صورالكتاب كيف أن أفكار الاقتصاديين العظماء لم تكن مقصورة على التأثير فى المجتمعات ،بل إنها هى ذاتها قد تشكلت وفقًا للوسط والمحيط الثقافي الذى عاشوا فيه. والكتاب يعتبر مقدمة قصيرة عن علم الاقتصاد سهلة الفهم تمامًا للمبتدئين و ممتعه – فى نفس الوقت- لعموم القراء،حيث إن اهتمام المبتديء بالاقتصاد أصبح يتضاءل بالنسبه إلى نمو أعداد و أحجام المشاكل الأقتصادية للمجتمع.
I enjoyed the first half of the book. Colorful and playful romp through the early history of economic thought/ political economy. Very nicely done. Alas, the book goes off the rails in the 20th century. Keynes and Samuelson are garbled at best, and it becomes a rant by the 1970s or so. Sigh. Someday there will be a cogent, balanced, and thoughtful narrative of the past fifty years of economics. But this isn't it...
I like the concept. Take the economic thinkers, discuss their ideas, and space the facade with the cultural and literary milieu of the Era. Often, this paid off very nicely. I gained a new appreciation for Percy Shelly's poetry and his moral economic views related to class and labor.
But the book is inconsistent. Some chapters dragged on, others were fairly strong. The final third was editorial, rather than scholarly. It is always difficult to write "history" when you're in the middle of it and arguing for one side.
This book mixed a thorough overview of economic history and practice with the worst writing I've ever seen. The introduction informs us that an economist, like an airplane pilot, has many approaches, and the metaphors just get more labored from there. It's a good introduction to the Dismal Science, but you've got to have a strong stomach to finish it.
I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book as he traces, very amusingly, the theories of economics from Adam Smith up to and including the Depression. Post-Depression economic theory lost me, however, but don't let that prevent you from reading the first two thirds of the book. The insights from economists and the colourful characters are fantastic.