The reading room

Smith's own words

• The Wealth of Nations (1776)The whole book, free at Project Gutenberg. Search it yourself: invisible hand once, monopoly everywhere.
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)The book about sympathy and the impartial spectator, which he revised until the year he died.
• Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue and Arms (1763, printed 1896)A student's notes of his Glasgow lectures, edited by Edwin Cannan. The butcher and the baker are already here. Internet Archive.

His life

• John Rae, Life of Adam Smith (1895)The classic Victorian biography, and still the source for many of the stories. Project Gutenberg.
• Francis W. Hirst, Adam Smith (1904)A short early life, in the English Men of Letters series. Project Gutenberg.
• A brief biography of Adam SmithA clear modern summary from Adam Smith Works, a Liberty Fund site with much more on Smith.

Places

• Panmure House, EdinburghThe house where he lived for his last twelve years, and where his papers were burned. Restored and open for events.
• Glasgow, Slavery and Atlantic CommerceStephen Mullen's audit for Glasgow City Council of the city's links to slavery, the tobacco trade Smith watched from inside.

The modern edition

• The Glasgow Edition of the Works and CorrespondenceThe scholarly edition, begun in 1976, including the letters this book is built from. Liberty Fund.

Links checked October 2026. If one has moved, tell me.