The Worldly Philosophers 
By Robert Heilbroner
Touchstone Books, 1999-6th ed - 365 pages

I read Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” back in college my senior year, all 1200+ pages of it.  I’ve read parts of Communist Manifesto and Capital by Karl Marx and some Joseph Schumpeter.  I loved it all (especially Smith and Schumpeter) but it was BRUTAL as the dialects in those days varied so much from today’s. 

If you are new to economics or want summaries/insights into the greatest economists in history this book is for you.  Mr. Heilbroner’s book, the Worldly Philosophers, is the best books on economics I have come across and I have endured graduate level economic courses, both macro and micro (along with the undergraduate courses.)  This book provides readers with a nice summary and analysis of the great Economic thinkers from Adam Smith, Karl Marx, David Ricardo, Mill, Keynes, Schumpeter and others.  I found the book to be very general and not extremely analytical/scholarly if you will.

The summaries of each man’s economic concepts and life/times in which he lived were extremely accurate.  Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author tries to explain the multi-disciplined nature of economics and how it is a combination of sociology, history, political science and philosophy all rapped into one.  If you look at the London School of Economics graduate program you will find over 30 unique Masters Programs in economics as the field is increasingly becoming applied and specialized into different parts of the society.  Mr. Heilbroner asks a question at the end such as “are we seeing the end of Worldly Philosophers?” as the field is increasingly getting more specialized and very few economists are tackling the “big picture” anymore and how the various components of an economy (land, labor and capital) are intertwined with each other.  Definitely something to think about.

I found myself sitting down and reading a chapter at a time, 50-60 pages, with no problems at all.  Mr. Heilbroner doesn't give you everything but perhaps enough to chomp your teeth into the works of each philosopher on your own.  At the end of the book he has a list of suggested readings for those seeking more information on any of the economists/subjects mentioned but, frankly, I don’t think many can handle 99% of the stuff.  

 

About the Author: Robert Heilbroner is Norman Thomas Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at the New School for Social Research, in New York City. His main contribution to economic thought is in the critical methodology/philosophy of economics...he likes to look at "the big picture".