Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Good to have on the shelf.

I started this book with great relish, but found myself skimming faster and faster as the centuries progressed. It's chock-a-block with pertinent comments and interesting history, and the reader who follows Landes' innumerable footnotes will find no end of fascinating trivia, but what's lacking is a central thesis. We read what happened, but we don't gain any theoretical tools to learn why. Most disppointing for a book completed in 1997 is that the whole matter of globalization is summarily dismissed. The final chapter, begins with the premise that "...we have become a world of nation-states...." This is more true than not, but Landes is ignoring one of the most interesting trends of our day -- that the nation-states of the world are clearly losing their autonomous control over economic matters. I'm sure I'll refer to this book frequently for historical background, but as a read-through, it was far from satisfying.