In The Power of a Single Number Philipp Lepenies tells the lively unpredictable history of GDP s political acceptance and eventual dominance Since it was first widely used in the mid twentieth century GDP gross domestic product has become the world s most powerful statistical indicator of national development and progress Lepenies s absorbing account helps us understand the personalities and popular events that propelled GDP to dominance clarifying current debates over the wisdom of the number s rule A narrative driven political history of the most important economic statistic in the world