Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States

Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States is a book on the economic history of the United States of America by Michael Lind, first published in 2012 by HarperCollins. Omitting the economic circumstances of colonial America, it comprises a time frame that ranges from the Revolutionary War to the Great Recession. The book goes beyond re-narrating events by continually interpreting causes and effects as suggested by a view of history as linear, and its approach towards economics is of a decisively anti-libertarian nature which is exemplified by statements like "what is good about the American economy is largely the result of the Hamiltonian [...] tradition, and what is bad about it is largely the result of the Jeffersonian [...] school." While naturally preoccupied with the past, Land of Promise also looks ahead, makes conjectures about the future of America's economy and "ends on as optimistic a note as the title suggests, though it also acknowledges that failure is an option."