Arthashastra: The Science of Wealth - Softcover

Trautmann's analysis and rendering of Arthashashtra is a unique exercise' - Business Standard This book is a definitive introduction to the classic text, the Arthashastra, the world's first manual on political economy. The 2000-year-old treatise is ascribed to Kautilya, the prime minister of King Chandragupta Maurya, and is as important to Indian thought as Machiavelli s The Prince is to Europe. Arthashastra, or 'the science of wealth', is a study of economic enterprise, and advises the king-entrepreneur on how to create prosperity. Thomas Trautmann s exploration of this seminal work illuminates its underlying economic philosophy and provides invaluable lessons for the modern age.

Thomas R. Trautmann is the author of Kautilya and the Arthashastra (1971) and other books on ancient India, including Aryans and British India (1997), The Aryan Debate (2005), Languages and Nations: The Dravidian Proof in Colonial Madras (2006) and India: Brief History of a Civilization (2010). He is professor emeritus of history and anthropology at the University of Michigan.