Why Nations Fail

Why are some nations rich and others poor? Economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue the answer lies not in geography or culture but in institutions. Where political and economic institutions are inclusive, opening opportunity to the many, prosperity follows; where they are extractive, serving a narrow elite, stagnation sets in. Ranging across centuries and continents, the book builds a powerful, readable case that human choices, not fate, decide a country’s fortunes. Mark Zuckerberg selected it for A Year of Books.