This volume is divided into two parts. The first part being a reconstruction and interpretation of "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith, while the second examines Smith as the patron saint/prophet of 19th-century capitalism.

Recognized in its own day as an important and compassionate examination of economics, it was praised by Thomas Jefferson as being an innovative work in that field. Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations for several reasons, among them being that he was disgusted with the business methods practiced by merchants and manufacturers, and was concerned with improving the welfare of society. In 1934, echoing his own humanitarian views on commerce, industrialism, and labor, Eli Ginzberg published The House of Adam Smith, which was based on his doctoral dissertation for Columbia University. The book is divided into two parts, the first being a reconstruction and interpretation of The Wealth of Nations, while the second examines Smith as the patron saint/prophet of nineteenth-century capitalism.