Amazon.com Review
Over 150 years ago, Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics the "dismal science." But it certainly doesn't seem that way in the skillful hands of Todd G. Buchholz, author of
New Ideas from Dead Economists. In this revised edition of a book first published in 1989, economics is accessible, relevant, and fascinating. It's even fun--for example, when he uses the cast of
Gilligan's Island and Henny Youngman jokes to explain complex economic theories. "Why not have the last laugh on Carlyle by using the dead economists themselves to reverse their bad reputations and to teach the lessons they left to us?"
Buchholz surveys and critiques economic thought from Adam Smith's invisible hand of the 18th century to the depression-fighting ideas of the Keynesians and money-supply concepts of the 20th-century monetarists. He also relates classic economic principles to such modern-day events as the fall of communism, the Asian financial meltdown, and global warming. Buchholz includes plenty of anecdotes about the lives of the great economists: Karl Marx, for instance, was an unkempt slob; David Ricardo, the early-19th-century English politician and economist, was among the rare economists to get rich trading stocks; and Maynard Keynes was so homely his friends called him "Snout." Here's a lively and authoritative read for those interested in the past, present, and future of economics. --Dan Ring
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Library Journal
Any book that wants to acquaint the general reader with the history of economic thought must be compared to Robert L. Heilbroner's classic The Worldly Philosophers (S. & S., 1980. 5th ed.). This new book compares most favorably. It is easily accessible to a general audience. Buchholz, a former Harvard economics professor now teaching at the California Western School of Law, is especially strong in discussing the development of economic thought after World War II. Highly recommended for all libraries as an effective and entertaining introduction to economists and their ideas.
- Richard C. Schiming, Mankato State Univ., Minn .
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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