The Worldly Philosphers

I read this many years ago, during my MBA program. It was required reading, and it didn't seem to be directly related to the Economics I was learning at the time. And it's not an Economics book, per se. It's a book that will enable you to think about Economics. It's the context that it delivers to the reader that makes it valuable.

I particularly liked the chapters discussing John Maynard Keynes and his arbitrage experiences, Schumpeter's views on the "fitfull starts and stops" of Capitalism, as well as the discussions of Malthus' and Marx's views.

It reminded me of similar essays discussing the evolution of many central ideas in Physics, and the people behind them, and how they came into being. The Worldy Philosophers provides a nice backdrop upon which one can more easiily view the evolution of Economic thought over the centuries. It is a well-written tome and I found it to be an easy read. I recommend the book, and when you can pick up a used copy in good conditon for less than $10.00 USD on Amazon, I think it's hard to go wrong.