The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers
by Robert L. Heilbroner
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 321)
Read in March, 2005
Well written doesn't do it justice. Lucid, pretty comprehensive, multi-faceted, learned, juicy, addictive.
Economics sucks, we all know why Carlyle called it "the dismal science"....because its bloody dismal.
But Heilbroner succeeds beautifully at writing it in such a way that its effortless. I felt like I grasped a little more about Smith and Marx and Schumpeter (!) than I would have if I had tried other means of getting myself aquainted with these supremely influential men....more
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Ini buku yang luar biasa, dan rada menyesal karena tahunya telat. Edisi aslinya tahun 1953, sementara yang aku baca ini edisi ke-7 tahun 1995. Kabarnya masih terus diterbitkan edisi barunya dengan pembaruan-pembaruan terkini.
Di tengah maraknya buku2 yg berusaha mempopulerkan ilmu ekonomi belakangan ("Freakonomics," "Undercover Economist" dlsb), dan juga setelah ilmu ekonomi itu sendiri kian hari kian teknis sifatnya, ada pentingnya kita menengok ke belakang saat ilmu ekonom...more
Di tengah maraknya buku2 yg berusaha mempopulerkan ilmu ekonomi belakangan ("Freakonomics," "Undercover Economist" dlsb), dan juga setelah ilmu ekonomi itu sendiri kian hari kian teknis sifatnya, ada pentingnya kita menengok ke belakang saat ilmu ekonom...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Holly by:
jarrod
So interesting and what an introduction! The idea that has most stuck with me in the book, I felt, is that in a group of non-industrialized peoples, increasing wages will result in a voluntary decrease of hours instead of an increase or no change. The concept of accumulating wealth while sacrificing free time is not inherent! Imagine that....we are so tied into this system of living that we forget alternatives are possible sometimes. I would never even think of cutting my hours if I got a raise ...more
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Read in January, 2007
beautiful history of economics. economic theory explained through the human beings that invented it. not ideological separation but the natural flow from Adam Smith to Karl Marx. This is about how human beings have decided to arrange themselves - how we as a group feed ourselves, relate to each other, how we built everything. thats what economics is. in some ways its awful of course, in some ways beautiful. Everyone ought to learn something about these things because if we dont we will not know ...more
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Read in December, 2007
I read this book to learn the basics of history's most influential economists so that I could put the bits and pieces that I did know into some sort of coherent framework - and I picked this particular book because I liked the book's title, which implied that it would treat these economists as great philosophers rather than scientists (it did) - but I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this book was to read. The presentation of the economists' ideas was very clear, and I appreciated the ...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book is about the short history of economic thought in the western world. A mildly interesting discussion of the progression from the very simple yet profound understanding of accumulation, the effects of population, labor as a resource, to utopias, laissez-faire, socialism, Marxism and communism, unbridled capitalism, imperialism, to the mysterious and dynamic modern business cycle, and the effects of socialist ideas or government intervention. The progression of thought is not as intere...more
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Read in January, 2008
FINALLY finished! :)
I read this book because I wanted to know more about economics. I want to be able to back up my bleeding heart liberal tendencies with actual knowledge of what makes capitalism tick.
I did enjoy this book. For an economics novice who's not crazy about history, this book has really managed to draw me in with its descriptions of economic thinkers and their times. I'm sure other books go into theory in more depth, but this was a good start for me. I liked the focus o...more
I read this book because I wanted to know more about economics. I want to be able to back up my bleeding heart liberal tendencies with actual knowledge of what makes capitalism tick.
I did enjoy this book. For an economics novice who's not crazy about history, this book has really managed to draw me in with its descriptions of economic thinkers and their times. I'm sure other books go into theory in more depth, but this was a good start for me. I liked the focus o...more
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My, my, this sure takes me back. One summer while a son was reading for his M.A. in political science I asked him for a short and simple reading list to introduce dumb old mom to the field of economics -- terra incognita squared to me. Smart kid gave me a list of biographies of the great economists (who were strangely fascinating characters in their own right, and often just weird enough to grab hold of me) guessing that once I got hooked I would continue reading on my own. This book w...more
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recommends it for:
Patrick
If you want to put modern capitalism into context, and to explore it's developements alongside other econonic ideas and models, start here. Heilbroner writes with the voice of a familiar and captivating lecturer. He puts forth academic ideas in a very managable format while at the same time placing a very human and at times comical face on some of the most influental thinkers of recent times (as well as a few not so influental, kind of crazy people). And, on top of all that, when your halfway ...more
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No. 10 from a list of 10 books to read on economics by the authors of Freakonomics. Robert Heilbroner is partly responsible for what I know about economics. He's the co-author (with Lester Thurow) of the introductory text books that Prof. Rall used in the Intro. to Micro- and Macroeconomics classes that I took 30 years ago or so. (T
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Read in February, 2008
This book was oddly engaging while also perfectly fulfilling my goal of understanding economics better. Without much prior knowledge of the economists covered in this book, however, it's difficult to asses whether or not the author covered his subject matter fairly. I'll have to read more to improve my foundation, but as of now, this book is a very accessible way to learn more about economics and its great thinkers.
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Read in June, 2008
what a thoroughly wonderful book. light in tone but full of content, thick but engrossing, always respectful of both reader and subject, but never lacking in scrutiny, highly readable but never dumbed-down. perhaps most notably, the worldly philosophers is a truly thoughtful book, something that could be said for very, very few texts of its kind. one can only wish every discipline had somebody like heilbroner.
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Read in January, 2006
A witty introduction to the lives and ideas of the most influential Western economists. If you don't like economics, you will be abble to get through this, but it may still be tough. Heilbroner understands the intellectual challenge that most readers will feel about being assigend a book on economic intellectuals, and does his best to maintain a light touch.
Does anybody else out there like this book?
Does anybody else out there like this book?
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This exposition spans the lives of every influential economic thinker to ever put pen to paper, from Smith to Keynes and everyone in between, expatiating on their quirks, trials and often times unbelievably odd lives. I recommend it even if you aren't the type of person who gives a thought to economics usually--it reads more like a biographical recapitulation of intelligent lunatics.
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I really enjoyed this book. It's interesting to realize that the ideas of just a handful of economic philosophers eventually wielded monumental changes in human history over the past 300 years. Many of these philosophers were fairly insignificant figures while alive; most of the time, their ideas took decades or even centuries to really take root among those in power.
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
people who like money
This book is a great overview of the people behind the most important economic theories, as well as how their theories revolutionized the field. i think it's important for anyone interested in economics to read this, both because everything is wrapped up in to about 300 pages, and because the book shows that even brilliant economic theorists were real people, too.
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Read in July, 2006
This is not exactly light and breezy reading, but if you want a pretty good retrospective of economic theory and its development - for any reason - this is actually a pretty intriguing book.
Again, it is not something I suggest anyone pick up for pleasure reading. But if you want something educational that does not delve into too much minutia, this works.
Again, it is not something I suggest anyone pick up for pleasure reading. But if you want something educational that does not delve into too much minutia, this works.
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Read in November, 2004
recommends it for:
anyone who wants to gain an understanding of basic economic principles.
Not being an economics but a philosophy major, I loved this book. It gave me a concise, easy to grasp overview of classic economic theories. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in economics, philosophy, and/or intellectual history. It's entertaining reading and also a great reference book.
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Read in January, 1976
Most of what little I know about economics started with this book, but what I remember even more than the explanations of economic theory is the vivid narrative of the lives of the early economists. Heilbroner's biographies of these thinkers are extraordinarily evocative.
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this is a great book if you want to survey the minds of the great economic thinkers...it was assigned reading in college in one of my econ classes. I was so impressed back then, that I picked it up again recently. Covers Malthus, Smith, Marx, Keynes and others...
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