For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization (2nd Edition)

Taxation is a grim reality of life. But few realize the impact that taxation has had on society. This serious, but often amusing, book focuses on the enormous influence that taxation has had on the structuring of society throughout the ages and around the world. Told by an expert on taxation, For Good and Evil is a sweeping overview of the history of taxes from ancient Egypt to today. Full of fascinating details and little-known facts, this book will change forever the way you think about taxes. The Very Word Taxes Sends Shivers Up Spines. Yet, Very Few Realize The Tremendous Impact That Taxation Has Had On Civilization. Charles Adams Changes That In This Fascinating History. Taxation, Says Mr. Adams, Has Been A Catalyst Of History, The Powerful Influence If Not The Direct Cause Of Many Of The Famous Events Of History That Have Marched Across The World's Stage As Empires Collided And Battled For The Right To Tax The Loser. For Good And Evil Is The First Book To. Examine How Taxation Has Been A Key Factor In World Events. Like The Rosetta Stone - A Tax Document - The Book Sheds Fresh Light Onto Much Of History. Did You Know That Biblical Israel Split After Solomon's Death Because His Son Refused To Cut Taxes? That Rome Rose To Greatness Due To A Liberal Tax Regime But Declined Under Corrupt And Inefficient Ones? That In Britain, Lady Godiva Made Her Famous Ride As A Tax Protest? That In Switzerland William Tell Shot The Apple Off. His Son's Head As Punishment For Tax Resistance? Or That Fort Sumter, Where The First Shots Of The Civil War Were Fired, Was A Customs House? Combining Facts With Thought-provoking Comment He Frequently Draws Parallels Between Tax Events Of The Past And Those Of The Present. Finding Fault With The Way Western Civilization Is Taxed, Adams Provides Ideas For Curing Those Faults By Using The Valuable Lessons That History Has Taught. The Special Value Of This Refreshing New. Look At History Lies In The Lessons To Be Drawn By All Thinking Taxpayers. Taxes Are The Fuel That Makes Civilization Run, But How We Tax And Spend Determines To A Large Extent Whether We Are Prosperous Or Poor, Free Or Enslaved, And Most Importantly, Good Or Evil. Once You Read For Good And Evil, You'll Never Feel The Same About Taxes! Taxes: What They Are And Where They Began -- The Kaleidoscopic Romans -- The Middle Ages -- Russia, Switzerland, Spain, And Germany -- The Ancien Regime -- After Magna Carta -- The Rocky Road Of Early American Taxation -- The Monster That Laid The Golden Egg. Charles Adams. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 505-517) And Index. The first edition of Adams' study of the history of taxation had heads turning across the nation, with excited reviews appearing in dozens of national newspapers and magazines in addition to local papers in almost every state. Adams makes a convincing case for taxes being the cause of many of the landmark events in civilization's history. Starting in ancient Egypt, Adams surveys how governments established and collected their taxes, and how these procedures led to the fall of Rome, the rise of Islam and the Arabs' successful conquests, the signing of the Magna Carta, the American Revolution and Civil War, and many other momentous events. Adams also offers suggestions for governments wishing to avoid the fate of previous nations destroyed by ignorant tax policies, something every American will no doubt read with much interest. "The very word taxes sends shivers up spines. Yet very few realize the tremendous impact that taxation has had on civilization. Charles Adams changes that in this newly revised and enlarged edition of his fascinating history. Taxation, says Adams, has been a catalyst of history, a powerful influence on and sometimes the direct cause of many of the famous events that have marched across the world's stage as empires collided and battled for the right to tax the loser. For Good and Evil is the first book to examine how taxation has been a key factor in world events. Like the Rosetta Stone - itself a tax document - the book sheds fresh light onto much of history."--Jacket Ths book is an account of taxation as a cataclyst of history, from ancient Egypt through the end of the twentieth century. The author explores how taxes have powerfully influenced (and somethimes directly caused) many of history's most famous events. It also examines current tax woes and provides ideas for curing an ailing system A fascinating history... —Kirkus Reviews...an acidly witty guide. —Wall Street Journal