24 Books like The Box

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy

by Tim Harford • 2017

Fifty inventions, from barbed wire to infant formula, and the economic ripples nobody saw coming.

4.06

4k+

📜 Economic History 💡 Innovation Economics 🔧 Technological History

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy Summary

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy 95%

Fifty inventions, from barbed wire to infant formula, and the economic ripples nobody saw coming.

by Tim Harford 2017

4.06

4k+ ratings

📜 Economic History 💡 Innovation Economics 🔧 Technological History

Your Life Is Manufactured

by Tim Minshall • 2025

The hidden system that builds everything you touch is fragile and overdue for reinvention.

3.62

432

🚢 Global Supply Chains ♻️ Circular Economy 🏭 Industrial History

Your Life Is Manufactured 95%

The hidden system that builds everything you touch is fragile and overdue for reinvention.

by Tim Minshall 2025

3.62

432 ratings

🚢 Global Supply Chains ♻️ Circular Economy 🏭 Industrial History

A Splendid Exchange

by William J. Bernstein • 2008

Commerce, not conquest, built the modern world: the history of trade from obsidian to oil.

4.16

3k+

📈 Economic History 🌍 Global Trade 🕰️ Big History

A Splendid Exchange 95%

Commerce, not conquest, built the modern world: the history of trade from obsidian to oil.

by William J. Bernstein 2008

4.16

3k+ ratings

📈 Economic History 🌍 Global Trade 🕰️ Big History

Ninety Percent of Everything

by Rose George • 2013

Behind everything you own: an invisible, lawless ocean industry that makes globalization possible.

3.79

4k+

🚢 Shipping Industry 🏭 Hidden Industries ⚓ Maritime Labor

Ninety Percent of Everything 94%

Behind everything you own: an invisible, lawless ocean industry that makes globalization possible.

by Rose George 2013

3.79

4k+ ratings

🚢 Shipping Industry 🏭 Hidden Industries ⚓ Maritime Labor

Made in the USA

by Vaclav Smil • 2013

How the country that made a third of the planet's goods stopped making almost everything.

3.76

510

🏛️ Economic History 🏭 American Industry ⚡ Energy Economics

Made in the USA 94%

How the country that made a third of the planet's goods stopped making almost everything.

by Vaclav Smil 2013

3.76

510 ratings

🏛️ Economic History 🏭 American Industry ⚡ Energy Economics

Outside the Box

by Marc Levinson • 2020

Globalization moved goods and built China. The next phase trades ideas, and new winners emerge.

3.94

228

🏛️ Economic History 🌍 Global Trade 🔗 Supply Chains

Outside the Box 94%

Globalization moved goods and built China. The next phase trades ideas, and new winners emerge.

by Marc Levinson 2020

3.94

228 ratings

🏛️ Economic History 🌍 Global Trade 🔗 Supply Chains

The Pencil

by Henry Petroski • 1992

A pencil hides centuries of engineering failures, global trade, and the secret to good design.

3.80

657

🏭 History Of Technology 🏺 Material Culture ⚙️ Engineering Design

The Pencil 93%

A pencil hides centuries of engineering failures, global trade, and the secret to good design.

by Henry Petroski 1992

3.80

657 ratings

🏭 History Of Technology 🏺 Material Culture ⚙️ Engineering Design

How the World Ran Out of Everything

by Peter S. Goodman • 2024

The global supply chain was one shock from collapse, and decades of cost-cutting were the reason.

4.04

1k+

🚢 Global Supply Chains 🦠 Pandemic Economics 🌐 Globalization Critique

How the World Ran Out of Everything Summary

How the World Ran Out of Everything 93%

The global supply chain was one shock from collapse, and decades of cost-cutting were the reason.

by Peter S. Goodman 2024

4.04

1k+ ratings

🚢 Global Supply Chains 🦠 Pandemic Economics 🌐 Globalization Critique

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy

by Pietra Rivoli • 2005

A T-shirt's journey exposes the global economy's real engine: politics, migration, and subsidies.

3.69

3k+

🌐 Trade Politics 📦 Commodity Studies 🧵 Textile Industry

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy Summary

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy 93%

A T-shirt's journey exposes the global economy's real engine: politics, migration, and subsidies.

by Pietra Rivoli 2005

3.69

3k+ ratings

🌐 Trade Politics 📦 Commodity Studies 🧵 Textile Industry

The Square and the Tower

by Niall Ferguson • 2017

The real shapers of history were not kings but the networks connecting everyone else.

3.65

4k+

🌍 World History 💰 Economic History 📜 Big History

The Square and the Tower 93%

The real shapers of history were not kings but the networks connecting everyone else.

by Niall Ferguson 2017

3.65

4k+ ratings

🌍 World History 💰 Economic History 📜 Big History

Factory Man

by Beth Macy • 2014

John Bassett III bet against offshoring. The survival of his Virginia town hung on it.

3.87

3k+

🏭 American Manufacturing 🌍 Globalization Impact 🏘️ Small Town America

Factory Man 93%

John Bassett III bet against offshoring. The survival of his Virginia town hung on it.

by Beth Macy 2014

3.87

3k+ ratings

🏭 American Manufacturing 🌍 Globalization Impact 🏘️ Small Town America

Boeing Versus Airbus

by John Newhouse • 2007

Two radically different bets on the future of flight: the superjumbo vs. the long-range midsize.

3.61

478

✈️ Aerospace Industry 🏭 Industrial Competition 💰 Subsidy Wars

Boeing Versus Airbus 93%

Two radically different bets on the future of flight: the superjumbo vs. the long-range midsize.

by John Newhouse 2007

3.61

478 ratings

✈️ Aerospace Industry 🏭 Industrial Competition 💰 Subsidy Wars

The World Is Flat

by Thomas L. Friedman • 2005

Three billion new workers entered the global economy, and geography stopped deciding who wins.

3.69

103k+

🚢 Global Supply Chains 🧠 Knowledge Economy 📦 Outsourcing

The World Is Flat 93%

Three billion new workers entered the global economy, and geography stopped deciding who wins.

by Thomas L. Friedman 2005

3.69

103k+ ratings

🚢 Global Supply Chains 🧠 Knowledge Economy 📦 Outsourcing

The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective

by Robert C. Allen • 2009

Britain's Industrial Revolution was an accident of wages and coal prices, not genius or empire.

4.00

264

🕰️ Economic History 🏭 Industrial Revolution ⚙️ Technological Change

The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective Summary

The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective 93%

Britain's Industrial Revolution was an accident of wages and coal prices, not genius or empire.

by Robert C. Allen 2009

4.00

264 ratings

🕰️ Economic History 🏭 Industrial Revolution ⚙️ Technological Change

Freedom's Forge

by Arthur Herman • 2012

The decisive American weapon in World War II wasn't the atomic bomb; it was the assembly line.

4.33

3k+

🇺🇸 American Business History 🏭 Wartime Production 🏗️ Mass Production

Freedom's Forge 93%

The decisive American weapon in World War II wasn't the atomic bomb; it was the assembly line.

by Arthur Herman 2012

4.33

3k+ ratings

🇺🇸 American Business History 🏭 Wartime Production 🏗️ Mass Production

An Empire of Wealth

by John Steele Gordon • 2004

How a scrappy republic became the engine of global capitalism, from canals to microchips.

4.10

1k+

🏛️ Economic History 🏭 American Capitalism 💰 Financial History

An Empire of Wealth 93%

How a scrappy republic became the engine of global capitalism, from canals to microchips.

by John Steele Gordon 2004

4.10

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Economic History 🏭 American Capitalism 💰 Financial History

Moveable Feasts

by Sarah Murray • 2007

Rome needed grain ships. Cities need container ports. How moving food built the modern world.

3.55

205

📜 Food History 🌍 Global Food Trade 📦 Food Logistics

Moveable Feasts 92%

Rome needed grain ships. Cities need container ports. How moving food built the modern world.

by Sarah Murray 2007

3.55

205 ratings

📜 Food History 🌍 Global Food Trade 📦 Food Logistics

Industry and Empire

by Eric J. Hobsbawm • 1968

Britain's industrial head start created an empire-dependent economy destined to fall behind.

3.92

574

📈 Economic History 🏭 Industrial Revolution 🇬🇧 British History

Industry and Empire 92%

Britain's industrial head start created an empire-dependent economy destined to fall behind.

by Eric J. Hobsbawm 1968

3.92

574 ratings

📈 Economic History 🏭 Industrial Revolution 🇬🇧 British History

Hard Landing

by Thomas Petzinger Jr. • 1995

A busted union here, a rigged screen there: how two men's rivalry built modern air travel.

4.41

814

✈️ Airline Industry 🏢 Corporate History 📜 Deregulation

Hard Landing 92%

A busted union here, a rigged screen there: how two men's rivalry built modern air travel.

by Thomas Petzinger Jr. 1995

4.41

814 ratings

✈️ Airline Industry 🏢 Corporate History 📜 Deregulation

Automotive Global Value Chain

by Wilson Kia Onn Wong • 2017

Automakers outsourced everything, accidentally handing the wheel to a few giant suppliers.

🚗 Automotive Industry 📦 Supply Chain Management 🏭 Lean Manufacturing

Automotive Global Value Chain 92%

Automakers outsourced everything, accidentally handing the wheel to a few giant suppliers.

by Wilson Kia Onn Wong 2017

🚗 Automotive Industry 📦 Supply Chain Management 🏭 Lean Manufacturing

The Sea and Civilization

by Lincoln Paine • 2013

Before trains, the sea was the fastest highway. World history from the deck of a ship.

3.89

700

🧭 Maritime History 🌍 World History 🗺️ Indigenous Navigation

The Sea and Civilization 92%

Before trains, the sea was the fastest highway. World history from the deck of a ship.

by Lincoln Paine 2013

3.89

700 ratings

🧭 Maritime History 🌍 World History 🗺️ Indigenous Navigation

How Economics Explains the World

by Andrew Leigh • 2024

The entire human story, retold through scarcity, trade, and the accidents of birth.

3.91

3k+

🌍 Economic History 🏛️ Institutional Economics 🔄 Global Trade

How Economics Explains the World Summary

How Economics Explains the World 92%

The entire human story, retold through scarcity, trade, and the accidents of birth.

by Andrew Leigh 2024

3.91

3k+ ratings

🌍 Economic History 🏛️ Institutional Economics 🔄 Global Trade

The Gifts of Athena

by Joel Mokyr • 2002

The modern economy runs on a feedback loop between understanding nature and manipulating it.

4.02

136

📈 Economic History 🔧 History Of Technology 🧠 Knowledge Economies

The Gifts of Athena 92%

The modern economy runs on a feedback loop between understanding nature and manipulating it.

by Joel Mokyr 2002

4.02

136 ratings

📈 Economic History 🔧 History Of Technology 🧠 Knowledge Economies

Making It in America

by Rachel Slade • 2024

Sixty thousand American factories shuttered since NAFTA. One couple bet everything to open just one.

3.63

323

🏭 American Manufacturing 📉 Manufacturing Decline 📜 Trade Policy

Making It in America 92%

Sixty thousand American factories shuttered since NAFTA. One couple bet everything to open just one.

by Rachel Slade 2024

3.63

323 ratings

🏭 American Manufacturing 📉 Manufacturing Decline 📜 Trade Policy

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