Here is a bold, updated history of economics, the dramatic story of how the great economic thinkers built today's rigorous social science. Noted financial writer and economist Mark Skousen has revised this popular work to provide more on Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Joseph Stiglitz and on "imperfect" markets and behavioral economics.

This comprehensive, yet accessible introduction to the major economic philosophers of the past 225 years begins with Adam Smith and continues to the present day, examining the contributions made by each individual to our understanding of the role of the economist, the science of economics, and economic theory. Included are highlights of little known facts about the economists' personal lives that affected their work.