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The Worldly Philosophers is a bestselling classic that not only enables us to see more deeply into our history but helps us better understand our own times. In this seventh edition, Robert L. Heilbroner provides a new theme that connects thinkers as diverse as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. The theme is the common focus of their highly varied ideas -- namely, the search to understand how a capitalist society works. It is a focus never more needed than in this age of confusing economic headlines.

In a bold new concluding chapter entitled "The End of the Worldly Philosophy?" Heilbroner reminds us that the word "end" refers to both the purpose and limits of economics. This chapter conveys a concern that today's increasingly "scientific" economics may overlook fundamental social and political issues that are central to economics. Thus, unlike its predecessors, this new edition provides not just an indispensable illumination of our past but a call to action for our future.

Average Customer Rating:

Very readable	Customer Rating:
This was a required book for an econ class. The writing style is enjoyable, making it a book I might have read for pleasure.

A brief review of economic history-no more, no less

Customer Rating:

A decent review of economic philosophy as it changed across time. Not very much depth, but that's the point. This book is on the "List of Unrequired Reading" from UT-Austin, my undergraduate institution. I can't say it's well-written, but probably as easy to read as economics gets. As other reviewers have noted, you read about one period/economist and wish there was more substance given. However, if this were the case, the book would be 1000 pages. After each section, I found myself going to Wikipedia for more information. At the end of the day I learned quite a bit. I'd say this makes a good quick read that would be useful to those lacking a basic understanding of economics and/or the concept of free markets (some of my liberal friends come to mind here). For a better combination of educational (history) and entertaining reading, I'd suggest something by Daniel Boorstin like The Discoverers.

Boring and important people omitted

Customer Rating:

Despite being really interested in getting a good overview of the various ideas and lifes of great economists and being highly motivated I have not managed to get past page 132 - it was such a boring read. It would be much more informative and quicker to print out and read the wikipedia pages of the economists mentioned. Furthermore the book does not discuss (in most cases not even mention) very influential economists like Friedman, van Mises and it also gives the wrong impression that the first person ever to think about economics was Adam Smith.

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword!

Customer Rating:

I read this book for a Microeconomics class that I took with Dr. Gertmenian at Pepperdine in California back in the late 1980s. I enjoyed learning about this handful of powerful philosophers who helped shape economic theory. Some of their theories make good sense; other theories make no sense. There is some serious naïve thoughts about human nature. The most fascinating person to me was Adam Smith and his thoughts about the free markets system. I especially enjoyed learning about his "Invisible hand theory." It essentially says that selfish businessmen will be good for the economy because of an "Invisible hand." It is sort of like the Trickle down Theory where as businesses grow they have to buy more good and services, and employ more people. Even though greed may be the reason for business to grow, the economic impact is frequently positive. There are many interesting topics in the book. Just a few are: The Economic Revolution, The Visions of the Utopian Socialists, The Contradictions of Joseph Schumpeter and more. This is an excellent book to gain some insight into these early philosophers and their thoughts on economic thinking. The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Good, but too much	Customer Rating:
I do think this is a very informative book, but I think the author tries too hard. I have a decently large vocabulary, but there were still several words per chapter I needed a dictionary for. There are also a few passages where the author tried to get a little to linguistically creative, which is not really suit the nature of this piece.