Adam Smith?Thomas Malthus?
Karl Marx?
Thorstein Veblen?
John Maynard Keynes?
Maybe you've heard of them, maybe you haven't. They are key figures in economics.
Robert Heilbroner has brought them, and others, to life in his excellent book, The Worldly Philosophers, pictured here in a 1980 edition (many years before the bailouts, but you'll be surprised how timely the book still is).
Heilbroner teaches economics through the lives of prominent economists. You'll read about Adam Smith's absentmindedness, Karl Marx's boils, Thorstein Veblen's love life, and the fortune of John Maynard Keynes. You'll find out what the Wealth of Nations and Communist Manifesto are all about.
This book does not replace a course in economics, but it will get you started with what's important-the key ideas!
Michael Patrick Jost (March 2011).
