Adventures of an Economist [Hardcover]

Franco Modigliani (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1587990075 | ISBN-13: 978-1587990076 | Publication Date: July 14, 2001 | Edition: 1

Adventures of an Economist is both an autobiography and an uncommon opportunity to share the thinking of one of the world's most brilliant and influential economists. Franco Modigliani takes the reader on a journey from his childhood in Rome through Fascism, his flight from Nazism, and his arrival in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Franco earned his Ph.D. from the New School University and became a long-standing professor at MIT. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1985 and lives with his wife in Cambridge, Mass.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Texere; 1 edition (July 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587990075
• ISBN-13: 978-1587990076
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view into a prominent economist's career, December 16, 2003

By 

M. Zobian (Wyomissing, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adventures of an Economist (Hardcover)

For anyone who'd like to know what the professional life of an acclaimed economist is like, this is a great book. But two things will surprise you. First, Modigliani had an extremely poor grasp of the importance of free markets. Much of his railings against Italy's over-regulated economy were, you quickly gleam from the book, based on his opinion that it wasn't being over-regulated properly. (!!!) Secondly, he apparently never bothered to have someone edit the book. Typos, grammer mistakes and missing graphs abound, to the point where you wonder how in the world the book got published.

I wouldn't recommend the book unless you are specifically looking for works on Modigliani's economics, or are generally curious about the career of a Nobel economist.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY OF A GREAT ECONOMIST, February 11, 2006

By 

Denis Benchimol Minev "Amazonia" (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Adventures of an Economist (Hardcover)

Franco Modigliani is definitely among the handful of top economists of the 20th century. This book is his autobiography in which he not only describes the events that shaped his very interesting life, but also describes in detail the fundametals of the theories that eventually led him to receive the Nobel prize.

He is well known for two ideas, the lifetime cycle of savings and the Modigliani-Miller finance theorem. Both are described in depth in the book in a simple enough way that someone with only a basic knowledge of economics will be able to understand. He also makes good arguments for the Keynesian economics camp, versus the classical economics of the Chicago school. Either of his two ideas would likely be enough for the Nobel.

His is a inspiring tale of an escapee from fascist Italy who accomplishes much in his new land, the US. Modigliani is torn between his homeland, Italy, and his adopted land, the US. He has maintained close ties with Italy, devoting much of the book to describe his involvement in Italian economics and a bit of politics. He also focuses on his love for America and the lasting impressions of his welcome in the country had in his life, research, and philosophy.

To any economist, Modigliani should be a well known household name; his autobiography is a precious document that ought to remind economists what economics is all about, namely making the world a better place.