Are there any good, authoritative books on the history of capitalism and how it developed? I've developed an interest in economic history as of late and I'm looking for titles worthy of perusing.
Fernand Braudel Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century series.
Have a ton of recommendations.
Maurice Dobb's Studies in the Development of Capitalism is a classic, but is somewhat outdated by now.
Eric Hobsbawm's Age of trilogy on 19th century European history, especially when coupled with his volume on the 20th century, is also a great place to look. The focus is far broader than Capitalism alone, obviously, but the analysis of how Capitalism evolved is central to each.
Immanuel Wallerstein's The Modern World-System series is a great systematic analysis of how Capitalism as a system has evolved from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th. Important point on Wallerstein's books, however, is that he is not very accessible. His books already presume you know about the history of those centuries and have an inkling of what he is talking about.
A classic book, which is also a bit dated but which I feel every history scholar should read at some point, is Eric William's Capitalism and Slavery, which follows how slavery organically functioned within Capitalism instead of, as was once said, it was a sort of archaic holdover or 'foreign body' within the Capitalist system.
The other Redditor already suggested Braudel. He is certainly a classic, though I haven't had a chance to pick up that particular trilogy.
Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert might be a great place to start. He basically uses cotton's role in the Capitalist system as a case study for the system as a whole. Book is also fairly recent and, even if a little dry here and there, is one of the more accessible texts on this subject.
For classics on Capitalism, you might want to check out Max Weber's Economy and Society, Karl Marx' Capital, or Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. A more recent study which has been very, very controversial is Thomas Picketty's Capital in the 21st Century. I have to confess that I've only read Picketty's The Economics of Inequality, a 100 some page book based on his Master's thesis, and not his magnum opus. However, it is my understanding that the book dedicates a good chunk to explaining Capitalism's evolution up to the present in order to make a broader point about how Capitalism is currently evolving.
Edit: Bit of extra context on Picketty's shtick. His basic thesis is that pre-20th century Capitalism had extremely limited social mobility. A few lucked out, but mostly you lived and died the class you were born. The 20th century, with large redistributions of wealth through social programs, made social mobility more feasible. However, as these programs are cut social mobility is on the decline. He warns that we are approaching a return to 19th century levels of difficulty for those seeking to rise above the class they were born if we don't do something. Picketty sees as the only real solution an international tax on capital gains. If only country X or Y does it, Capital will flee elsewhere. You need real international cooperation. How likely it is that such a system will actually come to pass ¯\(ツ)/¯
Hope it helps!