Writing about the shortcomings in historical and economic analysis is never easy, particularly when examining 20 years of research. Cathy Matson does well as editor of a volume that collects together papers presented at a conference sponsored by the Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES). The conference was titled “The Past and the Future of Early American Economic History: Needs and Opportunities,” and it examined research in early American economic history since 1985, which coincides with the first publication of John McCusker and Russell Menard's seminal work The Economy of British America, 1697–1789 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985). The theme “needs and opportunities” repeats the subtitle from McCusker and Menard, making clear the connection in the essayists' intentions. Each essay is thoroughly researched and discusses the good and bad aspects of the current state of research and potentially promising directions for future work. As the title of the book suggests, the essays are more inclined to start debate on an issue than to end it.

Matson starts the volume with a historiographical essay detailing the intellectual development of economic history and the eventual split between econometrically oriented research and a more thematic cultural approach (pp. 5–11). It is a rich story repeated in the essays by David Hancock, Russell Menard, and Lorena Walsh. There is no formal plea for renewed cooperation but the need for reconciliation to advance the field is abundantly clear. Matson's introduction to early American economic history covers 100 years of research prior to 1985. She then examines the field after 1985, doing a wonderful job pointing out the rich opportunities that still exist for research as she provides context for each of the book's chapters.

Hancock, Menard, and Walsh's essays point to the need for renewed discussion and debate as well as the need for a more integrated economic history combining research into cultural institutions and characteristics with rigorous statistical investigation. Hancock reflects on the 20 years since McCusker and Menard's book and how closely the discipline followed the agenda they set out. He finds that many of the questions set forth in 1985 still lack answers, particularly the central questions of growth and development in the colonial times and the early republic. Historians branched out to other topics, not less interesting or worthy of study, but pushing us further away from an integrated economic history of early America. Menard illustrates the need for integration of many fields when he discusses agricultural practices and performance in the colonies. It is not possible to reasonably discuss agricultural productivity growth without also discussing labor markets and practices, capital formation, land policy, migration and other demographic measures, and a host of other factors. Walsh develops a similar idea in her essay on population issues, pointing to the lack of advancement in the estimation of early population figures particularly for the African and African American segments of the Chesapeake and goes so far as to speculate why some issues remain unresolved: the decline of large scale collaborative projects (p. 125).

Brooke Hunter's essay on the Hessian fly highlights the lack of environmental economic history for this time period. The cyclical response of environment to economy and economy to environment receives insufficient attention in the literature currently and is another important part of an integrated examination of productivity and entrepreneurship in early America. Entrepreneurial activity takes center stage in Donna Rilling's essay on the building trade and the efforts of builders to become self sufficient and wealthy. Rilling's essay highlights the intersections of real estate markets, financial markets and labor markets in Philadelphia at this time and the need for integration of these topics by researchers.

Seth Rockman, David Waldstreicher, and Christopher Tomlins provide excellent discussions of labor market issues. Rockman (p. 336) argues for a revision of the transition to capitalism literature recognizing better the role of “unfree labor” upon economic development after the attainment of political independence. Waldstreicher points to the complex influences working on Benjamin Franklin's thoughts on slavery and how his position changed over time. Tomlins (p. 147) argues for a reassessment of our thinking about the role of “migrant servitude” in the colonial labor force and therefore later institutional developments. Their contributions point to a significant need for altering the involvement of slaves and indentured servants in the political economy of the early republic.

Terry Bouton, Daniel Dupre, and John Majewski focus on monetary and financial matters in their essays. Bouton provides a different view of monetary development in the early republic Pennsylvania arguing that privatization of currency provision exacerbated financial problems and did not improve economic performance as suggested in the recent literature. Dupre examines the rise of sectional and political tensions in the early republic drawing attention to the understudied Panic of 1819. Majewski argues for a reassessment of the “market revolution” in the early republic and an examination of political and social attitudes towards stock ownership, which was more widespread and more in demand than commonly believed.

This book is a valuable first step towards reinvigorating debate and investigation into the economy in early America. It contains challenging restatements and reinterpretations of major issues in the early formation and development of the United States. Although each essay represents an independently rich and complex story, we are better served by recognizing the larger need for a more unified narrative that cuts across regions and markets, and ultimately disciplines, and recognizes the interrelatedness of these ideas. In the end, this book may meet one of the Hancock's (p. 95) aims for further research: scholars may adopt the attitude of McCusker and Menard and become more open to a variety of research from diverse disciplines and start drawing together this wider literature into a unified theme.