Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Wild Lives of Early Economists

To give you a flavor of where my new book is heading:

Here is the first & only sentence of the introduction and the first sentence of the book:

Besides describing some of the brilliant accomplishments of the colorful founders of economics, this book will also discuss their dark side, including a few murders, over and above crimes more commonly associated with economists. At the same time, these economists’ lives and work will throw light on both contemporary economics and economies.

Before discussing the work and life of William Petty (1623-1687), it might be of interest to note that he has the unique distinction of being the only economist in history credited with having brought a person back from the dead. We will get back to that feat later.

2 comments:

Shag from Brookline said...

A proposed subtitle for your new book:

"ECON0-MYST-ERIES"

with a chapter dedicated to Harry S. Truman:

"THE CASE OF THE ONE-ARMED ECONOMIST"

and a chapter dedicated to Alan Greenspan:

"RAND-Y BUT NOT SO DANDY"

Michael Perelman said...

I quit around 1720, but we already have 2 or 3 murders & various scandals. Much more interesting than Greenspan.