The Wealth of Nations

I've now read the last sentence of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. The book is 1208 pages in length (800 pages less than the House version of the new Health Insurance bill which Congress has 72 hours to read). It's taken me about three weeks since I got the book to read the sentence. Here it is:

"If any of the provinces of the British Empire cannot be made to contribute toward the support of the whole empire, it is surely time that Great Britain should free herself from the expence of defending those provinces in time of war, and of supporting any part of their civil or military establishments in time of peace, and endeavor to accommodate her future views and designs to the real mediocrity of her circumstances" (1208).

The book was first published in 1776, and it's not Smith's fault that he hadn't read Hemingway. Still, I can't wait to read another sentence, but now have to get ready for the Halloween festivities (I'm dressing up as Harry Potter). I read books backwards, as usually the best part is on the last page: the book is really exciting so far! Some time around Christmas I'm scheduled to read another sentence. Stay tuned. I'm kind of a Slow Loris in reading lengthy classics. So far all that I've read of War and Peace is the title.