The Shadow of a Dream

"Coclanis has mastered an impressive array of primary and secondary sources....He presents his findings in clear, graceful prose...and proves adept at literary allusions as well as statistical presentation. He masterfully summarizes complex economic theories and historiographical debates, and his own argument is forcefully presented and rigorously defended."--Reviews in American History
"This engaging work is a must for scholars concerned about the economic history of colonial South Carolina or interested in economic development theory and its relationship to the rise and fall of a particular society....His approach is comparative and interdisciplinary; his command of the literature, historical and theoretical, is extraordinary....This is clearly a professional job done for professionals."--Journal of the Early Republic
"A compelling story of the tragic rise and fall of the rice economy of the South Carolina low country....Coclanis has opened the door to scholarly debate at the same time that he clarifies an important set of historical issues. His book, then, represents an exemplary effort to bring cliometric analysis in to the mainstream of historical discourse."--American Historical Review
"A wide-ranging examination of the forces that led to South Carolina'a economic growth and decline."--Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
"The prose, which is richly allusive, elaborates a precisely constructed, elegantly symmetrical argument set in a global perspective....A brilliant and disturbing book. In scope and style it deserves to stand with some of the works of the justly famous Annales school of French historians."--South Carolina Historical Magazine
"An impressive and daunting work of economic history based on a staggering amount of research and extensive reflection....This abbreviated summary cannot convey the subtlety and intricacy of Coclanis's exposition, nor his mastery of economic theory and detail."--Civil War History
"Exhaustively researched, beautifully written, richly suggestive, and highly provocative, The Shadow of a Dream is a brilliant analysis of the impact of the rice industry...on Charleston and the surrounding South Carolina low country....Unquestionably the finest economic study yet done of the South Carolina low country."--Journal of Economic History
"A valuable study of the region....The book dramatically illustrates the harmful effects of slavery, poor educaiton, and dependence on a single product."--Journal of American History
"Coclanis's brilliant analysis of the rice economy's growth and decline forms the core of this volume....Whether writing of world markets, the Carolina terrain, slavery, or the exchange of diseases between the Old World and the New, the author expresses himself authoritatively. His intensive research, his broad grasp of the multiple scholarly disciplines upon which he draws, and his sparkling prose distinguish this fine book....Highly recommended for college and research libraries."--Choice
Much may be gleaned from this elegantly crafted essay on the Carolina lowcountry. It is the best-written book of regional economic history that I have ever read, and it compares favorably with the best in history at large."--William and Mary Quarterly