About the book: 2016 / This volume presents to the reader the second edition of the main work of the "father" of classical political economy Adam Smith - "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes wealth of nations" (1776). The first edition, published in the “Anthology of Economic Thought” series in 2007, was greeted with approval by a wide circle of our readers and the expert community. In continuation of this tradition, this edition publishes for the first time a translation of A. Smith’s “History of Astronomy” - one of the main works of the early period (before 1758), in which the method of studying socio-economic processes was born and honed, which later brought the author worldwide fame. It already contains an exceptionally fruitful metaphor of the “invisible hand”, which Smith promulgates in relation to celestial phenomena (“the invisible hand of Jupiter”). In “The Wealth of Nations” A. Smith summarized the ideas of scientists over the previous century, developed a system of categories, methods and principles of economic science and had a decisive influence on its development in the 19th century in Great Britain and other countries, including Russia. During his lifetime, Smith's book went through several editions and was translated into other European languages, becoming a classic of economic literature. Continued interest in it continues today in connection with the problems of the global division of labor, the global market and competition in it. All the advantages of the previous edition of “The Wealth of Nations” in Russian, including name, subject and geographical indexes, have been preserved. The text was verified with the most authoritative to date "Glasgow Edition" of Smith's works (1976–1985, 6 volumes). For researchers, historians of economic thought, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as anyone interested in the heritage of the classics of political economy.