The Nature of Economies is written in the form of a Platonicdialogue, a conversation over coffee among five contemporary NewYorkers. The question they discuss is: Does economic life obey the samerules as those governing the systems in nature? For example, can thewayfields and forests maximize their intakes and uses of sunlight teach ussomething about how economies expand wealth and jobs and can do this inenvironmentally beneficial ways? The underlying question is both simpleand profound, and the answers that emerge will shape the way peoplethink about how economies really work.

The New York Times described Jane Jacobs's The Death and Lifeof Great American Cities as "first of all a work of literature."Theaccessibility of her prose -- The New Criterion called it"majestic" -- stands as Jacobs's hallmark. She is the rarest ofanalyticthinkers, both an economic visionary and an artist. Examining complexsystems with the wit, style, and clear eye of the masterly essayist, inThe Nature of Economies Jacobs once again accomplishes the nearimpossible: She fundamentally challenges some of the establishedprinciples of economics while writing in a style that enthralls thegeneral reader.

The Nature of Economies is written in the form of a Platonic dialogue, a conversation over coffee among five contemporary New Yorkers. The question they discuss is: Does economic life obey the same rules as those governing the systems in nature? For example, can the way fields and forests maximize their intakes and uses of sunlight teach us something about how economies expand wealth and jobs and can do this in environmentally beneficial ways? The underlying question is both simple and profound, and the answers that emerge will shape the way people think about how economies really work.

The New York Times described Jane Jacobs's The Death and Life of Great American Cities as "first of all a work of literature." The accessibility of her prose -- The New Criterion called it "majestic" -- stands as Jacobs's hallmark. She is the rarest of analytic thinkers, both an economic visionary and an artist. Examining complex systems with the wit, style, and clear eye of the masterly essayist, in The Nature of Economies Jacobs once again accomplishes the near impossible: She fundamentally challenges some of the established principles of economics while writing in a style that enthralls the general reader.