Table of Contents

Preface ix Chapter 1: Truth on the Cross Science and Ideology 1 Chapter 2: Economics with a Human Face? 18 Chapter 3: The Fanciful World of Clio 54 Chapter 4: The World We Have Lost Microeconomic History 87 Chapter 5: The World We Have Lost Macroeconomic Perspectives 120 Chapter 6: Building on the Past The Creative Power of History 138 References 173 Index 209

About the Author

Francesco Boldizzoni is research fellow in economic history at the University of Bari and a life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He is the author of "Means and Ends: The Idea of Capital in the West, 1500-1970".

Reviews

"Most of Boldizzoni's examples of bad economic history are also examples of bad economics. There are no shortcuts to good work. The merit of this book is to remind us of that sad truth."--George Grantham, Journal of Economic History "[Boldizzoni's] sensible guidelines--which do not negate the importance of either theory or quantification--should become standard practice for historians who want to venture beyond their own discipline into the world of social science."--Michael B. Katz, Journal of American History "The Poverty of Clio is a forceful denunciation of the impact of economic reasoning and techniques in the study of economic history."--Richard A. Almeida, International Social Science Review "The Poverty of Clio is a vigorous polemic that convincingly points out the deficiencies of current economic history. It is an extremely learned book that draws on a wide array of research from different fields... [T]he book makes an important contribution to rethinking the state of the art and to--hopefully--realigning economic history more closely with general history."--Justus Nipperdey, European Review of History