Product Description

This new reader in the history of economic thought is edited by two of the most respected figures in the field. With clearly written summaries putting each selection into context and useful questions for discussion, this book will be of great use to students and lecturers of the history of economic thought and goes beyond the simple reprinting of articles.
Selections and discussions include such thinkers as Aristotle, John Locke, François Quesnay, David Hume, Jean Baptiste Say, Karl Marx, William Stanley Jevons, Irving Fisher and Thorstein Veblen.
History of Economic Thought: A Reader can be used as a core textbook or as a supplementary text on courses in economic thought and philosophy. It will provide readers with a good foundation in the different schools of thought that run through economics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #381335 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 680 pages

Customer Reviews

A Marvellous Record of a Rich Discipline
I have been waiting for years for this kind of book. I teach a small history of economic thought part-time to two colleges in Florida and my students have been very reluctant to dig into their pockets to buy the original texts - there are so many important books. This handy compendium brings together the key contributions between the covers of one, utterly essential volume.

I like the relative conservatism of the selections - the editors do not impose their view of the canon on others and instead treat us to all the classics. I particularly enjoyed the linking material: everything is placed into its proper context.

Lastly - any book that includes "The Fable of the Bees" gets my vote - Godlike Genius!!

Great Book, with a small font.
This is indeed a very well made compilation on a difficult subject. It covers many authors with great efficiency. I'm a history buff and an economist so this was heaven for me.
My only problem with the Reader itself is the font; I felt it was a bit on the small side making the reading process less pleasurable than it otherwise would have been.

It should also be made clear that some great economists are mediocre writers, making their points in a very obtuse manner. Also that many early economists didn't know some principles which we today find obvious, this makes some of the writing very quaint in their logic and propositions. This will be fascinating for those who wish to study the history of the economic thought process by looking at the authors themselves. It is not, however, a good book from which to learn economic theory. You are better off knowing the subject already before studying its intellectual history.

Just don't jump into this book without some background on economics. The early authors aren't very eloquent in making their points and the later authors become a bit math intensive if you haven't seen the subject before.

If on the other hand you want a well-compiled overview of great economic classics this book is simply unbeatable. I loved it, but then again I'm a geek.