The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers [7th Edition]

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 368 pages
• Published by: Touchstone; revised 7th edition August 10, 1999
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 068486214X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0684862149
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 11.2 ounces

Product Review
Paul Samuelson Sinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith inspired several readers to become Nobel laureates in biology. Robert Heilbroner's new edition of The Worldly Philosophers will inspire a new generation of economists. -- Review

Product Review
John Kenneth GalbraithA brilliant achievement.

The New York TimesIf ever a book answered a crying need, this one does. Here is all the economic lore most general readers conceivably could want to know, served up with a flourish by a man who writes with immense vigor and skill, who has a rare gift for simplifying complexities.

Leonard SilkRobert Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers is a living classic, both because he makes us see that the ideas of the great economists remain fresh and important for our times and because his own brilliant writing forces us to reach out into the future.

Lester ThurowThe Worldly Philosophers, quite simply put, is a classic.None of us can know where we are coming from unless we know the sources of the great ideas that permeate our thinking. The Worldly Philosophers gives us a clear understanding of the economic ideas that influence us whether or not we have read the great economic thinkers.

Paul SamuelsonSinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith inspired several readers to become Nobel laureates in biology. Robert Heilbroner's new edition of The Worldly Philosophers will inspire a new generation of economists.

Reader Reviews
I read Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" back in college my senior year, all 1200+ pages of it. I've read parts of Communist Manifesto and Capital by Karl Marx and some Joseph Schumpeter. I loved it all (especially Smith and Schumpeter) but it was BRUTAL as the dialects in those days varied so much from today's. If you are new to economics or want summaries/insights into the greatest economists in history this book is for you. Mr. Heilbroner's book, the Worldly Philosophers, is the best books on economics I have come across and I have endured graduate level economic courses, both macro and micro (along with the undergraduate courses.) This book provides readers with a nice summary and analysis of the great Economic thinkers from Adam Smith, Karl Marx, David Ricardo, Mill, Keynes, Schumpeter and others. I found the book to be very general and not extremely analytical/scholarly if you will. The summaries of each man's economic concepts and life/times in which he lived were extremely accurate. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author tries to explain the multi-disciplined nature of economics and how it is a combination of sociology, history, political science and philosophy all rapped into one. If you look at the London School of Economics graduate program you will find over thirty unique Masters Programs in economics as the field is increasingly becoming applied and specialized into different parts of the society. Mr. Heilbroner asks a question at the end such as "are we seeing the end of Worldly Philosophers?" as the field is increasingly getting more specialized and very few economists are tackling the "big picture" anymore and how the various components of an economy (land, labor and capital) are intertwined with each other. Definitely something to think about..... I found myself sitting down and reading a chapter at a time, 50-60 pages, with no problems at all. Mr. Heilbroner doesn't give you everything but perhaps enough to chomp your teeth into the works of each philosopher on your own. At the end of the book he has a list of suggested readings for those seeking more information on any of the economists/subjects mentioned but, frankly, I don't think many can handle 99% of the stuff.