How to Live - Primary Source Edition

by Irving Fisher

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Irving Fisher was an American economist, inventor, and social campaigner. He was one of the earliest American neoclassical economists, though his later work on debt deflation has been embraced by the Post-Keynesian school.
Fisher made important contributions to utility theory and general equilibrium. He was also a pioneer in the rigurous study of intertemporal choice in markets, which led him to develop a theory of capital and interest rates.[4] His research on the quantity theory of money inaugurated the school of macroeconomic thought known as "monetarism." Both James Tobin and Milton Friedman called Fisher "the greatest economist the United States has ever produced."
Fisher was perhaps the first celebrity economist, but his reputation during his lifetime was irreparably harmed by his public statements, just prior to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, claiming that the stock market had reached "a permanently high plateau." His subsequent theory of debt deflation as an explanation of the Great Depression was largely ignored in favor of the work of John Maynard Keynes. His reputation has since recovered in neoclassical economics, particularly after his work was revived in the late 1950s and more widely due to an increased interest in debt deflation in the Late-2000s recession. Some concepts named after Fisher include the Fisher equation, the Fisher hypothesis, the international Fisher effect, and the Fisher separation theorem.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This handbook of personal health and hygiene, first published in 1915, is certainly a period piece in terms of its science, style, and presentation. But, anyone looking for hilarious errors and comically obsolete thinking -- which, let's face it, is what I was up to -- is barking up the wrong tree for the most part. Instead, the book consists almost entirely of excellent advice that still pertains today: get fresh air and exercise, eat more veggies and less protein, try not to put on extra pounds if you can help it, avoid tobacco and alcohol, pay attention to your posture, wash your hands and don't sneeze on people, and so on.

Sure, it's dated. There's a lot about sleeping outside -- but, houses were often poorly ventilated and pretty toxic back then, and honestly we'd probably be bit better off if sleeping porches were still a thing. They aren't sure what's up with these "vitamins" that are being discovered -- but they recommend the right diet just the same. The word "virus" does not appear -- but appropriate advice on avoiding communicable disease is given. Tobacco is a problem because of the effects of nicotine on the heart, and there's no concern about lungs -- but the advice to avoid smoking remains the same. Even some of the basic strategies for addressing anxiety and depression are in here -- stay engaged, talk things out with sympathetic friends, get exercise, pay attention to your breathing -- even if the vocabulary we use for them are not.

The modern reader looking to be horrified by the barbarism of the past is disappointed until the very last chapter, on "Eugenics." Even here, though, what's really being advocated is a pretty lite version of what we usually think of as eugenic thinking. There are a few policy suggestions that wouldn't fly today, to be sure, and some lousy oversimplifications of how genetics works, but the practical advice really boils down to "you might want to think about health issues in both family trees before you decide to make babies with somebody." Which isn't the worst idea ever, really.

Having said all that, for a general introduction to personal health, I'd probably recommend something a little more current.