"The Thomas Piketty-esque economic must read of the year."鈥擱ana Foroohar, Time
"This is a book well worth reading—a magisterial combination of deep technological history, vivid portraits of daily life over the past six generations and careful economic analysis. . . . [The Rise and Fall of American Growth] will challenge your views about the future; [and] it will definitely transform how you see the past."鈥擯aul Krugman, New York Times Book Review
"[An] authoritative examination of innovation through the ages."鈥擭eil Irwin, New York Times
"Robert Gordon has written a magnificent book on the economic history of the United States over the last one and a half centuries. . . . The book is without peer in providing a statistical analysis of the uneven pace of growth and technological change, in describing the technologies that led to the remarkable progress during the special century, and in concluding with a provocative hypothesis that the future is unlikely to bring anything approaching the economic gains of the earlier period. . . . If you want to understand our history and the economic dilemmas faced by the nation today, you can spend many a fruitful hour reading Gordon's landmark study."鈥擶illiam D. Nordhaus, New York Review of Books
"[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] is full of wonder for the miraculous things that America has accomplished."鈥擡dward Glaeser, Wall Street Journal
"A masterful study to be read and reread by anyone interested in today's political economy."鈥�Kirkus Reviews
"Normally, these kinds of big-think books end with a whimper, as the author totally fails to identify solutions to the problem he is writing about. But Gordon's conclusion offers some admirably definitive policy advice."鈥擬atthew Yglesias, Vox
"Gordon uses exhaustive historic data to buttress his thesis."鈥擥reg Ip, Wall Street Journal
"Magnificent. . . . Gordon presents his case . . . with great style and panache, supporting his argument with vivid examples as well as econometric data. . . . Even if history changes direction . . . this book will survive as a superb reconstruction of material life in America in the heyday of industrial capitalism."鈥�The Economist
"Every presidential candidate should be asked what policies he or she would offer to increase the pace of U.S. productivity growth and to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the economy. Bob Gordon's list is a good place to start."鈥擠avid Wessel, WSJ.com
"The year's most important book on economics. . . . What Gordon has provided is not a rejection of technology but a sobering reminder of its limits."鈥擱obert Samuelson, Washington Post
"Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship. . . . Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical . . . and on the other a pleasure to read. . . . [A] landmark work."鈥擫awrence Summers, Prospect
"A landmark new book."鈥擥avin Kelly, The Guardian
"Ambitious. . . . The hefty tome, minutely detailed yet dauntingly broad in scope, offers a lively portrayal of the evolution of American living standards since the Civil War."鈥擡duardo Porter, New York Times
"Two years ago a huge book on economics took the world by storm. Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century . . . became a surprise bestseller. . . . Robert Gordon's tome on American economic growth stretches to 768 pages and its central message is arguably more important."鈥擠avid Smith, Sunday Times
"Looking ahead, judging presidents by policies rather than outcomes may be all the more important. In a new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the economist Robert Gordon argues that we are in the midst of an era of meager technological change. Yes, we now have smartphones and Twitter, but previous generations introduced electric lighting, indoor plumbing and the internal combustion engine. In Mr. Gordon's view, technological change is just not what it used to be, and we had better get used to slower growth in productivity and incomes."鈥擭. Gregory Mankiw, New York Times
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth is likely to be the most interesting and important economics book of the year. It provides a splendid analytic take on the potency of past economic growth, which transformed the world from the end of the nineteenth century onward. . . . Gordon's book serves as a powerful reminder that the U.S. economy really has gone through a protracted slowdown and that this decline has been caused by the stagnation in technological progress."鈥擳yler Cowen, Foreign Affairs
"[A]n important new book."鈥擬artin Ford, Huffington Post
"[A] lightning bolt of a new book."鈥擧arold Meyerson, American Prospect
"So powerful and intriguing are the facts and arguments marshaled by Gordon that even informed critics who think he is wrong recommend that readers plow through his The Rise and Fall of American Growth, with its 60 graphics and 64 tables spread over more than 700 pages. You don't need to be an economist to appreciate or understand the book. His thesis is straightforward."鈥擠avid Cay Johnston, Al Jazeera America.com
"What is novel about Gordon's approach to this problem is that he doesn't try to find political causes for our economic woes. . . . Exhaustive and sweeping in scope, and novel in its thinking about growth."鈥擟hris Matthews, Fortune.com
"[A] fascinating new book."鈥擩effrey Sachs, Boston Globe
"One of the most important books of recent years. . . . Powerful and impressive."鈥擟ass R. Sunstein, Bloomberg View
"This is a tremendous, sobering piece of research, which does a lot to explain the febrile, nervous state of modern Western democracies."鈥擬arcus Tanner, The Independent
"A new book by economist Robert Gordon—The Rise and Fall of American Growth—is causing quite a stir."鈥�City A.M.
"If he's right, and one links this with growing income inequality, our would-be leaders will have difficulty in making the case for achieving the American dream through steady incremental progress achieved through collaboration and political compromise."鈥擬ichael Hoffmann, Desert Sun
"Robert Gordon's new book on productivity in the U.S. economy, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, is masterful. . . . Gordon skillfully lays out myriad information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal."鈥擡dward Lotterman, St. Paul Pioneer Press
"[I]mpressive."鈥擯eter Martin, Sydney Morning Herald
"In his unsettling new book, Gordon, who teaches at Northwestern, weighs in on the role of technology in the U.S. over the past century-and-a-half. He does so forcefully, so forcefully, in fact, as to wipe the smiles off the faces of most techno-optimists, myself included."鈥擯eter A. Coclanis, Charlotte Observer
"[A] thoughtful new book."鈥擠avid D. Haynes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] is this year's equivalent to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century: an essential read for all economists, who are unanimously floored by its boldness and scope even if they don't agree with its conclusions."鈥擜dam Davidson, New York Times Magazine
"Gordon makes a compelling case for why the era of fast growth in America ended around 1970 and will not return in the foreseeable future, if ever."鈥擠ick Meyer, DecodeDC
"Gordon argues that we are not going to get another surge soon and that there are several headwinds that are going to work against faster growth, including income inequality, education as a differentiator and not an equalizer, the debt overhang, and demography."鈥擩ohn Mason, TheStreet.com
"[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago. . . . [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: ‘Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower?"鈥擯aul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency
"[M]asterful. . . . Gordon skillfully lays out information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal. . . . The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a rare example of a work with solid economics that can be understood, and enjoyed, by nearly any lay person."鈥擡d Lotterman, Idaho Statesman
"As an economic historian, Gordon is beyond reproach."鈥擡dward Luce, Financial Times
"笔谤辞惫辞肠补迟颈惫别."鈥�Associated Press
"[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] has set the wonky world of economics aflame."鈥擱yan Craig, TechCrunch
"Magisterial."鈥擩ohn Kay, Financial Times
"[A] contentious new book."鈥擬argaret Wente, Globe & Mail
"[A] fabulous new book. . . . Impressive."鈥擬ike Walden, Morganton News Herald
"Northwestern Bob Gordon's new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, offers a deeper explanation for the underlying mechanics behind slowed economic growth."鈥擩on Hartley, Forbes.com
"So much of what the presidential candidates and the American people want to accomplish over the next four years and beyond depends on the U.S. economy growing faster, and more inclusively, than it has in recent years. This year's hot economics book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, by one of America's most distinguished macroeconomists, Robert Gordon, casts a pall on whether this is possible, arguing that the U.S. had a golden century of increasing innovation from roughly 1870 to 1970, but this was unique."鈥擱obert Litan, Fortune.com
"Gordon's book offers the definitive account of how the many technological innovations between 1870 and 1940 dramatically improved life in the United States."鈥擱ichard A. Epstein, Hoover Institution's Defining Ideas
"Magiserial. . . . The Northwestern University professor lays out the case that the productivity miracle underlying the American way of life was largely a one-time deal."鈥擬att Phillips, Quartz
"Robert Gordon's new book The Rise and Fall of American Growth has taken the economics world by storm this winter."鈥擬yles Udland, Business Insider
"Massive."鈥擝en Casselman, FiveThirty Eight
"Groundbreaking."鈥擹eeshan Aleem, Mic
"With a painstaking—and fascinating—historical analysis of American productivity, [Gordon] argues that the innovations of today pale in comparison to earlier in our history and that we might actually be entering a period of prolonged stagnation. He may very well be right."鈥擥reg Satell, Forbes.com
"笔谤辞惫辞肠补迟颈惫别."鈥擝arrie McKenna, The Globe & Mail
"Influential."鈥擬artin Neil Baily, Fortune.com
"[A] stimulating book."鈥擥eorge Will, Washington Post
"Compulsive reading."鈥擜ndrew Hilton, Financial World
"Gordon is not an alarmist, far from it. His is a sober voice of concern, of caution, which needs to be heard by those in the helm in America. And a fascinating lesson for ambitious and growing countries like India."鈥擱. Balashankar, Sunday Guardian
"[A] fascinating convergence of green and mainstream thought."鈥擳om Horton, Chesapeake Bay Journal
"This panoramic book makes good reading."鈥擲hane Greenstein, Harvard Magazine
"The book's great contribution is the tapestry it weaves of all the innovations that changed most Americans' lives beyond recognition in the century from 1870 to 1970."鈥擬artin Sandbu, Financial Times
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth is unquestionably an important book that raises fundamental questions about the United States' economy and society."鈥�New Criterion
"[A] masterpiece."鈥擬artin Wolf, Financial Times
"[An] impressive book. . . . Gordon's book provides sufficient ammunition to show the colossal problems facing capitalism."鈥�Socialism Today
"Rich with detailed information, meticulous observations, and even anecdotes and stories . . . a fascinating read."鈥擱icardo F. Levi, Corriere della Sera
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth is essential reading for anyone interested in economics."鈥�Choice
"In an important new book, economist Robert Gordon makes the case for pessimism. He believes that technologies like smartphones, robots, and artificial intelligence aren't going to have the kind of big impact on the economy that earlier inventions—like the internal combustion engine and electricity—did."鈥擳imothy B. Lee, Vox
"Robert Gordon has written an engaging economic-based history of America. . . . Gordon is to be commended for helping to stimulate a national debate on the current low level of economic productivity."鈥擜llan Hauer, Innovation: The Journal of Technology & Commercialization
"If you want to see how far we have come and how tough life was a century and a half ago, read Gordon's book."鈥擠avid R. Henderson, Regulation
"A fantastic read."鈥擝ill Gates, GatesNotes
"The book is well written, and one can only be in awe of Gordon's mastery of the factual history of the American standard of living."鈥擱obert A. Margo, EH.net
"Monumental."鈥擩ohn Cassidy, NewYorker.com
"Zeitgeist-defining."鈥擬yles Udland, Business Insider
"[A] magisterial treatise."鈥擭ick Gillespie, Reason.com
"An essential read for anyone interested not only in US economic history but also American economic prospects . . . a tremendous achievement."鈥擠iane Coyle, Enlightened Economist
"A comprehensive history of American economic growth."鈥擡ric Rauchway, American Prospect
"Professor Robert J. Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a magisterial volume that will benefit any serious student of economics, demographics or history."鈥擶endell Cox, New Geography
"A wonderful new book."鈥擩eff Sachs, Boston Globe
"The most important economics book of 2016."鈥擲teve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
"This spectacular history traces the rise and the plateau of the American economy since industrialization."鈥擩ay Weiser, Weekly Standard
"[A] landmark book. . . . An impressive history of how the American people progressed in their standards of living and productivity in the ‘golden century' of 1870-1970."鈥擲tephen M. Millett, Strategy & Leadership
"Gordon's encyclopedic The Rise and Fall of American Growth, a new history of modern U.S. economic life, [is] perhaps the best yet written."鈥擩onathan Levy, Dissent
"One of our greatest economic historians. . . . Gordon's exhaustive research program . . . has knocked me back on my intellectual heels."鈥擩. Bradford DeLong, Strategy + Business
"This is the most important book on economics in many years."鈥擬artin Wolf, Financial Times
"Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth set out a thesis of technological diminishing returns that does much to explain an age of economic pessimism."鈥擫orien Kite, Financial Times
"In the course of Gordon's book, a vivid picture of everyday life as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived it emerges. . . . What lingers in my mind, alongside these ideas, is a new, weightier sense of the past, and of what the people who lived in it ate, touched, heard, saw, and did. Reading The Rise and Fall of American Growth, I thought a lot about my grandparents. Gordon's book has made their lives more real to me."鈥擩oshua Rothman, NewYorker.com
"Magisterial. . . . While the book has gotten attention because of its bold projection of slow growth in the future, this is actually just one small element of a magnificent and detailed presentation of how our economy has changed since 1870. Most people don't fully appreciate what life was like in the past and Gordon gives a blow-by-blow description of how people lived in America from 1870 on. In addition, he carefully explains how each new innovation was created and how its adoption changed people's lives."鈥擲tephen Rose, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
"Gordon constructs a strong case using conventional economic principles and exacting data measurement."鈥擠on Pittis, CBC News
"Gordon's genius is to weave together economic history with the story of the technology, know-how, politic, demographics and medicine that made the astonishing progress of the US perhaps the most remarkable ever."鈥擲ean O'Grady, The Independent
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth, by Robert Gordon, is that rarest thing: a work of densely researched macroeconomics that is compulsively readable."鈥擝ill Morris, The Millions
"The author's method has the merit of being straightforward as well as robust. . . . The carefully woven tapestry offered by Rise and Fall leaves no corner in the shade."鈥擩ean-Pierre Dormois, La Vie des Idees
""Based on an impressive range of quantitative data and literature . . . its approach to the concept of the standard of living is innovative."鈥擲imone Selva, Economic History Review
"A great achievement of synthesis . . . presents a fascinating and provocative thesis."鈥擶alter Friedman, American Historical Review
"Authoritative. . . . The book puts anyone who argues that sluggish growth is not the new normal on the defensive. He or she needs to argue against not just the evidence of continuing modest productivity growth but also against Gordon’s compelling narrative."鈥擩ohn G. Fernald, National Association for Business Economics
"The story of our standard of living is a vital part of American history and is well told in this fascinating book. Gordon provides colorful details and striking statistics about how the way we live has changed, and he asks whether we will live happily ever after. His answer will surprise you and challenge conventional assumptions about the future of economic growth. This book is a landmark—there is nothing else like it." —Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate in Economics
"A towering achievement that will utterly transform the debate on U.S. productivity and growth. Robert Gordon chronicles the stunning swiftness with which American lives have advanced since 1870, and raises profound questions about whether we have benefitted from one-offs that cannot be repeated. Combining eloquent description with forceful and clear economic analysis, Gordon's voice is gripping and compelling. This is economic history at its best."—Kenneth S. Rogoff, coauthor of This Time Is Different
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a tour de force with an immensely important bottom line. It is packed, page after page, with insights and facts that every reader will find fascinating and new. A profound book that also happens to be a marvelous read."—George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics
"Keynes dismissed concerns about economic trends by remarking that in the long run, we are all dead. Gordon turns this upside down by reminding us that we inherited somebody else's long run. If you care about the legacy we will leave future generations, read this richly detailed account of America's amazing century of growth."—Paul Romer, New York University
"Robert Gordon has written the book on wealth—how Americans made it and enjoyed it in the past. If we're going to create more wealth in the future instead of arguing about dividing a shrinking pie, we have to read and understand this book."—Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, investor, and author of Zero to One
"This book is as important as it is unsettling. Gordon makes a compelling case that the golden age of growth is over. Anyone concerned with our economic future needs to carefully consider his argument."—Lawrence Summers, Harvard University
"In The Rise and Fall of American Growth, Gordon looks at the evolution of consumption and the standard of living in the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present day. His work brims with the enthusiasm of discovery and is enriched by personal anecdotes and insights derived over a long and very productive career."—Alexander J. Field, Santa Clara University
"The Rise and Fall of American Growth makes use of economic history to argue that Americans should expect the rate of economic growth to be, on average, slower in the future than it has been in the recent past. Gordon is the most important exponent of the pessimistic view working today and this is an exceptional book."—Louis Cain, Loyola University Chicago
