In this intriguing volume, Robert Heilbroner delves into the actual writings of the economists who stride through the pages of his classic work The Worldly Philosophers. In his own words, Heilbroner serves as docent to the master works that he has culled from the history of economic thought. In that role, he takes the reader through the core arguments of works often referred to, but seldom read other than by scholars.

The works introduced here range from the earliest economic thought found in the Bible and Aquinas to such towering volumes as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population, and David Ricardo's Principles of Political Economy, to John Maynard Keynes' The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

Under expert guidance, the reader discovers that the sturdiest principles of economics reside not in mathematical equations but in wide-ranging and stimulating appraisals of the behavior of individuals within their social contexts and society.