Review
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"[Scott's work] has focussed on a skeptical, peasant's-eye view of state formation. . . . His best-known
book, Seeing Like a State, has become a touchstone for political scientists, and as to a blistering critique of
central planning and 'high modernism.' . . . Scott's new book extends these ideas into the deep past, and draws on
existing research to argue that ours is not a story of linear progress, that the time line is much more complicated, and
that the causal sequences of the standard version are wrong."--John Lanchester, New Yorker
"Against the Grain delivers not only a darker story but also a broad understanding of the forces that shaped the
formation of states and why they collapsed -- right up to the industrial age . . . an excellent book."--Ben Collyer, New
Scientist
"Scott offers an alternative to the conventional narrative that is altogether more fascinating, not least in the way it
omits any self-congratulation about human achievement. His account of the deep past doesn't purport to be definitive,
but it is surely more accurate than the one we are used to."--Steven Mithen, London Review of Books
"Forget the Paleo Diet: Scott goes all the way in showing how early nomadic peoples in the Fertile Crescent were fitter,
happier and more productive than the semi-enslaved ziggurat-builders of the ancient Mesopotamian cities."--James Whipple
(M.E.S.H), Frieze
"This is an important book, which should be read by every educated person. The story it tells is so different, so
sed, to the received narrative it deserves to be everywhere known. Scott's presentation of evidence is so complete
that the received narrative simply can no longer stand. Additionally, Scott writes extremely well: a clear, unambiguous,
approachable style, with occasional sparkles of gentle humour to ease the way. The book is an intellectual
delight."--George Gale, Metascience
"Scott's original book is history as it should be written" -- Barry Cunliffe, Guardian
"History as it should be written--an analysis of the deep forces exposed to the eternal conflict between humans and
their environment. What makes it even more welcome is that it has been written with the enthusiasm of discovery."--Barry
Cunliffe, Guardian
"Written with great enthusiasm and characteristic flair . . . Scott hits the nail squarely on the head by exposing the
staggering price our ancestors paid for civilisation and political order."--Walter Scheidel, Financial Times
An Economist Best History Book 2017
"Fascinating."--George Monbiot, Guardian
"The most interesting non-fiction read of the year. . . . Urgently recommended, and fun to read as well."--Tyler Cowen,
Marginal Revolution
"Fascinating. . . . Our agrarian-biased view of history, Scott concludes, could use some reworking. Most of the world's
early human populations likely enjoyed semisettled, semiagrarian lives beyond the state's grasp."--Suzanne Shablovsky,
Science
"Fascinating. . . . Thinkers like Scott remind us that who we thought we are might not necessarily be the case. Such
knowledge is empowering."--Derek Beres, Big Think
"[Against the Grain] presents a comprehensive and convincing case that the transition from hunter-gatherer nomadism to
permanent, agriculturally dependent settlements was a complete disaster for humankind. . . . Whatever your political
leanings, the implications of Scott's book are as fascinating as they are wide-ranging."--Will Collins, The American
Conservative
"James C. Scott [is] an eminent and iconoclastic political scientist. . . . In his rich and varied career, Scott has
found many ways to second-guess structures that prop up the powerful. . . . Although Against the Grain is not a large
book, it is a kind of thematic summa of Scott's work so far, as it reworks the entire canvas of history by reconsidering
its origins through the lens of state-formation."--Jedediah Purdy, The New Republic
"One of those rare books that really changes your worldview -- or somehow crystallizes where your mind has been
trending."--Andrew Sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, New York Magazine
"For more than 40 years, James Scott has written about those who resist being incorporated into political-economic
systems. . . . In a provocative new book, Against the Grain, Scott now challenges us to rethink legends about the state
and its origins."--Jacob Levy, Reason
"The story of a complex pattern of grain agriculture, early states, forced labor, and the extraction of surplus, and how
all of these things were connected in ways that researchers previously never suspected. . . Scott is a writer of
extraordinary talent. . . . The constant interplay between the present and the distant past is one of the most appealing
aspects of this book."--Jason Kuznicki, Cato Journal
"Extremely well written and informative. . . . A very important and original contribution to the growing literature on
the political economy of the state."--Ennio E. Piano, Public Choice
"Against the Grain . . . is bound to shape how we think about this topic for years to come."--Johann Strube, Agriculture
and Human Values
Finalist for the 2018 CT Book Award
"A sweeping and provocative look at the 'rise of civilization, ' focusing particularly on those parts, peoples, and
issues that are normally overlooked in conventional historical narratives."--Alison Betts, The University of Sydney
"This book is fascinating and original, containing a lesson on every page. Brilliant. James Scott is a legend."--Tim
Harford, author of Messy and The Undercover Economist
"Scott is at his most intellectually omnivorous in Against the Grain, drawing on a vast array of sources to upend our
basic assumptions about state formation and civilization."--Edward D. Melillo, author of Strangers on Familiar Soil:
Rediscovering the Chile-California Connection
"Against the Grain is not just a "counternarrative," an outsider's skeptical reaction to received wisdom about the
evolution of agricultural systems and the first states in Mesopotamia. Vainglorious kings with their generals and
armies, sycophantic scribes, and royal architects and engineers are not Scott's heroes. His concerns are with urban
laborers, peasants, and barbarians and the cleavage planes of resistance to rulers. Those studying Mesopotamia--and
other early states--take heed."--Norman Yoffee, editor of Early Cities in Comparative Perspective
"A contemporary master of the political counter-narrative has produced a book on the origins of civilization - this is,
quite simply, a must-read."--David Wengrow, author of What Makes Civilization?
About the Author
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James C. Scott is Sterling Professor of Political Science and codirector of the Agrarian Studies Program at
Yale University.
