The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, And the World Economy, 1400 to the Present (Sources and Studies in World History)

The book is excellent for AP World History for a number of reasons:

1- It thesis ties directly into one of the main themes of the AP World History course.

2- It is divided up into sections dealing with different aspects of world trade, making the book highly readable for 10th graders.

3- The topics are interesting to the kids. They especially liked reading about Drugs: Chocolate, Tea, and Coffee.

I wanted to use Diamond's book this year, but fell in love with this book. Maybe I'll try both. I can hear the groans and gnashing of teeth now!


The World That Trade Created by Pomeranz   July 31, 2004
Joseph S. Maresca (Bronxville, New York USA)
12 out of 21 found this review helpful

This book covers the history of trade in the New World. It begins by discussing the Aztec Indians. The Aztecs traded rubber, chocolate, Jaguarian Pelts and other fine products.
The author also discusses the beginnings of global trade in
Asia during the 1400s and beyond. This book provides an
excellent supplement to the theoretical and practical
history of Economics. It complements works; such as,
"The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith and the writings of
David Ricardo, Malthus and others.


Wonderful and realistic   November 30, 2003
Lee Arbuckle (Billings, MT United States)
10 out of 18 found this review helpful

Products: Sugar, coffee, tea, textiles, etc. Areas: Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, etc. Economic issues: contracts, finance, property rights, information, technology. I am familiar with a number of the areas Pomeranz and Topik describe and greatly appreciate their eclectic, realistic, universal viewpoint. Highly recommend.


A fun read!   August 1, 2000
Thomas M. Martin (San Francisco, CA USA)
63 out of 66 found this review helpful

Several years ago, a former student called on his history professors to write a short entertaining article in a magazine he had started for businessmen. This article became a regular feature in the magazine, and now these short stories - these vignettes - have been organized thematically into a book.

*The World That Trade Created* proves that economic history need not be boring or dry. While the stories introduce readers to people, places, times, and events that put "globalization" into historical perspective, this is definitely not a textbook. Perhaps the highest compliment that I can offer is that it is more suited to the bedside table than the classroom.

Pomeranz and Topik have assembled an entertaining and informative collage of historical snapshots centered more around oceans than continents, and (despite the 1400-Present subtitle) more upon the premodern and early modern trade than modern international trade. For the most part, this is a world in which geography and meteorology impose formidable, but not insuperable barriers to trans-hemispheric encounter and exchange, a world where drugs (coffee, sugar, chocolate, opium) "are the foundation of the world economy, not its aberration," a world which is not Eurocentric, but polycentric and multi-cultural.

There is something for everyone in this book - businessmen, travelers, history buffs, economists, geographers, students, and educators. The only thing missing are maps which, given the exotic locales that are often introduced, would be extremely helpful.


A wonderful Overview   September 10, 2002
RV (California, United States)
45 out of 48 found this review helpful

This is a very entertaining overview of the development of world trade and world economy. The short essays (3 to 4 pages each) each cover a different topic and are far too short to become boring. If anything some of the chapters are too short.

The authors take an approach which is refereshingly not euro-centric, with many chapters covering the Far East and South America. In fact the authors' cynicism and disapproval of the hypocracy of European colonial expansion is a recurring theme throughout the book.

My favorite essay in the book discusses the rise and fall of Potosi, now a small dusty town in Bolivia but formerly one of the largest and richest cities in the world. Potosi's wealth came from the numerous silver mines dug into Cerro Rico, a mountain overlooking the city. Once the silver was gone, so were the good times. Having visited Potosi in 1993, I was delighted to read about the former glory and world renown of what is now, essentially little more than a vilage.

The book covers such varied topics as the connection between tea and the drug trade; the adoption of international timezones; piracy; the origin of coffee; and the impact of slave trade on the industrial revolution.

Overall the book is a great read interspresed with many amusing anecdotes that make history come alive. If you are interested in history, I definitely recommend this book.