Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism
Bhu Srinivasan tells the story of the United States through the businesses and industries that shaped it, from the Virginia Company and the tobacco trade to Silicon Valley and shale oil. He moves chronologically through fur, cotton, railroads, steel, automobiles, radio, aviation, computers, and finance, showing how each wave created wealth, disruption, and political conflict. Srinivasan writes as a former startup founder turned historian, and his prose is brisk and journalistic rather than academic. He is honest about the roles of slavery, immigration, war, and government intervention in American economic history, resisting easy triumphalism. The book offers a coherent overview of how the country's economy actually grew.
What you might want to know about Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A sweeping narrative history of American capitalism organized around the industries that defined each era.
Not exactly. Srinivasan tells the story with real admiration for American enterprise, but he also documents the costs, including slavery, dispossession, and financial crashes.
No. The book is written for a general reader and explains business and financial concepts as it goes.
Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism was written by Bhu Srinivasan, published in 2017 by Penguin Press.
Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism is 592 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism takes most readers 9 to 13 hours to finish.
Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
