"Sociologist Beckert provides a thoughtful overview and analysis of the development of inheritance law in the US, Germany, and France, focusing on the period from the 1700s to the present... Beckert successfully argues that the three countries' trajectories have reflected important cultural, political, and economic differences, and he rejects earlier arguments that the process has been driven by increased individualization. ... Read moreBecause the book is balanced and knowledgeably covers an immense amount of ground, the reader quickly comes to respect Beckert's arguments and insights."
R. M. Whaples, Wake Forest University, for Choice "Breathtaking in its detail and logic, Beckert's analysis is constructed with the precision of an economist building a model."
Livio Di Matteo, Canadian Journal of Sociology "Inherited Wealth is foremost an enjoyable and erudite invitation to an extremely interesting yet understudied research area. Beckert successfully captures the reader's interest in the empirical relations and normative issues addressed in his book."
Andrea Pozas-Loyo, Law and Politics Book Review "Translated into English and aimed at an academic audience, this volume draws on a wealth of French and German sources not readily accessible to Anglophone scholars and offers an unusually comprehensive comparative analysis."
Anne Alstott, Socio-Economic Review "Jens Beckert has produced a fascinating and admirable work... Beckert offers a number of interesting ideas. He goes over the important debates and the writers on inheritance law and thus contributes to intellectual history... He has a methodology for exploring debates, content analysis, that is worthy of attention because it can be obviously used in a vast number of American studies of ideology
indeed, a formulation that I think is particularly apropos to the Civil War era... The interpretations are sound, the use of theory wise, the methodology instructive, and the information provocative. For individuals in legal history, political history, and transatlantic studies, this book comes with the highest recommendation."
James Huston, Journal of Social History Show Less