The Industrious Revolution

"Combining an encylcopaedic knowledge of the history of consumption of early-modern north-western Europe with a vigorous determination to use recent economic theory to unlock its meaning, Jan de Vries' The Industrious Revolution is by turns fascinating, provocative and illuminating. No student of consumption, whether historian or economist, can afford to ignore it." -John Brewer, California Institute of Technology

“This is an important book. The appearance of 'new goods' in the eighteenth century elicited a growing work effort and provided a spur to economic growth even more important than the industrial revolution itself. A similar profusion in the last few decades (and the rise of education) has driven women out of the home again and back into work. De Vries is a masterly and imaginative historian, who demonstrates enduring regularities behind the craving for goods over the last three centuries.” -Avner Offer, All Souls College, University of Oxford

“One of the most accomplished and influential economic historians of our age has produced a magisterial work that will force the entire profession to rethink the history of the household, work, leisure, and consumption in Europe over three centuries. Based on a wide and deep knowledge of his subject, De Vries has taken a novel and original approach to the joint determination of income and consumption by households. The “Industrious Revolution” will be discussed and taught for many years.” -Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University

"… this book will interest all concerned with human behaviour in its many forms … it contains interesting insights into the ways behaviour has changed over the past couple of centuries …" The Financial Times

"Buy, buy buy." -Times Literary Supplement

"A remarkable achievement, this seminal study will stimulate debate and research for years. Indispensable for academics and advanced undergraduates, it will intrigue some general readers. Essential" -Choice

"...it is staggerinly erudite, insightful, stimulating, and on all the main points, convincing." -Hans-Joachim Voth, EH.NET

"...breathtakingly erudite, accessibly written, and admirably concise." -John Styles, Journal of Economic History

"I would urge those who instinctively shy from books that trade in such terms as 'backward bending supply curves' to pick up this volume. If you read only one work of economic history this year, let this be it." -Michael Kwass, American Historical Review

"De Vries's work is a masterful synthesis that defies summary in a short review. He systematically summarizes, challenges, dissects, and reconstitutes countless interpretations that have formed the basis of the early modern economic historiography. For that reason alone, this book should be read by undergraduates and graduate students alike."
Canadian Journal of History, Stephen Moore