which transformed the world from the end of the nineteenth century onward. . . . Gordon's book serves as a powerful reminder that the U.S. economy really has gone through a protracted slowdown and that this decline has been caused by the stagnation in technological progress." --Tyler Cowen, Foreign Affairs, [An] impressive book. . . . Gordon's book provides sufficient ammunition to show the colossal problems facing capitalism., [ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] is this year's equivalent to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century : an essential read for all economists, who are unanimously floored by its boldness and scope even if they don't agree with its conclusions. ---Adam Davidson, New York Times Magazine, "The story of our standard of living is a vital part of American history and is well told in this fascinating book. Gordon provides colorful details and striking statistics about how the way we live has changed, and he asks whether we will live happily ever after. His answer will surprise you and challenge conventional assumptions about the future of economic growth. This book is a landmark--there is nothing else like it." --Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate in Economics, "[A]n essential read for anyone interested not only in US economic history but also American economic prospects . . . a tremendous achievement." --Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist, [ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago. . . . [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: 'Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower? ---Paul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency,, "Magnificent. . . . Gordon presents his case. . . with great style and panache, supporting his argument with vivid examples as well as econometric data. . . . Even if history changes direction. . . this book will survive as a superb reconstruction of material life in America in the heyday of industrial capitalism." -- Economist, "One of the most important books of recent years. . . . Powerful and impressive." --Cass R. Sunstein, Bloomberg View, "Gordon argues that we are not going to get another surge soon and that there are several headwinds that are going to work against faster growth, including income inequality, education as a differentiator and not an equalizer, the debt overhang, and demography." ---John Mason, TheStreet.com, "Two years ago a huge book on economics took the world by storm. Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century . . . became a surprise bestseller. . . . Robert Gordon's tome on American economic growth stretches to 768 pages and its central message is arguably more important." --David Smith, Sunday Times, "What is novel about Gordon's approach to this problem is that he doesn't try to find political causes for our economic woes. . . . Exhaustive and sweeping in scope, and novel in its thinking about growth." ---Chris Matthews, Fortune.com, A great achievement of synthesis . . . presents a fascinating and provocative thesis. ---Walter Friedman, American Historical Review, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a tour de force with an immensely important bottom line. It is packed, page after page, with insights and facts that every reader will find fascinating and new. A profound book that also happens to be a marvelous read." 'e"George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, "The book is well written, and one can only be in awe of Gordon's mastery of the factual history of the American standard of living." ---Robert A. Margo, EH.net, "Robert Gordon has written the book on wealth'e"how Americans made it and enjoyed it in the past. If we're going to create more wealth in the future instead of arguing about dividing a shrinking pie, we have to read and understand this book." 'e"Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, investor, and author of Zero to One, "Northwestern Bob Gordon's new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , offers a deeper explanation for the underlying mechanics behind slowed economic growth." --Jon Hartley, Forbes.com, "In The Rise and Fall of American Growth , Gordon looks at the evolution of consumption and the standard of living in the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present day. His work brims with the enthusiasm of discovery and is enriched by personal anecdotes and insights derived over a long and very productive career." 'e"Alexander J. Field, Santa Clara University, "This is a tremendous, sobering piece of research, which does a lot to explain the febrile, nervous state of modern Western democracies." --Marcus Tanner, The Independent, [ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] has set the wonky world of economics aflame. ---Ryan Craig, TechCrunch,, If you want to see how far we have come and how tough life was a century and a half ago, read Gordon's book. ---David R. Henderson, Regulation, "Keynes dismissed concerns about economic trends by remarking that in the long run, we are all dead. Gordon turns this upside down by reminding us that we inherited somebody else's long run. If you care about the legacy we will leave future generations, read this richly detailed account of America's amazing century of growth." --Paul Romer, New York University, "For all their differences, the presidential candidates share one defining characteristic: All of them are upbeat about the future (as long as they get elected.) In one of the most important books of recent years, Northwestern University economist Robert J. Gordon offers a radically different view. . . . Powerful and impressive. . . . [M]agisterial, data-filled." --Cass Sunstein, Bloomberg View, The author's method has the merit of being straightforward as well as robust. . . . The carefully woven tapestry offered by Rise and Fall leaves no corner in the shade. ---Jean-Pierre Dormois, La Vie des Idees, In his unsettling new book, Gordon, who teaches at Northwestern, weighs in on the role of technology in the U.S. over the past century-and-a-half. He does so forcefully, so forcefully, in fact, as to wipe the smiles off the faces of most techno-optimists, myself included. ---Peter A. Coclanis, Charlotte Observer, "'Some inventions are more important than others.' This is the most important point made by Robert Gordon of Northwestern University in his masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of American Growth ." --Martin Wolf, Financial Times, "[M]asterful. . . . Gordon skillfully lays out information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal. . . . The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a rare example of a work with solid economics that can be understood, and enjoyed, by nearly any lay person." --Ed Lotterman, Idaho Statesman, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth is unquestionably an important book that raises fundamental questions about the United States' economy and society." -- New Criterion, "With a painstaking--and fascinating--historical analysis of American productivity, [Gordon] argues that the innovations of today pale in comparison to earlier in our history and that we might actually be entering a period of prolonged stagnation. He may very well be right." --Greg Satell, Forbes.com, "Robert Gordon has written the book on wealth--how Americans made it and enjoyed it in the past. If we're going to create more wealth in the future instead of arguing about dividing a shrinking pie, we have to read and understand this book." --Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, investor, and author of Zero to One, "Rich with detailed information, meticulous observations, and even anecdotes and stories . . . a fascinating read." --Ricardo F. Levi, Corriere della Sera, "So powerful and intriguing are the facts and arguments marshaled by Gordon that even informed critics who think he is wrong recommend that readers plow through his The Rise and Fall of American Growth , with its 60 graphics and 64 tables spread over more than 700 pages. You don't need to be an economist to appreciate or understand the book. His thesis is straightforward." ---David Cay Johnston, Al Jazeera America.com, "Gordon's book offers the definitive account of how the many technological innovations between 1870 and 1940 dramatically improved life in the United States." --Richard A. Epstein, Hoover Institution's Defining Ideas blog, Gordon constructs a strong case using conventional economic principles and exacting data measurement. ---Don Pittis, CBC News, A New York Times Bestseller #36 on Bloomberg's "50 Most Influential" List Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University, "In The Rise and Fall of American Growth , Gordon looks at the evolution of consumption and the standard of living in the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present day. His work brims with the enthusiasm of discovery and is enriched by personal anecdotes and insights derived over a long and very productive career." --Alexander J. Field, Santa Clara University, Gordon is not an alarmist, far from it. His is a sober voice of concern, of caution, which needs to be heard by those in the helm in America. And a fascinating lesson for ambitious and growing countries like India. ---Dr R Balashankar, Sunday Guardian, [M]asterful. . . . Gordon skillfully lays out information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal. . . . The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a rare example of a work with solid economics that can be understood, and enjoyed, by nearly any lay person. ---Ed Lotterman, Idaho Statesman, "Robert Gordon has written an engaging economic-based history of America. . . . Gordon is to be commended for helping to stimulate a national debate on the current low level of economic productivity." --Allan Hauer, Innovation: The Journal of Technology & Commercialization, "In his unsettling new book, Gordon, who teaches at Northwestern, weighs in on the role of technology in the U.S. over the past century-and-a-half. He does so forcefully, so forcefully, in fact, as to wipe the smiles off the faces of most techno-optimists, myself included." --Peter A. Coclanis, Charlotte Observer, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago. . . . [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: 'e~Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower?" ---Paul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency,, So much of what the presidential candidates and the American people want to accomplish over the next four years and beyond depends on the U.S. economy growing faster, and more inclusively, than it has in recent years. This year's hot economics book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , by one of America's most distinguished macroeconomists, Robert Gordon, casts a pall on whether this is possible, arguing that the U.S. had a golden century of increasing innovation from roughly 1870 to 1970, but this was unique. ---Robert Litan, Fortune.com,, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , is a deep dive into the past with an eye to the future. . . . [The book] is part of a fascinating debate about future prospects for the American economy. ---Knowledge@Wharton,, "Gordon argues that we are not going to get another surge soon and that there are several headwinds that are going to work against faster growth, including income inequality, education as a differentiator and not an equalizer, the debt overhang, and demography." --John Mason, TheStreet.com, [M]agiserial. . . . The Northwestern University professor lays out the case that the productivity miracle underlying the American way of life was largely a one-time deal. ---Matt Phillips, Quartz, "Every presidential candidate should be asked what policies he or she would offer to increase the pace of U.S. productivity growth and to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the economy. Bob Gordon's list is a good place to start." ---David Wessel, WSJ.com, "Keynes dismissed concerns about economic trends by remarking that in the long run, we are all dead. Gordon turns this upside down by reminding us that we inherited somebody else's long run. If you care about the legacy we will leave future generations, read this richly detailed account of America's amazing century of growth." 'e"Paul Romer, New York University, "What is novel about Gordon's approach to this problem is that he doesn't try to find political causes for our economic woes. . . . [E]xhaustive and sweeping in scope, and novel in its thinking about growth." --Chris Matthews, Fortune.com, "[A] landmark book. . . . An impressive history of how the American people progressed in their standards of living and productivity in the 'e~golden century' of 1870-1970." ---Stephen M. Millett, Strategy & Leadership, With a painstaking--and fascinating--historical analysis of American productivity, [Gordon] argues that the innovations of today pale in comparison to earlier in our history and that we might actually be entering a period of prolonged stagnation. He may very well be right. ---Greg Satell, Forbes.com,, "In the course of Gordon's book, a vivid picture of everyday life as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived it emerges. . . . What lingers in my mind, alongside these ideas, is a new, weightier sense of the past, and of what the people who lived in it ate, touched, heard, saw, and did. Reading The Rise and Fall of American Growth , I thought a lot about my grandparents. Gordon's book has made their lives more real to me." ---Joshua Rothman, NewYorker.com, The book is well written, and one can only be in awe of Gordon's mastery of the factual history of the American standard of living. ---Robert A. Margo, EH.net,, A New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Longlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2016, "So powerful and intriguing are the facts and arguments marshaled by Gordon that even informed critics who think he is wrong recommend that readers plow through his The Rise and Fall of American Growth , with its 60 graphics and 64 tables spread over more than 700 pages. You don't need to be an economist to appreciate or understand the book. His thesis is straightforward." --David Cay Johnston, Al Jazeera America.com, The Rise and Fall of American Growth is unquestionably an important book that raises fundamental questions about the United States' economy and society., "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] is this year's equivalent to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century : an essential read for all economists, who are unanimously floored by its boldness and scope even if they don't agree with its conclusions." --Adam Davidson, New York Times Magazine, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] has set the wonky world of economics aflame." ---Ryan Craig, TechCrunch, "In an important new book, economist Robert Gordon makes the case for pessimism. He believes that technologies like smartphones, robots, and artificial intelligence aren't going to have the kind of big impact on the economy that earlier inventions--like the internal combustion engine and electricity--did." --Timothy B. Lee, Vox, One of Bloomberg View'e(tm)s 'eoeFive Books to Change Conservatives'e(tm) Minds,'echosen by Cass Sunstein, "Gordon is not an alarmist, far from it. His is a sober voice of concern, of caution, which needs to be heard by those in the helm in America. And a fascinating lesson for ambitious and growing countries like India." --Dr R Balashankar, Sunday Guardian, "Magiserial. . . . The Northwestern University professor lays out the case that the productivity miracle underlying the American way of life was largely a one-time deal." ---Matt Phillips, Quartz, Northwestern Bob Gordon's new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , offers a deeper explanation for the underlying mechanics behind slowed economic growth. ---Jon Hartley, Forbes.com,, Authoritative. . . . The book puts anyone who argues that sluggish growth is not the new normal on the defensive. He or she needs to argue against not just the evidence of continuing modest productivity growth but also against Gordon's compelling narrative. ---John G. Fernald, National Association for Business Economics, "Robert Gordon's new book The Rise and Fall of American Growth has taken the economics world by storm this winter." --Myles Udland, Business Insider, FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University, "Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship. . . . Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical . . . And on the other a pleasure to read. . . . [A] landmark work." --Lawrence Summers, Prospect, "With a painstaking--and fascinating--historical analysis of American productivity, [Gordon] argues that the innovations of today pale in comparison to earlier in our history and that we might actually be entering a period of prolonged stagnation. He may very well be right." ---Greg Satell, Forbes.com, "A masterful study to be read and reread by anyone interested in today's political economy." -- Kirkus, One of our greatest economic historians. . . . Gordon's exhaustive research program . . . has knocked me back on my intellectual heels. ---J. Bradford DeLong, Strategy + Business, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago. . . . [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: 'Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower?" --Paul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency, "This book is as important as it is unsettling. Gordon makes a compelling case that the golden age of growth is over. Anyone concerned with our economic future needs to carefully consider his argument." 'e"Lawrence Summers, Harvard University, A New York Times Bestseller #36 on Bloomberg's "50 Most Influential" List One of the Strategy+Business Best Business Books 2016 in Economy Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University, "So much of what the presidential candidates and the American people want to accomplish over the next four years and beyond depends on the U.S. economy growing faster, and more inclusively, than it has in recent years. This year's hot economics book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , by one of America's most distinguished macroeconomists, Robert Gordon, casts a pall on whether this is possible, arguing that the U.S. had a golden century of increasing innovation from roughly 1870 to 1970, but this was unique." --Robert Litan, Fortune.com, In the course of Gordon's book, a vivid picture of everyday life as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived it emerges. . . . What lingers in my mind, alongside these ideas, is a new, weightier sense of the past, and of what the people who lived in it ate, touched, heard, saw, and did. Reading The Rise and Fall of American Growth , I thought a lot about my grandparents. Gordon's book has made their lives more real to me. ---Joshua Rothman, NewYorker.com's, Page-Turner, "The story of our standard of living is a vital part of American history and is well told in this fascinating book. Gordon provides colorful details and striking statistics about how the way we live has changed, and he asks whether we will live happily ever after. His answer will surprise you and challenge conventional assumptions about the future of economic growth. This book is a landmark'e"there is nothing else like it." 'e"Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate in Economics, "Ambitious. . . . The hefty tome, minutely detailed yet dauntingly broad in scope, offers a lively portrayal of the evolution of American living standards since the Civil War." --Eduardo Porter, New York Times, "[ The Rise and Fall of American Growth ] is full of wonder for the miraculous things that America has accomplished." --Edward Glaeser, Wall Street Journal, "Magnificent. . . . Even if history changes direction, and Mr. Gordon's rise-and-fall thesis proves to be wrong, this book will survive as a superb reconstruction of material life in America in the heyday of industrial capitalism." -- The Economist, "[W]hat may be the year's most important book on economics has already been published. . . . What Gordon has provided is not a rejection of technology but a sobering reminder of its limits." --Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, "[An] impressive book. . . . Gordon's book provides sufficient ammunition to show the colossal problems facing capitalism." -- Socialism Today, "Robert Gordon's new book on productivity in the U.S. economy, The Rise and Fall of American Growth , is masterful. . . . Gordon skillfully lays out myriad information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal." --Edward Lotterman, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth set out a thesis of technological diminishing returns that does much to explain an age of economic pessimism. ---Lorien Kite, Financial Times, [A] landmark book. . . . An impressive history of how the American people progressed in their standards of living and productivity in the 'golden century' of 1870-1970. ---Stephen M. Millett, Strategy & Leadership, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth . . . is the Thomas Piketty-esque economic must read of the year." --Rana Foroohar, Time, Professor Robert J. Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a magisterial volume that will benefit any serious student of economics, demographics or history. ---Wendell Cox, New Geography, Magnificent. . . . Gordon presents his case . . . with great style and panache, supporting his argument with vivid examples as well as econometric data. . . . Even if history changes direction . . . this book will survive as a superb reconstruction of material life in America in the heyday of industrial capitalism., "Gordon makes a compelling case for why the era of fast growth in America ended around 1970 and will not return in the foreseeable future, if ever." --Dick Meyer, DecodeDC, Gordon's genius is to weave together economic history with the story of the technology, know-how, politic, demographics and medicine that made the astonishing progress of the US perhaps the most remarkable ever. ---Sean O'Grady, The Independent, "The year's most important book on economics. . . . What Gordon has provided is not a rejection of technology but a sobering reminder of its limits." ---Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, " The Rise and Fall of American Growth , is a deep dive into the past with an eye to the future. . . . [The book] is part of a fascinating debate about future prospects for the American economy." ---Knowledge@Wharton, "Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship. . . . Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical . . . and on the other a pleasure to read. . . . [A] landmark work." ---Lawrence Summers, Prospect, Winner of the 2017 Excellence in Financial Journalism Book Award, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Winner of the 2017 PROSE Award in U.S. History, Association of American Publishers A New York Times Bestseller One of Bloomberg View's "Five Books to Change Conservatives' Minds," chosen by Cass Sunstein #36 on Bloomberg's "50 Most Influential" List One of Bloomberg's Best Books of 2016 One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Economics Books of 2016 One of The Economist 's Economics and Business Books of the Year 2016 One of the Strategy+Business Best Business Books 2016 in Economy One of Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of 2016 in History One of Bloomberg View's Great History Books of 2016 One of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2016 One of The Wall Street Journal 's "The 20 Books That Defined Our Year" 2016 One of Foreign Affairs' Editors' Picks 2016 One of the Washington Post 's Best Economics Books 2016 Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award One of The NewYorker.com Page-Turner blog's "The Books We Loved in 2016" Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University, "Gordon is not an alarmist, far from it. His is a sober voice of concern, of caution, which needs to be heard by those in the helm in America. And a fascinating lesson for ambitious and growing countries like India." ---R. Balashankar, Sunday Guardian
