A history book detailing how Americans climbed the prosperity ladder over 300 years. The author spent more than a decade researching financial advice to understand what worked, what didn’t, and why. In the end, he concluded that much of what we consider timeless financial advice hasn’t actually held up throughout history. Instead, a handful of wealth-building principles have endured: solve other people’s problems, take more risks, move to chase opportunity, marry well, and stay optimistic.