Laura Cruz - The Birth of Modern Europe [2010] [A]

It seems undeniable that Jan de Vries has cast an indelible impression upon the field of early modern economic history. With his rejection of traditional models that left pre-industrial Europe with little to no role to play in modern development, de Vries’ work has laid claim to the rich significance of the early modern period as the birth of the contemporary West. Culminating in The Industrious Revolution: Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy 1650 to the Present (2008), his work has changed the way scholars conceptualize and study this dynamic period, as the contributors in this volume attest. Utilizing the methods and concepts pioneered by de Vries, these authors display the depth and breadth of his influence, with applications ranging from trade to architecture, from the Netherlands to China, and from the 1400s to the present day.

Biographical note
Laura Cruz is an Associate Professor of History at Western Carolina University and Director of the Coulter Faculty Center. She currently serves as the President of the Society for Netherlandic History. Her research focuses on the economic culture of the Golden Age Netherlands, as exemplified in her recent book, The Paradox of Prosperity (Oak Knoll, 2009).

Joel Mokyr is the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University and Sackler Professor (by special appointment) at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at the University of Tel Aviv. He specializes in economic history and the economics of technological change and population change and has authored over 80 books and articles on these subjects. His most recent work, The Enlightened Economy, was published in 2009 by Yale University Press and Penguin Books.

Readership
All those interested in the economic history, early modern Europe, the history of consumption and material culture, and Netherlandic history, as well as economists, art/architecture historians, and sociologists.

Review
"[...] [T]hese are worthy pieces in a worthy cause."
Paul M. Hohenberg (emeritus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), EH.Net, December 2011