A Brief History of Economic Genius |
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A Brief History of Economic Genius
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by Paul Strathern
Sales Rank: 294356
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$7.97
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 328 pages
Published by: TexereEdition: 1st Edition June 9, 2004
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1587991896
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1587991899
Book Dimensions:
8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
Product Review
Paul Strathern's A Brief History of Economic Genius is a lively and ambitious series of linked biographies of notable visionaries in the world of economics. The cast includes schemers, dreamers, unheeded prophets, utopians, sages, mountebanks, dour pessimists, megalomaniacal optimists, socialists, laissez-faire extremists, mighty eccentrics, and, within their own rights, geniuses of all ranks. Some of these are well known--John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Robert Malthus, George Marshall, and John Nash of A gorgeous Mind fame. Others are obscure: John von Neumann, inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove character; Luca Pacioli, "inventor" of double-entry bookkeeping; John Gaunt, the father of statistics; John Law, a good candidate for the title of "richest man in history," who, in the early 18th century, almost single-handedly bankrupted France. Strathern weaves the men's lives and contributions with notable marketplace milestones such as Holland's 17th-century bout of tulipmania, Britain's notorious South Sea Bubble, the Great Depression, and the rebuilding and retribution strategies following the two world wars. A Brief History of Economic Genius is an amiable, measured, delightful, instructive, and, at times, extremely humorous narrative. In Strathern's hands, the "dismal science" becomes anything but. --H. O'Billovich
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Strathern is best known for his 39 short biographies of philosophers and scientists. This book is condensed one further level. For example, one chapter is an abridged version of his Marx in ninety Minutes. When the author does not synopsize his own texts, he closely follows the work of John Kenneth Galbraith and John Maynard Keynes. (With more honesty than is usual in popular histories, Strathern admits he has not cited his sources, and even direct quotes are attributed only "where appropriate.") This book is shorter and more fun to read than Galbraith or Keynes, while still teaching basic economic principles (although it does demonstrate the author's famous ability to garble any example with numbers in it). He makes even dull economists lively, and he gives perspective by first anchoring the ideas firmly in the subject's time, then showing how they have played out since. Covering ideas root and branch, plus social status, parental relationships, careers, psychology, politics, ambitions, friends, enemies, scandals, appearance, obsessions and mistresses (all the subjects are male) in a few pages each is an impressive achievement. Pulling it off with this much style and apparent ease is stunning. The book is best suited for people already familiar with basic textbook economics, who wish to deepen their understanding through considering the men and history behind the writings. Illus.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: A Brief History of Economic Genius (Cloth) (Hardcover)
I bought this book hoping it might shed some insights into the thoughts and times of the world's greatest economists and I got what I hoped for. In particular I was hoping to see if the author did a good job in relating economics to other areas such as politics, science, sociology, history philosophy and mathematics and the book fulfilled my desire. The book was well written, in terms of prose, making it an easy book to read economics books, especially for non-economists. If I had anything to gripe it would be the EXTREMELY poor editing. Throughout the book I found words that had mistakenly been split up by a spac e mark, such as what I have included in this review. One or two can be forgiven but the twenty or so I seem to have come across is truly shameful for a book at approximately $20 or more. As a result of this and the poor examples provided I rate the book a 3 star book This book, like The Worldly Philosophers and New Ideas from Dead Economists, is designed to illustrate the thoughts and history of the world's greatest economic thinkers. Economists. This book is ideal for those seeking to learn about some of the contributions of the world's greatest economists as well as those who are history buffs and want to learn more about the times / overlap of the world's greatest minds in other areas such as philosophy, science, etc as many of these individuals had an impact on economists of their times. Economists highlighted in the book, which goes in chronological order from past to recent, include Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Robert Malthus, George Marshall, Thorton Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, John von Neumann, John Nash and Milton Friedman. Some historic events mentioned in the book, since they affected the economists' thoughts, are Holland's 17th-century bout of tulipmania, Britain's notorious South Sea Bubble, The French Revolution, the Great Depression, and the rebuilding and retribution strategies following the two world wars. Most of my reviews are in business / economics and I encourage people to read them. If you are interested in another excellent economics book I would start with The Worldly Philosophers (which I would buy before this book) and then read Hernando DeSoto's Mystery of Capital. A great general business book is by the management guru Peter Drucker entitled "The Essential Drucker". Just so you know, he didn't pick the title but his work is excellent and highly applicable for managers. One final note, The Mystery Of Capital is a highly regarded, easy to read book on economic development that is VERY popular in the offices of dignitaries throughout the world, including Paul O'Neill (Secretary of State for the U.S). During a recent CNBC documentary on Mr. O'Neill the secretary met Mr. DeSoto to get some insights before his trip to Africa where he will focus on ways to improve economic development in 3rd world nations.
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A Brief History of Economic Genius
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