Rating: 
Summary: Some "new" ideas from a dead economist
Review: Buchholz(B)has written an above average book on the history of economic thought.His treatment of Adam Smith,Thomas Malthus and John Maynard Keynes is,unfortunately,below average.First,Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments is simply left hanging in the air.B doesn't connect the two books.Smith spent over 50 pages of the The Wealth of Nations arguing for universal education and religious instruction.The private sector economic decision makers in Smith's model are not atheistic libertarians who believe in the Invisible Hand.They are a mixture of highly moral judeo-christian-deist citizens for whom the ten commandments is a guiding light.Second,the conflict between the inductive empiricism of Thomas Malthus and the a priori,deductive rationalism of David Ricardo is not sufficiently highlighted.Malthus was a thinker seeking to operate in the real world while Ricardo was most at ease in his theoretical ivory tower.Finally,B had a chance to write about some of the most powerful ideas developed by J M Keynes in the A Treatise on Probability(1921)and the General Theory(1936;GT) that have been submerged for up to eighty years.B could have written about Keynes's interval estimate approach to probability,Keynes's specification of an index to measure ambiguity(uncertainty or weight of the evidence)some 40-50 years before Ellsberg,Keynes's decision rule c(conventional coefficient of weight and risk)that incorporated certainty,reflection,translation and preference reversal effects some fifty years before Slovic and Lichtenstein or Kahneman and Tversky published their work or gone to pp.55-56,ft.2 or pp.283-285 of the GT and integrated Keynes's derivatives(take the anti derivative)to derive in clearcut fashion Keynes's aggregate supply function Z(Z would turn out to be equal to P+wN,where P equals expected profit,w the money wage and N equals aggregate employment)that no economist has successfully derived in the last 65-70 years.Unfortunately,B does not list a single new idea from a dead economist that is also correct.The title is thus somewhat misleading.B should have titled his book"New Applications of Some Old Ideas of Dead Economists".
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have Economics 101
Review: Buchholz gives the reader a lucid book on introductory economics. I call it introductory because this isnt a book written for advanced economic analysis. Its not for people who already did many courses in economics. Its definately not for economic teachers. This is a must have book for all those people who are interested in understanding or at least knowing about this complex subject. Its will more than enrich you, in case you started reading the book with no knowledge of economics.Buchholtz starts with the father of modern economics, Adam Smith and follows with giving (almost biographical) details of Malthus, Ricardo, Marshal, Keynes. The chapter on Monetarist and their attack on Keynes follows and its worth reading twice. Then he gives a brief description of all other important economists of last century. This is followed by chapters on new methods such as Public Choice and Rational Expectations. All chapters are written in a very informal, witty style and this helps the reader keep interest. Economics, being a rather dry subject is taught well here, with good illustrations and in a very non-technical way. The downside of the book is not being able to cover more economists. The author talks about Rational Expectations without mentioning anything about John Muth or much of Robert Lucas. This was missing, but I assume he did that because anyone reading or learning about economics for the first time (the intended audience of this book) might not have to know about these economists. Like wise, Veblen, Galbraith, Samuelson and new economists such as Paul Krugman, Joseph E. Stiglitz are not covered. But again, its not possible to cover so many and I guess also due to the fact that teh author wanted to cover schools of economic thought more than individual economists themselves. All in all, this book is very interesting to read as it is very well written. If you have read this review and have no idea of economics but want to have one, here we go, just buy the book!
Rating:
Summary: For once, Economics made interesting!
Review: Economics textbooks are notoriously boring-riddled with oversimplified examples of Robinson Crusoe building huts and Friday gathering coconuts. Buchholz finally published something that anyone will find amusing, even if you are only marginally interested in the study of economics. His sharp and satiric writing is unparalleled in anything I have read that so accurately describes modern economic thought. Milton Friedman, the father of the Monetarists and who has a chapter dedicated to him as one of the best economists of all time, said "this wide-ranging survey of economic thought combines a witty and clear exposition with a high degree of accuracy." If Friedman agrees with what Buchholz writes about him and others, it has some credibility.
The bottom line is that it is easy to become passionate about the contents of this book. It explains the evolution of economics from Adam Smith's specialization in Scotland to Maynard Keynes' treatise on government deficits. There is more political policy and social science here that affects all of our long-term lives than in most other books. Every responsible citizen should understand why the presidents try to increase the deficit when the stock market is down. That way uninformed people don't cry for a balanced budget because is sounds nice-that kind of thought is much of what got us into the Great Depression. If Herbert Hoover would have read this book, understood and implemented its contents, he could have avoided the Great Depression altogether, turning it into an average, cyclical recession.
It continually amazes me how many college-educated Americans repeatedly criticize capitalism and prophesy its doom. Every day that people claim capitalism will fail is one day farther than it being true. Schumpeter spearheaded the movement in the 60s, claiming that capitalism would eat out its own infrastructure, and collapse. Guess what Schumpeter, it was communism that behaved precisely as you predicted capitalism would! I guess back to my point-it is fine to criticize capitalism if the criticisms are understood and founded; there are obviously both benefits and detriments to any sociopolitical policy and organizations. But please, do so after you have studied economics and understand at least partially the motivations behind the call to capitalism.
If I ever end up teaching high-school economics, I will certainly ask my students to read this book. And I know that they will enjoy it-it was required reading in my Econ 110 class, and even those students who despised the Economics class tell me that they appreciated and admired New Ideas from Dead Economists.
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers
Review: I've read both Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner and New Ideas From Dead Economists, by Todd Buchholz. I wanted to get a good rounded layperson introduction to great economists in the past. First let me examine Heilbroner's book first since that's more widely known, has sold more, and more Economics 101 classes use it as a supplemental text. I'll then compare Heilbroner's book to Bucholz's and explain why I think Bucholz's book is far superior in every way. I found Heilbroner's book to be neither useful to the layperson nor to people who have a good background in Economics. Let me explain. Heilbroner spends a LOT of time in awe of these economists and spends a great deal of time explaining how great they were, how revolutionary, how brilliant, how much of a genius, how wonderful these men were, ad nauseum. Ok, I get the point. Unfortunately, all this fawning and fan worship clouds what should've been the more interesting and more important part of the book, which are the central economic ideas put forward by these thinkers. In fact, there's a lot of emphasis on putting their economic ideas in perspective to the prevailing moral philosophical thought at the time. It's almost as if this books is written for people who have already taken Economics 101, and know all the basic economic principles and can nod, "yes, uh huh, I didn't know those personality quirks or their moral philosophical outlook about these economists - good to know. By the way, it's great that he didn't go over his economic ideas since I already know them." For example, the entire chapter devoted to David Ricardo fails to mention the theory of Comparative Advantage anywhere in the chapter. Isn't that a MAJOR omission? That's just one example. Omissions such as this are everywhere. So the layperson is stuck getting a vague feeling that these people were wonderful people, but that a little less fuzzy on their ecnomic ideas. It also leaves a person with economics background feeling like this is less a book about economics and more a book about Heilbroner's fan worship. Neither audience is served. I can't recommend the Heilbroner book. Right after I read this book, I read Todd Buchholz's New Ideas From Dead Economists. Where Heilbroner failed, Buccholz succeeds in so many ways. He puts the central ideas of these economists as the main focus of each chapter. When talking about David Rircardo, the theory of Comparative Advantage is front-and-center. When talking about Marx, Heilbroner meanders and throws a lot of Marx's ideas around and you don't get a sense of how they all fit together in Marx's mind or why modern economists find fundamental flaws in his reasoning. In Buccholz's book, the central point is Marx's ideas, how they fit together and it's very clear why most economists (and the reader) will find Marx's basic premise wrong in light of emperical evidence. This goes on and on. I initially thought Heilbroner would be a good read, since it was recommended by econ majors when I was in college and they'd never heard of Buccholz's book. I'm glad I read both. Do yourself a favor - read the better book.
Rating:
Summary: New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Ec
Review: In an introduction explaining the plight of the economist--having to convey to popular political and social forces that in a world of scarcity one must choose--Buchholz implicitly illustrates his own dilemma. He improves upon Heilbroner's classic nonponderous history of economic thought, The Worldly Philosophers (6th ed., 1986), albeit at some sacrifice of breadth and depth. Nevertheless, his highly entertaining look at 200 years of economic thought via contemporary issues has far more hits than misses. His treatment of the giants--Smith, Marx, Keynes, is good, and the coverage of Marx, even before the political upheavals of the last 12 months, is devastating; the other standard names--Ricardo, Malthus, Mill, Marshall, Friedman, are all included; and, taken together, chapters 9 through 12 offer an excellent review of contemporary macroeconomic theories and issues. In a few instances, Buchholz's use of numerical examples seems awkward; some of his facts and formulations are wrong; and, despite the muted, somewhat flip apology with respect to the title (i.e., many of the economists he cites are living not dead), it's still a poor choice. But, everything being equal, as economists are wont to say, it does not get any better than this, and Buchholz deserves, and will certainly get, much credit for this solid contribution to our understanding of both the economists and the issues. Academic and public library collections.
Rating:
Summary: Great Work from a Living Economist
Review: One of the best books I have ever read! The author uses everyday examples to explain economic principles. He also provides the readers with background information of the great economists. The book is very interesting also. It should be a must read for every beginner of economics!
Rating:
Summary: Introductory Economics Text Par Excellence
Review: The first time I read this distinguished work by Buchholz, I began the book having half forgotten the economics which I took at college level, and ended the book self-congratulating myself for picking up most of what I had forgotten. When I re-read the book, this time the economic theories that I was taught in a post-graduate course still fresh in my mind, I was in awe with the brilliance and clarity with which Buchholz explains the insights of economic theories without compromising the insight and depth of difficult concepts. As economics comes increasingly under the grips of ever more esoteric mathematics, Buchholz shows the path toward a refreshing style of describing economic behaviors, sans mathematica, without compromising the dazzling insights elucidated by gurus from Adam Smith through Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes to present day giants in the field (e.g. Coase, Friedman, Buchanan). While Buchholz clearly intended the book for the layman, it is actually an introductory economics text par excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Great intro to past economic giants
Review: The previous reviewer has gotten it right on the mark. Capitalism is the best system we have to date. And this book gives us an introduction of the great economist of the past and present. And it help to relate the problems of the past to the problems of the present. Unfortunately, we are still making some of the same disastrous policies of the past today.
This books starts of with Adam Smith, the father of modern economics. It covers Thomas Malthus, Ricardo, Karl Marx, Keynes, and many more, eventually ending with Milton Friedman.
The Author Buchholz seems to pay great tribute to Adam Smith, and rightfully so in my opinion. And he speaks of the angry Karl Marx and his doomed policies. Karl Marx speaks of a utopia world that will never exist, simply due to human nature. Adam Smith understood the human nature, the selfish man. Adam Smith was a behaviorist before his publication of The Wealth of Nations. And so fittingly, he found a system that will compliment our human nature and idealism, not destroy it as Marx would.
Great historical intro to economics!
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and readable account of economic schools of thought
Review: This book is a genuinely lucid, if brief, journey through the major schools of economic thought for a layman. Its advantage over other introductions to economics is that it is mainly centred on particular theories and figures rather than economic concepts (of course, there's also a place for the latter). It presents these theories entertainingly and sets up their differences well. Rather than dealing with pure fact, there is a good deal of normative opinion covered. Bucholz relates everything he says to modern life and gives background entertainingly. He writes humorously and interestingly, though some of the jokes are a bit worn.
The book doesn't attempt to be a comprehensive academic history of economics and inevitably focuses in on some areas. It also looks at figures like Marx and Mill who, while economic thinkers, wouldn't necessarily be called economists in the modern sense, which is interesting. Despite its populism, the book is genuinely informative, and this combined with its relaxed, anecdotal style, make it an excellent choice. If you want an overview of major economic schools of thought (rather than basic economic concepts) at a readable but informative level, this is your book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting survey of the history of economic thought
Review: This book was a very enjoyable read. I especially like the way Bucholz contextualizes the great economists with a discussion of their personal lives--I found J.S. Mills story most interesting. To someone with a solid background in economics, this books value will be mostly in the personal stories of the economists. The interconnections are amazing.
To a reader with a lesser background in economics, the most value from this book will come from the survey of the competing theories. It's like getting a best of the 60s CD--after listening to it you can then seek out the artists and styles who interested you the most.
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