Thomas Sowell

Author profile

born

in North Carolina, The United States

June 30, 1930

gender

male

website

http://www.tsowell.com/

genre

Nonfiction, Social Sciences, History

About this author

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Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social commentator, and author of dozens of books. He often writes from an economically laissez-faire perspective. He is currently a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science.

Sowell was born in North Carolina, where, he recounted in his autobiography, A Personal Odyssey, his encounters with Caucasians were so limited he didn't believe that "yellow" was a hair color. He moved to Harlem, New York City with his mother's sister (whom he believed was his mother); his fath...more Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social commentator, and author of dozens of books. He often writes from an economically laissez-faire perspective. He is currently a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science.

Sowell was born in North Carolina, where, he recounted in his autobiography, A Personal Odyssey, his encounters with Caucasians were so limited he didn't believe that "yellow" was a hair color. He moved to Harlem, New York City with his mother's sister (whom he believed was his mother); his father had died before he was born. Sowell went to Stuyvesant High School, but dropped out at 17 because of financial difficulties and a deteriorating home environment. He worked at various jobs to support himself, including in a machine shop and as a delivery man for Western Union. He applied to enter the Civil Service and was eventually accepted, moving to Washington DC. He was drafted in 1951, during the Korean War, and assigned to the US Marine Corps. Due to prior experience in photography, he worked in a photography unit.

After his discharge, Sowell passed the GED examination and enrolled at Howard University. He transfered to Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He received a Master of Arts in Economics from Columbia University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Chicago. Sowell initially chose Columbia University because he wanted to study under George Stigler. After arriving at Columbia and learning that Stigler had moved to Chicago, he followed him there.

Sowell has taught Economics at Howard University, Cornell University, Brandeis University, and UCLA. Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he holds a fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman.

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Average rating: 4.18 · 8,871 ratings · 1,095 reviews · 60 distinct works · Similar authors

	Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 2,088 ratings — published 2000 — 31 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Economic Facts and Fallacies 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 966 ratings — published 2007 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy 4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 629 ratings — published 1954 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 600 ratings — published 2003 — 20 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black Rednecks & White Liberals 4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 595 ratings — published 2005 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Conflict Of Visions 4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 605 ratings — published 1986 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Intellectuals and Society 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 513 ratings — published 2009 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Housing Boom and Bust 4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 476 ratings — published 2009 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Quest for Cosmic Justice 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 274 ratings — published 1999 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Knowledge And Decisions 4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 197 ratings — published 1979 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Thomas Sowell

“I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.”
― Thomas Sowell, Barbarians inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays

93 people liked it

“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
― Thomas Sowell

69 people liked it

“It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites. ”
― Thomas Sowell

65 people liked it

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Polls

This is a poll for the immigration research group reading book. This is a limited selection from the Immigration shelf of the group bookshelf. Selections were chosen based on the breadth of coverage and book availability. If there are other books you would like to be included in the poll, please feel free to add them. Folks can change their votes at any time until the poll closes. We will begin reading the book on January 1, 2011.

They Came in Ships: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record

John Philip Colletta

3 votes, 30.0%

A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage

Sharon Debartolo Carmack

2 votes, 20.0%

Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States

Christina K. Schaefer

2 votes, 20.0%

American Passenger Arrival Records A Guide to the Records of Immigrants

Michael Tepper

1 vote, 10.0%

A New World: The History of Immigration to the United States

Duncan Clarke

1 vote, 10.0%

Coming to America (Second Edition): A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life

Roger Daniels

1 vote, 10.0%

The distant magnet;: European emigration to the U.S.A
Philip A. M Taylor

0 votes, 0.0%

Ethnic America: A History

Thomas Sowell

0 votes, 0.0%

Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration and Assimilation
Leonard Dinnerstein

0 votes, 0.0%

American Immigration

Maldwyn Allen Jones

0 votes, 0.0%

Becoming American: An Ethnic History

Thomas J. Archdeacon

0 votes, 0.0%

The Immigrant Experience: The Anguish of Becoming American

Thomas C. Wheeler

0 votes, 0.0%

The Uprooted

Oscar Handlin

0 votes, 0.0%

They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins

Loretto Dennis Szucs

0 votes, 0.0%

American Naturalization Records 1790-1990: What They Are and How to Use Them
John J. Newman

0 votes, 0.0%

We the People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity

James Paul Allen

0 votes, 0.0%

Immigration, Migration and Settlement in the United States: A Genealogical Guidebook
Marilyn Lind

0 votes, 0.0%

American Naturalization Records 1790-1990: What They Are and How to Use Them
John J. Newman

0 votes, 0.0%

10 total votes

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Thomas Sowell

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Thomas Sowell's Books