The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio

William J. Bernstein

McGraw=Hill

"A tour de force...prepare to be amazed." --John C. Bogle, Founder and Former CEO, The Vanguard Group 
 Why didn't the Florentines invent the steam engines and flying machines that Da Vinci sketched? What kept the master metallurgists of ancient Rome from discovering electricity? The Birth of Plenty takes a fascinating new look at the key conditions that had to be in place before world economic growth--and the technological progress underlying it--could occur, why those pathways are still absent in many parts of today's world, and what must be done before true, universal prosperity can become a reality. The Birth of Plenty doesn't mean to suggest that nothing of note existed before 1820. What The Birth of Plenty suggests that, from the dawn of recorded history through 1820, the "mass of man" experienced essentially zero growth, either in economic standing or living standards. It was only in the third decade of the nineteenth century that the much of the world's standard of living began to inexorably and irreversibly improve, and the modern world was born. But what changed, and why then? Noted financial expert and neurologist William Bernstein isolates the four conditions which, when occurring simultaneously, constitute an all-inclusive formula for human progress: <ul>
<li>
Property rights--Creators must have proper incentives to create </li>
<li>
Scientific rationalism--Innovators must be allowed to innovate without fear of retribution </li>
<li>
Capital markets--Entrepreneurs must be given access to capital to pursue their visions </li>
<li>
Transportation/communication--Society must provide mechanisms for effective communication of ideas and transport of finished products </li>
</ul>
 Beyond just shining a light on how quickly progress occurs once the building blocks are in place, however, The Birth of Plenty examines how their absence constitutes nothing less than a prescription for continued human struggle and pain. Why do so many parts of the world remain behind, while others learn to adapt, adopt, and move forward? What must long-troubled nations do to pull themselves from the never-ending spiral of defeatism? The Birth of Plenty addresses these timely and vital questions head-on, empirically and without apology, and provides answers that are both thought-provoking and troubling. The Birth of Plenty frames the modern world's prosperity--or, in far too many cases, continuing lack of prosperity--in terms that are ingenious yet simple, complex yet easily understood. Entertaining and provocative, it will forever change the way you view the human pursuit of happiness, and bring the conflicts of both the world's superpowers and developing nations into a fascinating and informative new light.

The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created

Business & Money

Biography & History

“Compact and immensely readable . . . a tour de force. Prepare to be amazed.” ― John C. Bogle, Founder and Former CEO, The Vanguard Group   “Vital―a cogent, timely journey through the economic history of the modern world.” ― Publishers Weekly   In The Birth of Plenty, William Bernstein, the bestselling author of The Four Pillars of Investing, presents his provocative, highly acclaimed theory of why prosperity has been the engine of civilization for the last 200 years.   This is a fascinating, irresistibly written “big-picture” work that highlights and explains the impact of four elements that when occurring simultaneously, are the fundamental building blocks for human progress:   Property rights, which drive creativity  Scientific rationalism, which permits the freedom to innovate without fear of retribution;  Capital markets, which provide funding for people to pursue their visions;  Transportation/communication, which allows for the effective transfer of ideas and products.   Meticulously researched, splendidly told, and featuring a new preface and introduction, The Birth of Plenty explains the interplay of the events, philosophies, and related phenomena that were nothing less than the crucible of the modern age. This is one of the rare books that will change how you look at the world.

The Birth of Plenty

McGraw-Hill/Higher Education

McGraw–Hill Education

The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups

Atlantic Monthly Press

Adam Smith wrote that man has an intrinsic "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another." But how did trade evolve to the point where we don't think twice about biting into an apple from the other side of the world?     In A Splendid Exchange, William J. Bernstein tells the extraordinary story of global commerce from its prehistoric origins to the myriad controversies surrounding it today. He transports readers from ancient sailing ships that brought the silk trade from China to Rome in the second century to the rise and fall of the Portuguese monopoly in spices in the sixteenth; from the rush for sugar that brought the British to Jamaica in 1655 to the American trade battles of the early twentieth century; from key innovations such as steam, steel, and refrigeration to the modern era of televisions from Taiwan, lettuce from Mexico, and T-shirts from China.     Along the way, Bernstein examines how our age-old dependency on trade has contributed to our planet's agricultural bounty, stimulated intellectual progress, and made us both prosperous and vulnerable. Although the impulse to trade often takes a backseat to xenophobia and war, Bernstein concludes that trade is ultimately a force for good among nations, and he argues that societies are far more successful and stable when they are involved in vigorous trade with their neighbors.     Lively, authoritative, and astonishing in scope, A Splendid Exchange is a riveting narrative that views trade and globalization not in political terms, but rather as an evolutionary process as old as war and religion-a historical constant-that will continue to foster the growth of intellectual capital, shrink the world, and propel the trajectory of the human species.

A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World

Economics

Tantor Audio

William J. Bernstein’s A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, an Economist and Financial Times Best Book of the Year, placed him firmly among the top flight of historians like Jared Diamond and Bill Bryson, capable of distilling major trends and reams of information into insightful, globe-spanning popular narrative. Bernstein explains how new communication technologies and in particular our access to them, impacted human society. Writing was born thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. Spreading to Sumer, and then Egypt, this revolutionary tool allowed rulers to extend their control far and wide, giving rise to the world’s first empires. When Phoenician traders took their alphabet to Greece, literacy’s first boom led to the birth of drama and democracy. In Rome, it helped spell the downfall of the Republic. Later, medieval scriptoria and vernacular bibles gave rise to religious dissent, and with the combination of cheaper paper and Gutenberg’s printing press, the fuse of Reformation was lit. The Industrial Revolution brought the telegraph and the steam driven printing press, allowing information to move faster than ever before and to reach an even larger audience. But along with radio and television, these new technologies were more easily exploited by the powerful, as seen in Germany, the Soviet Union, even Rwanda, where radio incited genocide. With the rise of carbon duplicates (Russian samizdat), photocopying (the Pentagon Papers), the internet, social media and cell phones (the recent Arab Spring) more people have access to communications, making the world more connected than ever before. In Masters of the Word, Bernstein masterfully guides the reader through the vast history of communications, illustrating each step with colorful stories and anecdotes. This is a captivating, enlightening book, one that will change the way you look at technology, history, and power.

Masters of the Word

ATLANTIC BOOKS *

A daring look at the development of human prosperity—how it was created and where it's headed. Filled with meticulous research and page turning writing style.

Amer Media Intl - McGraw Hill audio

Smart Cities, Green Technologies and Intelligent Transport Systems: 8th International Conference, SMARTGREENS 2019, and 5th International Conference, VEHITS ... Computer and Information Science Book 1217)

Springer

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by William J. Bernstein. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by William J. Bernstein