• Wealth of Nations

  • By: Adam Smith
  • Narrated by: Michael Edwards
  • Length: 35 hrs and 19 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (270 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Wealth of Nations  By  cover art

Wealth of Nations

By: Adam Smith
Narrated by: Michael Edwards
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $31.16

Buy for $31.16

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

This classic statement of economic liberalism or the policy of laissez-faire was first published in 1776. It is an engrossing analysis of the economic facts of life. Several fundamental principles, many of which are now referred to as axioms, were introduced in this work, the division of labor, supply-and-demand, and free market capitalism being among the most obvious. Smith's political economy is primarily individualistic; self-interest is the incentive for economic action. However, he shows that universal pursuit of self-interest contributes to the public interest.
(P)1989 by Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Wealth of Nations

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    38
Performance
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    21
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    47
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the effort

This is a massive undertaking for any listener, but ultimately worth the effort. The recording is not the best, with some occasional disconcerting popping, which made me think stones were hitting my windshield as I drove. Edwards's plodding reading takes some getting used to, but it ultimately works, allowing the listener to unravel some of Smith's winding thought. This is not for everyone, but if you can get inside Smith's detailed descriptions of late 18th-century economics, you'll appreciate his analytic mind -- and you might even imagine him a prophet of the emerging capitalist system. Of course, capitalists never tire of claiming Smith as one of their own, usually with only a familiarity of Smith's image of the invisible hand, but there is much more here, especially in Smith's criticisms of the excesses of the "masters." Smith may still be construed as an apologist for our present capitalist system, but his thought much more compex than that, and a must-read/listen for anyone wanting to tackle David Ricardo or understand Marx. A printed copy of the work is handy when the spoken argument bogs down, but even with a more than occasional use of the reverse button when I drifted, I was surprised how easily I got into the rhythm of this work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

The footnotes ruined it.

Smith's book is of a piece. This audio book is impossible to follow, because the narrator reads the scholarly apparatus right in the stream of the book. So you'll have a paragraph of Smith, and then two paragraphs of footnotes from the editor, then Smith for a couple paragraphs, then another footnote... it makes it impossible to follow the development of Smith's argument. Audible seriously needs to get another version of this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Poor audio quality

I would love to be able to listen to this book in a better quality audio. It really needs to be rerecorded. The quality is so poor it's hard to listen to and I have not been able to get through it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Sound terrible; Content classical

This book should have been done in resolution 4 instead of 2. Had I noticed, I would not have purchased it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

They all told me ....

Everyone told me to read books about Adam Smith and not to read Adam himself. They were correct. He goes on and on and on. It is good in small doses but start young.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, bad sound

I was astonished to see this book with a low rating, but relieved to find the reviewers uniformly complaining about the recording quality. I entirely agree, but want it perfectly clear that this is a GREAT work. Smith is reminiscent of Aristotle in his ability to reason incisively from direct observation and to organize his perceptions in a clear and concise way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Really Bad

The text is obviously very dense and a lot to get through, but this audio recording makes it impossible. It sounds extremely outdated, and is very distracting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Audio Quality is VERY poor for this book.

if you are interested in this book, you should check the audio quality, it is very very poor in this edition.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Read it, don't listen to it

I know it's irreverent, but I have to give the audio version of this book a 1. It's like listening to a 35hr lecture where a teacher reads straight from a book the whole time. It was more of a history book than anything. There are economic principles underlying what Smith says, but you won't grasp them just by listening to what he says in passing. It was really like listening to a textbook, and to really get something out of it you would not only have to read and reread, but maybe even highlight as well. I was sad to find that he only mentioned the "invisible hand" once in the whole book :( .

By and large, the book consisted of discussions about kings, meat, corn, wheat, ships, gold and silver...maybe you get the idea. Old, outdated material essentially. Of course there was nothing about the internet or outsourcing, which is what I have been spoiled with. He did discuss some timeless concepts though, such as demand and supply, taxation, militaries. To tell the truth it's hard to remember off the top of my head, because it was so lengthy and also because there were so many instances where I tuned out. It's very easy to let the audio play as you go about daily business and tune out. Maybe if you listen and devote full attention to it, the situation would be different. However, I find it hard to conceive that one could afford 35 hours of undivided attention to listen to a book. I think if you did it would be torturous, as its not exactly a page turner.

After all that, I'm still glad I got through it. I feel like a greater American for having done so. The country was founded on the principles outlined in this book. It's akin to reading the Bible, but for capitalistic economics. Also in this league is Darwin's Origin of Species, perhaps Communist Manifesto even. Listen to the preview and imagine 35 hours of it. Actual book might be just as tough, but audio was tough indeed. Oh yeah, quality stinks!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

The Voice Quality Not the Book

The Voice Quality of the book is terrible, Couldn't judge the content since the voice quality is aweful !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful