Book Description

With its roots in history and eyes on the future, this book traces the development of our economic society from the Middle Ages to the present, offering a balanced perspective of why our economy is the way it is and where it may be headed. It explores the catalytic role past economic trends and dynamics—particularly capitalism—have played in creating the present challenges we face, and offers suggestions on how we may deal with them most effectively in the future. Chapter topics include the economic problem, the premarket economy, the emergence of market society, the industrial revolution, the great depression, the rise of the public sector, modern capitalism emerges in Europe, the golden age of capitalism, the rise and fall of socialism, the globalization of economic life, and why some nations remain poor.For individuals interested in the economic history of the U.S. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

How did market society come to be?
This book examines the transformation of traditional society into market society: the necessary pre-conditions and steps. The author reminds us that, despite the material advances of modern society, some key economic ideas still apply. All societies must be organized for the material survival of its members. The inter-dependencies among societal members in simpler societies have not been eliminated in market societies, despite the hyping of the independent, self-maximizer by modern theorists; in fact, the complexities of modern societies may well create more dependence, not less. And market societies do have some inherent problems.

The author points out that any society must have a coherent system for producing useful goods and services and then distributing them in a manner sufficient for society's perpetuation. Man has relied upon combinations of tradition, command, and markets to solve those production and distribution problems. Tradition uses time-honored methods of work, "allocated by heredity," which are reinforced by "law, custom, and belief." Change and competitiveness are not tolerated. Command is authoritarian control of economies and is mostly associated with economies operating in rapid catch-up mode, such as the Soviet Union. However, even democracies use elements of command during periods of crisis. In market societies, the aggregation of supply and demand guide economic functioning with no distinct center of control or allegiance to past practices.

Manorial estates and the guilds dominated life in the Middle Ages along with the Church, but the author points to small beginnings of a more commercial world. Itinerant merchants established a small niche for commercial activity in some urban areas. The more successful of them came to be key financiers of monarchs keen on expanding their authority. The gold and silver realized from 16th century New World expeditions stimulated commercial activity. Calvinism, in contrast to the Catholic Church, sanctified hard work and the accumulation of wealth as an indicator of spiritual worthiness. Gradually, feudal society became more reliant upon money as a basis of social exchange. No longer were manorial lords obligated for the overall well being of serfs. The displacement of peasants by the enclosure movements was justified by the opportunities for the landed aristocracy to use their estates as sources of cash revenue.

The author identifies several changes that are necessary for a market economy to emerge. Virtually every task, good, or service has a monetary reward. The anticipation of financial reward guides such decisions as where to labor or what to produce. A society of contracts supercedes a society of status and traditional social bonds. With those changes, a certain amount of social uncertainty is introduced. Yet a market society is not without its own forms of control. The competitions of seller versus seller and buyer versus seller are constraining forces on economic behavior.

Generally it takes a market economy to substantially change the material well being of an entire society. In the first place, traditional societies are not unhappy with the status quo. What is needed are investments in capital goods, or "tools, equipment, machines, and buildings," to increase human productivity leading to higher living standards. And it is the hope for profits or higher wages that spurs investment of money and labor in those goods. But investment implies savings, which, in turn, generally requires a sacrifice in consumption and lower wages. The author suggests that the growing pains of industrialization, mostly on the backs of the working class with the "forced emigration of the peasantry by enclosure and heavy-handed exploitation," could not have been avoided. He undercuts that argument slightly by acknowledging that the forces of democracy in the 19th century ameliorated conditions for the working class.

Scientific and technological advances are often large factors in the development of capital goods and increased productivity. English industrial production literally exploded based on the inventions of such men as Wilkinson, Watt, and Arkwright. The factory system came to dominate English life. New technologies have often literally transformed market societies. The automobile, for example, drastically changed residential patterns, facilitated social independence, and was a massive generator of employment. Can anyone doubt the impacts of electricity, airplanes, television, and computers?

However, the author points out that market societies do not necessarily operate according to the basic theory. "Consumer power" is a first principle of classical economists; according to that notion, consumers force products to be sold "at the lowest price compatible with continued production." But market societies invariably tend to be dominated by a few large firms, where economic efficiencies can be attained. These large enterprises often agree among themselves to set pricing above truly competitive levels. In addition, because much of what is produced in modern economies is non essential, consistency of demand must be created through advertising. While large firms may be needed, consumer sovereignty is mostly a fiction.

Stable market economies must maintain the balances between production and purchasing and savings and investment. Workers' purchasing power must be consistent with production volumes. In addition, savings ought to be converted into investment, or capital formation. The Great Depression was brought about by workers being underpaid and capital investments not being made. The Great Depression and WWII established that government must intervene in a market economy through fiscal and monetary policies to bolster economic stability.

The author emphasizes that basic instabilities remain in market societies. In a market economy, it remains the anticipation of profit on the part of businesses and entrepreneurs that motivates most investment and growth. Technological displacement and unemployment continue to undermine purchasing power. And the author wrote in an era before the evisceration of large "countervailing" unions, the forces of globalization, and a resurgence of rightist, anti-government ideologies. Those developments could have only added to the author's concerns of instabilities.

The book is hurt by not being able to contend with the tremendous changes of the last forty years, though the cautions remain relevant today. It is, however, an excellent guide for understanding the economic and societal changes from the Middle Ages to the era of science and capitalism. Try Charles Lindblom's "The Market System."

Concise but Biased
This is a concise text book for use in high school or first-year college classes on the history of economics that traces the development of the market economy. The basic framework of the book is valuable: how the market transcended earlier forms of economic organization based on command and/or tradition.

There are good summaries of key terms and good discussion questions at the end of each chapter to stimulate classroom discussion; organizationally the book is very good and production values are quite high - very few typesetting errors, good paper, nice ink.

Robert Heilbroner is not, however, the best equipped author to be writing on this subject, as his cynical, Hobbesian view of human nature comes to the surface in numerous remarks whose cumulative effect is a high degree of skepticism about free enterprise and unregulated markets - a skepticism that is not backed by evidence and argument, but more by fears of "bigness" and "unscrupulousness" of business and businesspeople.

(Review based on the Tenth edition of this book)

Good, concise introduction for undergrads
This is an excellent introduction to Economic History for undergraduate students. It is concise and well-written, full of poignant examples, tracing economic organization from the Middle Ages through the present. The chapter summaries and discussion questions at the end of each chapter are very useful for both the student and the professor. The brevity of the book leaves open the possibility of including related academic articles or even other textbooks in the syllabus.

The main disappointment is that the nineteenth century--which was full of economic, social, and political change--is basically ignored. The content jumps from the Industrial Revolution to the beginning of the twentieth century. The traditional Euro-American egocentrism is also present. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Serious Business of Linux and Open Source
Users love software that they don't have to pay for. But, some software professionals have to make a living creating and maintaining that software. Many companies today grapple with the question, "how to make money with Linux and Open Source?" Some software business leaders are worried about whether Linux and Open Source are impacting business viability of operating systems/environment business. Enterprise business and IT managers are quite happy to see the trend towards software they don't have to pay for. But, most often they do not understand what the implications are and what the fine prints way. Martin Fink has done an excellent job of compiling all the fundamental and essential information on the business aspects of Linux and Open Source software. He clarifies and removes many myths people carry in their minds. Probably this is a "one of its kind" book that brings together the various angles such as the overview of terms, understanding legal lingo, business model aspects, talent management aspects and so on. The book covers the essential technical aspects lucidly and adequately. If you are looking for a deep technical source for Linux and Open Source architectures, there are enough pointers in the book; but, this book is not meant for that purpose. I recommend this book for software engineers who have to understand the business aspects and Enterprise IT/Business Managers who are deploying/planning Linux and Open Source components in their business. The timing of the book is perfect. This book is a good candidate for bringing out update versions as the domain expands and matures. I don't know whether Martin Fink plans to upgrade the book year after year.

A book for Enterprise customers looking at Linux/Open source
I have just finished reading the book "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source" and wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed it. I am currently passing the book up my chain of command at work...

Linux and Open source is not "just" for geeks anymore. Business is embracing it and needs the guidance this book has to offer. It is the first book I have seen which addresses Linux and open source from a business perspective.

The background on Linux and Open source brings the reader up-to-speed on the key players and culture of the open source community and why it would be considered - staying focussed on facts and data. From this, Martin goes on to discuss the different issues one must address in considering the implementation of this technology in the Enterprise including the real costs and benefits.

Martin lends credibility to this topic as he is currently the VP & CTO at Hewlett-Packard heading its Linux Systems Division. He has to grapple with these issues everyday...

At a conference where Martin was speaking at recently, a senior executive at IBM mentioned that he was giving this book (an HP executive's book) to IBM's customers. Having read the book, I now understand why.

A must read if you consider open source in your business
The author is definitely speaking from experience, providing valuable insights and recommmendations. Coming from a person who's been heading the Linux Systems Division of HP for over three years, it's not surprising.

Part I brings the reader to a sufficient level of familiarity with Linux, open source, licensing, communities and celebrities. Unless you are fully in touch with the open source world, you will certainly learn useful information in this part.

Part II explains what it means to implement Linux in your operations. No attempt is made to review or benchmark available distributions, and no selection process is presented, only some guidance is provided. This is understandable: Linux can take many shapes and forms and you can even create your own distribution. Because of this diversity, a whole chapter is devoted to standards that make it possible to use multiple distributions. The subject of Total Cost of Ownership is also covered, not in terms of numbers, but in terms of items to consider for calculating a total cost. There is no magic formula here, only an indication of what you should consider and how open source can affect the bottom line. The author then discusses the activity of deploying Linux, considering the issues of migration, coexistence, hardware, support, and training. Here again the author provides essential guidance without covering all the details of such undertaking.

Part III is about how to integrate open source into your organization. This is probably where most of the added value of this book lies. It is really in this part that the author draws from his experience in managing open source in a large organization. He first attempts to provide a functional model for an organization developing software, focusing on enabling an open source process as opposed to a conventional development model. This model may assume a large set of developers and may come out of the blue (it is presented then discussed), but it clearly demonstrates how much of a cultural change it requires to fully reap the benefits from an open source process, and how much other corporate functions such as marketing and HR have to adapt accordingly. Most importantly, this model can boldly be used as a replacement for conventional closed-source development. The author then covers other valuable topics: gated communities, the time value of software and how open source changes the equation and can be used to your advantage, the business models around open source, when to participate or create open source software, and what should be considered when deciding to use open source.

A highly recommended reading for anybody who is considering leveraging the benefits of open source within their organization. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

For thoose that have doughts about macroeconomics
This it is the book that invited me to study Macroeconomics. It is a text that without losing the scientific rigor, appears simple and useful, simultaneously as deep and integral, without use of heavy mathematics, which normally invites students of the first courses to abandom the subject. I recommend it widely

Este es el libro que me invitó a estudiar la Macroeconomía. Es un texto que sin perder el rigor cientifico, se presenta sencillo y útil, a la vez que profundo e integral, sin el uso de elevadas matemáticas, que por lo regular invitan a abandonar el estudio a los alumnos de los primeros cursos. Lo recomiendo ampliamente

a very good book to begin the macroeconomics study
It's not a a book for some one who wants to become an expert in macroeconomics, but if you are a begginer, or if you want to have a macroeconomic book fpr further review, this is an excellent book.

The best when you are learning macroeconomics
Is a very interesting book, specially for people who are studing in Latin America, like me. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is written for present and future practitioners who need a solid foundation in all aspects of conducting business in the New Economy. The authors focus on what a manager needs to know about Internet infrastructure, strategy formulation and implementation, technology concepts, public policy issues, and capital infrastructure in order to make effective business decisions.The authors present a framework for the study and practice of e-Commerce with business strategy at the core surrounded by four infrastructures; the technology infrastructure that underlies the Internet, the media infrastructure that provides the content for businesses, public policy regulations that provide both opportunities and constraints, and the capital infrastructure that provides the money and capital to run the businesses.Within this framework, the authors provide a deep exploration of core concepts of New Economy strategy and associated enablers enriched by a wide variety of examples, case studies, and explanations culled directly from practice. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

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Dazed & Confused
This text was required reading in an Internet marketing class I took. As an about-to-graduate business major, I felt the book often strayed off it's subject matter (e-commerce) and too often went into excrutiating detail about how businesses operate. Although I did not read every chapter, the sections I did read were repetitive and confusing to follow. For example, the concept of "catalog content management" is defined and discussed at least three times in one chapter. To say this book is thorough is an understatement. There are many sections that could have been deleted with no loss of meaning to the subject matter. The book is probably OK for beginning business majors who have yet to take lots of business classes. However, for those who are more familiar with business, you will probably find yourself skimming over this text looking for the information you want. If you're looking for a general overview of e-commerce, this is not the book for you. If you want more detail than you thought existed . . . well, I'm selling my copy in the used book section of this site :)

good materials for learing e-commerce
I used this book in my ecommerce class and the materials provided is very informative and easy to follow. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good and not a "heavy" book
I'm a undergraduate economic student and have tried a good sort of books in this matter, and I finally get one that fits very nice to my needs. This book touches all the aspects of the subject without being very hard to understand or too boring to read, and that is hard to find in book about industrial organization! Another good point is that the book is very new and have useful and contemporary examples. A liked very much! ... Read more

Book Description

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. ... Read more

Reviews (45)

A Classic
This lucid and lively book tells the history of economic thought through the lives and times of great economists such as Smith, Marx, and Keynes. The writing will grab most readers, making the book an ideal introduction to economics for intelligent high schoolers or college students who might be put off by the dryness of the subject. There's no wonder that it's been in print for decades and has gone through numerous editions.

That said, the reader show know that Heilbroner's history stops with Keyenes and Schumpeter, thus ignoring the the revival of market-oriented schools of thought and the collapse of communism. This will strike some readers as a huge omission, perhaps reflective of Heilbroner's advanced age or his aversion to the mathematical emphasis of contemporary economics. Heilbroner would probably argue that no truly fundamental and original contributions have been made to the discipline in the last 50 years. He may be right.

Some Amazon reviewers, apprently of conservative bent, don't understand that The Worldly Philosophers is as much a book of history and biography as it is of economics. To criticize Heilbroner for giving too much space to Marx and none to Friedman or the Austrians is to confuse historical impact and originality with correctness. Marx had a gigantic impact on social thought and world history. The Austrians were (and remain) a smallish cult, whatever their other merits.

A sweeping view of the history of economics
For all its flaws, "The Worldly Philosophers" is a magnificent story of economists, their ideas, and how those ideas were contested. If you expect this treatment of economists to be dull, you will find that you are mistaken. With his romantic use of language and biographical anecdotes, Robert Heilbroner paints a picture that lures the reader into a field that is so often mystified and abused. I chose Economics as a major because of this book and it is still an enjoyable read.

Some chapters are better than others, and those on Smith, Marx, and Keynes are probably the most interesting as well as relevant to our day. His lofty words often border on exaggeration or spectacle when it comes to the discussion of people, but there are also analyses of thoughts and theories that are not at all complicated for the lay reader. That said, it is not a book on economics, but rather a story about economists. Do not expect to understand economics by reading this book. If you don't know economics, you will learn only a general feel for what economists attempt to explain and how those explanations have changed throughout the years. But even that, I think, is valuable.

The author is a socialist and it shows, but I don't feel that it is too problematic. Until the last chapter, there are no blatant endorsements of particular views. The analyses and criticisms are good, and if his praise of people like Marx or Keynes seems overboard, I feel that he is praising their boldness and inventiveness more than anything. The point is that these thinkers were amazing, and their ideas changed how we perceive the world. And as we shifted our understandings, our institutions and actions changed. There were other thinkers involved too, and they may have been unfairly dismissed by Heilbroner. But what comes through in the end is the passion for learning about the world. For that, this book is invaluable.

Excellent, vibrant reading
I came to this book a novice in economic history. The Worldly Philosophers opened my eyes and gave in-depth detail of some of the major thinkers and key players in economics: such as Karl Marx, John Hobson, Marshall, Keynes, the Utopian socialists, Adam Smith, etc.

This is a wonderful book for an introduction to economics. I've generated many ideas and economic theories as a result of reading this book--the author constantly points out their ideas, the flaws, the strengths, the fallacies.

Good Introduction
This is the latest version by a historian of economics, Heilbroner. In this book, taking the paradigm of Polanyi, so many classical economists are introduced as gworldly philosophersh like Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Owen, San Simon, Fourier, Mill, Marx, Edgeworth, Frederic Bastiat, Henry George, Hobson, Marshall, Veblen, Keyens, and Schumpeter.
The author shows us the way how we can understand some difficulties of those philosophers, explaining their social background, habitus, characters, whole perspective which the author calls gvisionh, achievements and difficulties from current issue. And because they have affected each other as a matter of fact, some letters which were inserted in this book is effective to touch their personalities. This book can be read as a Euro-American history through those philosophers.
Although there are a few inadequate expressions on anthropological facts and might be philosophy, this book must be fantastic for inviting readers to economics. However, although anthropology or sociology has same challenge, what we want to know at the end must be economy itself rather than thoughts of worldly philosophers. Ifm just a bit afraid this book might produce gstudiers who want to become economistsh rather than h studiers who want to know economyh, unless readers take it into account.

A great reading experience
This book reminds me of Will Durant's marvelous The Story of Philosophy, with which it shares many positive qualities. The first similarity is that the writing is extremely lucid, explaining many complex ideas in a direct way, which only superior writing can achieve. And like Durant, Heilbroner has a contagious enthusiasm for his subject matter. He really makes the economists come alive, both because of their personalities and their thinking. Finally, like Durant's work, this book has really made me eager to read the works of the men that the author summarizes.

When I became interested in economics, this book was recommended to me as the first one I should read. I'm truly glad I did.

I highly recommend this book. -Mykal Banta ... Read more

Book Description

This is a no-nonsense principles book that emphasizes economic theory and applications.The book is a study tool for students and the pedagogical approach and in-text features were chosen to reinforce that theme. It provides students with a picture of economics as a unified discipline, a set of interrelated tools and ideas that can be used to look at the world in a different way, and the less-is-more approach has been carefully crafted in both content and supporting pedagogy to keep students focused on learning and applying the central ideas used in economic analysis.It teaches students how to use analytical processes in developing their own economic analysis skills.Hall/Lieberman's careful focus on core theoretical ideas, as well as their systematic application of theoretical tools to timely real-world questions, conveys the message that economics is an integrated, powerful body of knowledge that can be used to address domestic and global issues. ... Read more

Book Description

Baye is one of the most successful managerial economics textbooks. It is the first textbook to blend tools from intermediate microeconomics, game theory, and industrial organization. Known for its balanced coverage of traditional and modern topics, Baye's third edition continues to offer the diverse managerial economics marketplace a flexible and up-to-date textbook. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent service, book in mint condition
The book I bought from Eric was in excellent condition, plus it arrived only 3 days after I had purchased it! Great service, perfect product!

Very helpful
I have never been too crazy about or never been good at economics, but after reading this book, I feel I understand the real-world economics better.For a novice like me, it is relatively easy to follow the contents because it's full of examples from real business world. I assume this book will be satisfactory to more "academic" readers too because the book still doesn't fail to cover real economic materials like graphs and theories.

Good Book
This book provides an excellent background for learning applied managerial economics.Mr. Baye uses interesting real-world examples, which is difficult when writing about the entirely hypothetical world ofmicro-economics.I felt that the section on Game Theory was especiallyuseful in explaining real world market paricipant behavior in pricingdecisions.Overall, I would highly recommend this book for both studentsof economics, as well as those non-students seeking a weekend of lightreading in the topic of economics. ... Read more

Book Description

Professional firms are forever trying to get their people to act like professionals -- to do the right things. Though their various incentives may create employee compliance, these don't often encourage excellence. David Maister, the world's premier consultant to professional service firms, vigorously challenges professionals to examine this essential, yet under-addressed question: What is true professionalism? His answer is clear: It is believing passionately in what you do, never compromising your standards and values, and caring about your clients, your people and your own career. In clear and compelling terms, Maister shows that this approach is not only ethical but also conducive to commercial success. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A TREASURY OF PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR PROFESSIONALS
A former professor at the Harvard Business School, Boston-based David H. Maister is the world's premier consultant to professional service firms. His core principles spring from good, sound logic: Believe passionately in what you do, never compromise your standards and values, and care about your clients.

Maister passionately believes we should do all these because they are the ethical things to do and because they are the primary road to commercial success.

True Professionalism is a candid treasury of practical wisdom in which Maister expounds some eternal truths about the individual professional, the firm, and the client.

Excellent Book - Speaks directly to consultants
Finally a book that speaks to the heart of what consulting is(or professional services in general), with no hype, no distractions or flavor-of-the-month thoughts. I had heard David Maister at a recent consulting conference and was quite struck by his focus on people and 'execution of strategies' as being the core of successful consulting firms.

This book is pithy without being trite and if you have been in consulting a while, you can directly relate to what the author is referring to. There are many suggestions in this book that are insightful, practical and feel right on the money to a practictioner.

While by no means a classic, it is certainly a must read.

Essentials Needed To Become a Successful Leader
David Maister does a great job of explaining the fundamentals essential to anyone that has a job or is looking for a job in consulting. Splitting the book into three sections made it flow well and easy to follow and comprehend. Furthermore, Maister really focuses on the things that you should look for within yourself as well as the firm and clients. He makes you think about what one should really focus on in your career and the benefits you can receive from your job. This book also guides an employee in explaining situations that will probably occur at some point in their working career. David Maister gives you the tools that you need to be successful; all the person has to do is apply it to their everyday life.

The principles that Maister discussed in his book showed me that there is a balance between the client, the firm, and yourself. This balance is important because it dictates how successful you will become. It is also important to value your client as well as engage with them so that you really know who the client is and what their needs and wants are. Even though you must achieve your goals, you should help others to do the same by establishing a relationship, which in turn will make the working environment healthy and successful.

There is so much information you take a way from this book that will help you in your career as well as your life. I advise everyone to buy this book, because it is very beneficial to the success of anyone's career. Through the use of catchy phrases and clear, practical explanations, I feel that anyone can read this book and take something from it to apply to their career.

Should be required reading in law firms
"True Professionalism" expresses Maister's core message: do work
you love with people you like and everything else will come
with ease. Few of the lawyers I coach have heard this message
before. If they'd read Maister they'd realize that business
development isn't about selling, with all of its worst connotations -- it's about helping people you respect and whose problems are meaningful to you.
Maister encourages the reader to consider the "radical" idea that work should be enjoyable and that if it is, then success will come from doing it well and with sincere caring. I agree with him and enjoy being reminded each time I re-read this wonderful book.

Insightful!
David H. Maister has written a valuable book about what it really means to be a professional. Presented with depth, insight and plenty of practical advice, the book is intelligently written and can be applied to anyone's career, no matter the level or industry. Maister also has plenty to say to companies about their professionalism and lack of it. We [...] recommend this book to professionals in all areas, and if you want to be a better one - or if you're not sure whether you are one or not - start reading.
... Read more

Reviews (34)

Keynes is by no means digging holes to fill them up again
Here's a book every economist and everybody interested in economics should read, it's not an easy to read book, but if read carefully, it can show us some problems we are still suffering from in the modern economies and practical ways of dealing with them. Much has been said about this author who has been derided for a long time now, but I bet few have read the man himself, and if he was labeled the greatest economist of the 20th century, he should be respected as such or at least be read before making any comment. Freedom of Choice shouldn't be irresponsible. Remember that the survival of laissez faire may be due to post-war keynesian policies.

Are We all Keynesians Now?
Are We All Keynesians Now?

Most educated Americans know something of John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist whose hugely influential work “T"The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money", strongly influenced economic theory and practice during the last half of the twentieth century, particularly with regard to the role of government in stimulating and regulating a nation's’s economic life. Nevertheless it remains true that almost all of the "intelligentsia" in general, and most economists in particular, have never read the book, despite the fact that it is readily available in today’s mega-bookstores such as of course, Amazon.com (at a reasonable price and) in a good quality paperback.

Indeed, by a curious twist, the people who seem most to have made some attempt to read Keynes' oeuvre are those who appear most outraged by it and determined to revile it. If one is skeptical about this, (read the reviews), where veritable "frothing at the mouth" denunciations seem to dominate. These would hardly be worth reading except for the mindset they reveal, which goes far toward illuminating some of the attitudes of the 1930's otherwise inexplicable at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Their very virulence convinces one that Keynes was clearly on to something; if an author enrages half the world he must be at least half right.

Keynes detractors are right about one thing: "General Theory..." is a tough read, though not for some of the reasons they indicate. Keynes actually uses very little mathematics, the alleged prevalence of which is one of the points usually cited in criticism. He uses a little elementary algebra and a little differential calculus, hardly enough to swamp even the most modestly gifted sophomore who has been exposed to the subject.
He does not generally contradict himself, as some allege, beyond the level of ambivalence to be expected of anyone who realizes he is treating an inexact science where many conflicting views can hold some claim to legitimacy. Rather, what makes Keynes' work an ideal bedtime companion for those inflicted with insomnia is the obsessive care
the author takes to be absolutely precise, the somewhat antique 1930's British English
employed (though some, including the present reviewer, may see that as one of its charms)
and the regular use of Latin phrases familiar to Keynes and his contemporaries, such as, e.g., "ceteris paribus" (roughly translated "all things being equal", meaningless to American readers whose formative collegiate experience included little in the way of foreign languages of any kind, let alone classical ones. The trick in reading Keynes is to get beyond these inconveniences of packaging and unwrap the very real gift of ideas enclosed.

Keynes' economic prescriptions are now so generally accepted, even by most conservatives, certainly including "W", that many of us find it hard to recognize what the argument is all about. These days it is taken for granted that the government has a responsibility to stimulate the economy out of recession, at least to the extent of reducing interest rates, and modestly applying the brakes during overexuberant expansion. It is accepted that two of the factors exacerbating economic downturns are the fearfulness of investors in the face of declining corporate earnings and the reluctance of consumers to to put down money they suspect they may need later if they are laid off from their jobs. It was not always so.

Some imagine that Keynes work, along with the massive nineteenth century tomes of Karl Marx, constitute a response to Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" a work at least as misunderstood, often deliberately so, as "General Theory...". That is not the case; Keynes hardly ever, refers to Smith and, in any case, those who have read "Wealth of Nations" are well aware that Smith, a truly charming writer quite apart from his undeniable genius, is far more sympathetic to the average worker and much more critical of monopolistic business practices than imagined by those who have deified him but never read him. Instead, the dragons which Keynes sets forth to slay are those who later built a truly "Dark Tower" on Smith's rather benign foundation. Those dragons include, most notably, David Ricardo, Alfred Marshall and "Professor (A. C.) Pigou".

Keynes cannot help but admit to the suspicion that these economists' written views on the question of employment, or the more pressing question of unemployment, reflected their identification of the social classes most likely to buy their books; he never states it quite that baldly, of course. It seems almost incredible to us in this age that the prevailing opinion expressed in those writings is that all unemployment, at the organizational if not the individual level, is voluntary; that depressions and large scale unemployment result from the perverse refusal of workers or their labor union representatives to recognize their labor as just another good in the market, subject to a reduced price in the absence of demand occasioned by downturns in economic activity.
One wonders if some of the tolerance for Adolf Hitler manifested by large segments of the British upper and middle classes, and smaller segments of their American counterparts, in part reflected his action on accession to the Chancellorship to reduce German wages by one third all around. Whether that, by itself, increased German employment numbers or simply made economic room for a huge rearmament program that effectively eliminated labor redundancy is a good question ?but for some other essay.

Keynes argues quite persuasively that a perception of fairness is essential in a democratic society. (10 points to Adolf for fairness?) Wage reductions in capitalist economies tend to be spotty and opportunistic, rather than universal, typically affecting those who can least afford them. Keynes also argues that they do virtually nothing to solve the problems of the economy, partly because employers may very well decide not to decrease prices comparably and, more importantly, because of cascading effects on overall demand; workers on reduced wages don't rush out to buy new automobiles. Keynes's General Theory versus the classical-neo. theory
First,let's write down the core of the classical and/or neoclassical theory Keynes criticized in the General Theory.Let p equal the price level,w equal the money wage,MPL equal the marginal product of labor,mpc equal the marginal propensity to spend on consumption goods,mpi equal the marginal propensity to spend on investment goods(capital or producer goods like machinery,equipment or factories)and mps equal the marginal propensity to save .For the classical- neoclassical theory,the economy is at an optimal state on the boundary of both the static and dynamic production possibilities frontiers if the following equilibrium condition holds for the aggregate labor market:w/p=MPL.For Keynes the condition is w/p=MPL/(mpc+mpi).neoclassical theory is a special case where mpc+mpi=1.Keynes's GT is mpc+mpi Don't waste your money
Keynes has had a profound influence on economic policies without question. If youre curious about economic theories in general then you may want to add this book to your bookshelf along with works by Friedman,Ludwig von Mises and Adam Smith

For the most part however, Keynes brand of economics has been a dismal failure. One need to look no further than the stagflation of the 1970's to see this. Keynes work is outdated and discredited. If youre looking to gain a real understanding about economics I suggest you read "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell.

The savior of "capitalism" or corporatist liberalism?
I read Keynes' "General Theory" as a high-school sophomore in 1970. Even as a high-school student, I was able to see the central analytical error.

The key Keynesian argument is that there can be an imbalance between savings and investment: savers may try to save more than they invest, in effect taking money out of circulation and thereby throwing the economy into depression.

Of course, they have to do something with this money, presumably holding it as cash in some form. Therefore, if you follow through the analysis to the end, Keynes is saying that people are trying to hold more cash than is available: the demand of savers to hold savings in cash rather than as investments is what causes depressions.

Keynes and his followers accept this conclusion: the term which came to be used was that there was a "liquidity trap," the desire to hold more cash ("liquidity") than was actually supplied in the economy is what produces depressions.

However, as soon as the matter is phrased in terms of an imbalance between the supply and demand of money, anyone who passed economics 101 should remember that market economies are _very_ good at equilibrating supply and demand. If the current demand for a good is too high, then the current market value is too low, and a rise in the market value of that commodity will solve the problem.

It works for money, too. A rise in the value of money is called "price deflation," and economists have known for centuries that price deflation does indeed naturally occur in depressions. As the general price level falls, the existing supply of money becomes more valuable -- in effect, the real supply of money becomes greater. It becomes more tempting to spend one's cash on now cheaper goods or investments. Price deflation, if allowed to occur by governments, cures liquidity traps.

I figured this out for myself as a high-school student (there is an alternative but equivalent analysis based on "dimensional analysis" which, as a budding physicist, I found especially cogent).

I was not of course the first to work this out: even _before_ Keynes published the "General Theory," the British economist A. C. Pigou had worked through this analysis and the matter is often therefore referred to as the "Pigou effect." Since Pigou, various eminent economists have worked out the mechanism in great detail with careful mathematical analyses, but the basic idea is freshman economics. When I entered college, I found out that the advanced graduate-level "macro" books did indeed let the secret out that Keynes' analysis was wrong. It was only undergrads, politicians, and the general public that were expected to believe the Keynesian fallacy.

So why the decades of lying?

Just as the Communist governments of the old Soviet empire needed Karl Marx's goofy economics theories and laughable philosophical scribblings in order to prop up their own corrupt regimes, so also the rising mid-twentieth-century predatory military-university-government-industrial complex in Western nations needed an ideology to justify the corporatist-socialist regimes it was creating.

Keynes' prescriptions for monetary inflation, deficit spending, rejection of the gold standard, and high levels of government spending and taxation were tailor-made for the democratic-socialist welfare/warfare states then being erected in various Western nations.

As corporate liberals are so fond of saying, Keynes did indeed "save capitalism" if by "capitalism" one means not free-market capitalism but rather the corrupt crony capitalism under which we now all live.

Keynes himself knew this of course. The infamous statement he made in the introduction to the German translation of the "General Theory" ("theory of aggregate production, which is the point of the following book, nevertheless can be much easier adapted to the conditions of a totalitarian state than the theory of production and distribution of a given production put forth under conditions of free competition and a large degree of laissez-faire") obviously does not prove that Keynes was sympathetic to Nazism. But it does show that Keynes rightly recognized that his proposals were of great potential value for the oppressive political regimes that were being created during the twentieth century.

Even though Keynesian theories are now intellectually discredited "flat-earth" economics, they live on because they serve a political need. Even conservative politicians nowadays often spout Keynesian nostrums ("stimulating demand" via tax cuts or monetary growth) rather than make the painful acknowledgement that it is the corporate-socialist economic system under which we live which is the problem.

No regime lasts forever. Eventually, the present corporatist-collectivist regime will collapse, probably when the majority of the human race figures out how to free itself from the current American geopolitical hegemony. At that point, Keynes will be universally viewed as the economically incompetent charlatan that he actually was.

(For a more detailed analysis of the Keynesian system, I recommend Henry Hazlitt's classic "Failure of the New Economics" and the collection of critical essays Hazlitt edited, "Critics of Keynesian Economics." For an analysis that goes beyond Keynes in analyzing the process which causes the initial imbalance in the investment sector and the resulting liquidity crisis, see Murray Rothbard's "America's Great Depression." Keynes purported to believe that the triggering forces of the investment crisis were irrational and inexplicable "animal spirits." Rothbard shows that, on the contrary, these forces can be rationally explained and understood: in essence, it is incompetent financial policy, of the sort Alan Greenspan has provided in the last decade, which causes economic crises. Milton Friedman's and Anna Schwartz's famed "The Great Contraction" focuses solely on the monetary aspects of the Great Depression, thereby missing the causative process in the investment sector.) ... Read more

Book Description

Creating the Project Office is written for managers who are searching for ways to transform their organizations into more effective and efficient project-based workplaces. As this important book reveals, there is no more effective way to make that change than to create a project office tailored to the needs of the organization. While a project office model leads to better products from projects, it is also a vehicle for generating overall organizational change— by transforming the organization from function-based to project-based. This model incorporates projects into the very fabric of the organizational strategy and revitalizes organizations, creates competitive advantage, and increases shareholder value. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Unusually rich
This book takes the leading thinking in implementing organizational change and applies it directly to the challenge of implementing project management. The authors then advance the art through the application of their extensive experience and original thought that leaves the reader-practitioner with a step-by-step guide to implementing a project management office.

The major strength of this manuscript is its revelation of the organizational challenges in creating a project office, their causes, and straightforward advice on navigating the pitfalls. The knowledge and experience of the authors comes through with 'been there, done that' credibility. The reader leaves with a deeper understanding of their organization and the means for achieving their goal of implementing a project office.

I thought Part One was one of the best discussions I have seen of the organizational change factors involved in implementing a project office. It provided thorough overall coverage on the existing body of work in organizational change and provided an application to project management. The author's contribution of speaking truth to power is valuable.

I found the manuscript replete with illustrative material. I particularly liked the anecdotes from Greek mythology and literature. This book is unusually rich in supporting the principles advocated with clear 'how-to' instructions. As a practitioner reading the book, I found myself saying: "Yes, that works," "I wish I had thought of that sooner," and "I am going to use that tomorrow." - a manuscript reviewer ... Read more

Book Description

Widely regarded as the best in its field, this text reflects the revolutionary changes in records and information management. ... Read more

Book Description

- The updated and expanded second edition of the internationally bestselling guide to principles and practices for undergraduate business and economics students taking mandatory economics statistics courses. - Features four new sections—on nonparametric tests, the Logit Model,the Probit Model, and causality tests—complete with new models and tests used in financial econometrics, and a new chapter on time series econometrics - Over 100,000 students enrolled annually - Includes numerous examples, completely worked problems, supplementary problems, and two full-length self-examinations ... Read more

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It got me through Econometrics
This was an extremely useful book for the understanding of Statistics and Econometrics. Each topic had examples to show how the formulas work. The computer chapter went over the programming in SAS, Excel, and Eviews for the problems in the book. Best of all, the problems had answers. This is a must-have for beginning statistics and econometrics since it starts from scratch, and for theory students in search of an application. ... Read more

Book Description

Rare is the opportunity to see, much less own, an original. Economics by Paul Samuelson is the classic texbook that gave birth to modern economics, and sold millions of copies in more than 40 languages. Now, in this unique and carefully crafted reproduction edition, Samuelson's original words, text, and layout are recreated from the original classic edition. More than just a historical curiosity, however, this book's power to explain economics to both the expert and the novice shines on every page. As fascinating now as when they were first published in 1948, the wisdom and applicability of Samuelson's words remain vital in today's turbulent economic world. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Liberal economics
Mr. Samuelson is most undeniably a great economist, and a great liberal, but from the distant past. As a textbook writer I find him very poor; even irrelevant. He has a way of presenting the subject in a technical/mathmatical way that leaves the reader no better off at all at understanding and discussing the basic economic issues of the day. Besides that he was a remarkably biased teacher/textbook writer. He will perhaps go down in history as the man who said that Russia was a great example of how well a planned economy can perform (even though it really just impoverished its citizens) and that Milton Freidman's work was mistaken (even though it finally became intellectually dominant and was used by the Fed to create the current economic miracle). If you had a choice to spend two semesters plowing through Samuelson or a weekend reading "Capitalism and Freedom" or "Understanding The Difference Between Democrats and Republicans" you'd be wise to pick the later. You'd learn 10 times as much in a fraction the time.

Highly recommended to haters of this dreary subject.
Absolutely easy to read and understand! I never thought I could actually "enjoy" reading about the subject before I came across this book.

The original edition is much better than the one I studied.
I was amazed to discover how good the original edition of Samuelson's classic economics text is. Virtually everything in it is just as relevant today as it was in 1948. Of special interest to me was chapter 10, Personal Finance and Social Security, for the light it sheds on the current debate about retirement income security. I think Samuelson ECONOMICS 1 ed. would be my textbook of choice for a course in introductory economics. ... Read more

Book Description

Since the end of World War II, economists have tried to figure out how poor countries in the tropics could attain standards of living approaching those of countries in Europe and North America. Attempted remedies have included providing foreign aid, investing in machines, fostering education, controlling population growth, and making aid loans as well as forgiving those loans on condition of reforms. None of these solutions has delivered as promised. The problem is not the failure of economics, William Easterly argues, but the failure to apply economic principles to practical policy work.

In this book Easterly shows how these solutions all violate the basic principle of economics, that people--private individuals and businesses, government officials, even aid donors--respond to incentives. Easterly first discusses the importance of growth. He then analyzes the development solutions that have failed. Finally, he suggests alternative approaches to the problem. Written in an accessible, at times irreverent, style, Easterlys book combines modern growth theory with anecdotes from his fieldwork for the World Bank. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

No Easy Answers
An economist at the World Bank, Easterly looks back at the dismal economic record of the Third World over the last 40 years and distills lesssons to guide donors and policymakers in the future. He is at his best when dissecting failed policies such as population control or structural adjustment loans, which were embraced by development experts of the day but rested on faulty logic and flopped in practice. The rest of his book contains fascinating, nuanced discussions of how bad governance, "poverty traps," and plain bad luck (such as terms of trade shocks) can keep poor countries trapped in vicious cycles of poverty. Many myths are exploded, such as the belief that poor nations are destined to "catch up" with rich ones, or that international investment flows to capital-poor states in an effort to find higher returns. The text is clearly written and filled with wry humor. However, the failure to discuss how "Asian Tigers" such as Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan broke out of poverty and achieved industrial take off -- at one point, Easterly half-seriously cites "good luck" as a key explanation for their 30-year record of sustained economic growth! -- is a glaring hole and results in my rating of only four stars.

There are no easy answers to third world growth
For 5/6ths of the people of Earth, life is a daily struggle for basic needs: food, shelter, medicine. Infant mortality rates are high, women are oppressed, and individuals have limited opportunities to improve their lot.

William Easterly is a Senior Advisor in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. In his first book, he asks why trillion dollars of foreign aid to the countries of the "third world" since WWII have caused essentially no improvement in the quality of life for the people in these countries. I found the writing lucid and the many real stories of poverty and corruption both emotionally powerful and insightful.

Emphasizing a key mantra of economics -- people respond to incentives -- he details the long list of foreign aid tactics that have failed: capital investment (machines, factories, roads), education, birth control, loans, and loan forgiveness. Not that any of the tactics are bad, but rather they are ineffectual in a country lacking key social, political, and economic infrastructure.

Easterly then describes in detail the factors at play in driving growth: increasing returns (Leaks, Matches, Traps), creative destruction through technology, luck, governments kill growth, government corruption, and class and race conflicts.

Easterly shows that achieving economic growth is very difficult, but he does a great job of identifying the key systemic issues that poor countries must address.

Perhaps surprisingly, Easterly's model applies equally well to the economic disparities that exist within countries, even "rich" countries like the United States. The increasing returns model says that highly-skilled people will prefer to live and work with one another ("Matches"), as each of them will be more productive for being around other highly-skilled individuals. So this explains, for example, why areas like Silicon Valley, having once achieved critical mass, continue to grow. And why low-income inner-city and rural areas remain depressed ("Traps").

debunking myths and the east asian tigers
While Easterly's book may seem targeted for economists, it's actually a book for everybody - it's needed to debunk myths that continue to prevail in policymaking. It's important that we understand what doesn't work and through a process of elimination of cure alls, we might eventually come to a solution.

As for one of the reviewer's question about why Easterly attributes a lot of the East Asian Miracle to "luck"... well, being an East Asian, we don't want to admit it. It's a lot about factor accumulation or basically saving really hard for a rainy day. But there's been low productivity from technology change and all this rampant growth has tapered off. So in a sense we are "lucky" that we could save like crazy under favorable world economic conditions then... But we came undone through too much suspicious government meddling, corruption, cronyism and thinking that we were invincible.

A nice review of economic history
Easterly does indeed cover the history of economic development, and he magically creates the image of poor people who just never had the right incentives. I will not argue with his historical accuracy, this part of his book is straightforward enough. Indeed, any competent historian could have related an equivalent story. However, where Easterly falls short of his title of being an economist is in that of what to do next. People need the right incentives... ok what now. Martin Feldstien gave us his theory, Robert Solow threw his hat in the ring, and as such they are economists, however all Easterly is is an economic historian offering very little advice as to what is next.

Educational, readable and thought provoking
I found this book enjoyable reading. It uses many standard economic ideas, but does not assume the reader knows them and it explains them clearly and simply. For instance, his description of the "Luddite Fallacy" is one of the best I have seen.

The subject that economists study, human interaction, is too complex to be a solved problem. Over the years there have been guesses that have not worked out. The theme of this book is based on the idea that people are entrepreneurial. If the developed world gives the less developed world a whole pile of money, then the entrepreneurial thing to do is to try and get some of it. Unfortunately, that will not necessarily be the use of the money that is best for the long term growth of the country.

There are a number of well meaning actions that the developing world has taken that have had unintended consequences and Easterly gives great examples of them. The question he asks and what he proposes is: what actions will incentivise people to do the things that will result in the best long term results?

Sometimes that might require toughlove, and as such may not be politically appealing, but it makes sense, as William Easterly so clearly shows in this readable and significant book. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Better be good at math to understand this book
I am currently using this textbook in an undergraduate Mathematical Economics class. I understood the material in the first chapter...until I came across the concept of limits. I have never taken a calculus class in my college career...I was only required to have taken finite mathematics before taking this class. So, when I read the material on limits, I had no idea what a limit was. And this textbook did not help in understanding it either. I had to check out a calculus textbook from the school library in order to finally understand what limits were. I bought Schaum's Outline of Introductory Mathematical Economics from Amazon, and so far, have found it more helpful in understanding Mathematical Economics than Klein's book. This book would probably be suitable for graduate students that have already obtained sufficient knowledge and proficiency from previous economics and math courses.

First, I would like to see more examples of the concepts in this book. MORE EXAMPLES!!!! Secondly, I would like to see the solutions in the back of the book expanded...maybe including all of the problems in the textbook worked out with correct answers...not just the odd problems and the answers. This would definitely help students check their work and know see where they made a mistake in working out a problem. I have seen this in two of the math textbooks that I have used for previous classes...my finite math book for example, not only had the solutions of odd numbered problems in the back of the book, students could also buy a solutions manual seperately. The solutions manual not only includes the right answers...it shows students how the problems are worked out to reach those answers. This helped me alot when working on a problem. When I realized that my answers were not correct, I checked the solutions manual to see where I made a mistake in working out the problem.

Michael Klein should publish an updated edition of this book and make it more student friendly.

Doesn't explain JACK!!
I agree with the other bad review about this book.I had it for a junior/senior level undergraduate class and I found it very confusing.It seems like it already expects you to know how to do most of the stuff.A lot of the problem sets have problems that I swear aren't explained ANYWHERE in the text.Poorly written, hardly any examples (which hint hint, are very useful in a math book) Overall a very bad book I would say, unless you already have extensive calculus/economics knowledge, but then I ask WHY WOULD YOU NEED THE BOOK ANYWAY???

Finally a step-by-step introductory graduate Econ-Math book
The first year as a Ph.D. student in Economics is very hard, especially if you are coming directly from the undergraduate level. After reading very formal and pseudo-user friendly books such as Simon and Blume (1994) and Novshek (1993), when it comes to the practical stuff, you end up looking at Varian's (1992) appendix, using Silberberg (1990) and (of course!) Chiang's 1984 masterpiece. But, on the other hand, if you need a careful and very user-friendly explanation of topics such as continuous and discrete dynamic optimization as well as applications of the Envelope Theorem, I have not found a better book than Klein's Mathematical Methods.

Better be a Mathematician!
As an undergraduate economics major, I found this book to be written in a manner that presupposed that the reader was a mathematician.While I admit that my undergraduate focus was much more theory based versusquanititative, this book made my life in econometrics virtually unbearable. I sought out other books that were more helpful such as Calculus forBusiness and Economics by Robert Childress (old but still good!). Mathematical Methods may be a good source for those with great strength incalculus, but it is not for the mathematical novice.

You can know Economics easily by reading this book
This book is used for students who major in Economics. Also, If you are interested in how Mathematics adjusts itself to change in Economics condition. As you read this book, you find the delight of Mathematics for Economics. You will aware the value of matrix algebra, caculus, and so on,specially. ... Read more