Academic Scribblers [Paperback]

William Breit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1982

This text offers a thoughtful summary of modern economic thought. It presents the story of economics through the lives of 12 major modern economists, beginning with Alfred Marshall and concluding with Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman. The book picks up where Robert Heilbroner's "The Worldly Philosophers" leaves off, and brings the story of modern American and British economic theory up to the 1980s. It presents a summary of modern economic policy debate and an enticement into the "dismal science" of economics.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a guide to the intellectual origins of many hotly debated current and proposed economic policies, The Academic Scribblers is an outstanding success." -- J. Bernard Burnham, National Review

"Even to try to survey so much is commendable and the authors have done more. They take the reader through the ideas of the twelve in a way that shows that they are competent theorists themselves." -- William D. Grampp, The American Political Science Review

[The Academic Scribblers] is a compact, lucid survey of the ideas of an even dozen British and American economists.... A splendid book. It should be read by every undergraduate student of economics." -- William H. Miernyk, Social Science Quarterly --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

William Breit is the E. M. Stevens Distinguished Professor of Economics at Trinity University in San Antonio. Roger L. Ransom is Professor of Economics and History at the University of California, Riverside. Robert M. Solow is Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1987. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dryden Press; Revised edition (January 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030512360
• ISBN-13: 978-0030512360
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,209,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the weight to tote to class, February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Academic Scribblers (Paperback)

For any undergraduate or layperson, the Academic Scribblers is the most lucid uncomplicated look at the work of 12 key economists. If you ever need a good guide to the subject of economics this is it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes complex theory understandable, December 4, 2001

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Academic Scribblers (Paperback)

I had the privilege of studying under Dr William Breit at Trinity University in San Antonio, and can attest to his skill in (and dedication to) taking abstruse economic thought and making it comprehensible to -- if not the layman -- at least the student with some grounding in economic principles.

(Dr Breit and his partner in crime Dr Kenneth Elzinga perform a similar service in the series of murder mysteries they penned under the name Marshall Jevons -- a pseudonym derived from the names of two of the economists profiled in 'The Academic Scribblers.')

Condensing the life work of major economists into articles of a few pages long necessarily involves leaving some things out and seriously compressing others. In spite of this, though, Breit and Ransom give us a comprehensive look at these men and their work -- enough to understand their place in the pantheon of economic thought. They also show how that thought has stood the test of time and the assaults of competing theories. And while the authors' editorializing is light, they are also willing to point out how these economic ideas have been employed in the political arena.

In all, a great textbook for an Intro to Economic Thought class, and a valuable tool for someone wishing to understand the paths the 'dismal science' has traveled over time.