The Rise and Fall of American Growth

Robert J. Gordon, an economics professor at Northwestern University, calls the hundred years after 1870 the Special Century, when television, air travel, cars, indoor plumbing and electric light changed American homes and workplaces. The first half traces the standard of living before World War II; the second covers the rest of that century and the decades since 1970, which Gordon sees as a time of flatlining growth and insecure work. He argues that innovations on that scale cannot be repeated, and that an aging population, stagnating education, rising inequality and mounting student and federal debt will hold productivity back. In 2016 it reached the shortlist for the Financial Times and McKinsey business book prize.

Satya Nadella included it among seven books for leading smarter, pointing to its conclusion that innovation drives the biggest gains in the human condition, and it sits on Patrick Collison's bookshelf. Brad Feld called it a grind but full of good material for understanding the current American economy.