The twenty-four essays that appear in this volume exemplify the scholarly brilliance and intellectual curiosity that has marked the world of Nobel laureate George J. Stigler, who has been acknowledged as one of the foremost architects of twentieth-century economic thought.

The twenty-four essays that appear in this volume exemplify the scholarly brilliance and intellectual curiosity that has marked the world of Nobel laureate George J. Stigler, who has been acknowledged as one of the foremost architects of twentieth-century economic thought. Stigler has said that "the purpose of economics is not to preach, nor is it to build elaborate theoretical models of hypothetical economies; its purpose is to study the world around us in order to better understand its workings." Stigler's writings indicate a lifetime spent in that pursuit. He has continually questioned accepted theories and infused those theories with his own unique perceptions; his writing and lecturing have always been marked with clarity, humor, and style. The essays published here are small but significant part of his work, which can only indicate the breadth of his intellect and the extraordinary scope of his interest, which embraces microeconomics, the history of economic thought, and all aspects of political economy.

The twenty-four essays that appear in this volume exemplify the scholarly brilliance and intellectual curiosity that has marked the world of Nobel laureate George J. Stigler, who has been acknowledged as one of the foremost architects of twentieth-century economic thought. Stigler has said that "the purpose of economics is not to preach, nor is it to build elaborate theoretical models of hypothetical economies; its purpose is to study the world around us in order to better understand its workings." Stigler's writings indicate a lifetime spent in that pursuit. He has continually questioned accepted theories and infused those theories with his own unique perceptions; his writing and lecturing have always been marked with clarity, humor, and style. The essays published here are small but significant part of his work, which can only indicate the breadth of his intellect and the extraordinary scope of his interest, which embraces microeconomics, the history of economic thought, and all aspects of political economy.

This lively collection of essays examines statistical ideas with an ironic eye for their essence and what their history can tell us for current disputes. The topics range from 17th-century medicine and the circulation of blood, to the cause of the Great Depression, to the determinations of the shape of the Earth and the speed of light.

In this witty and modest intellectual autobiography, George J. Stigler gives us a fascinating glimpse into the little-known world of economics and the people who study it. One of the most distinguished economists of the twentieth century, Stigler was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1982 for his work on public regulation. He also helped found the Chicago School of economics, and many of his fellow Chicago luminaries appear in these pages, including Fredrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ronald Coase, and Gary Becker. Stigler's appreciation for such colleagues and his sense of excitement about economic ideas past and present make his Memoirs both highly entertaining and highly educational.

This collection of essays presents a sampling of the significant contributions to twentieth-century economic thought and practice by Nobel Prize-winner Milton Friedman.

Social Science Quotations has been prepared to meet an evident, unmet need in the literature of the social sciences. Writings on the lives and theories of individual social scientists abound, but there has been no fully documented collection of memorable quotations from the social sciences as a whole. The frequent use of quotations in scientific as well as literary writings that are mere summaries or paraphrases typically fail to capture the full force of formulations that have made quotations memorable. This book of quotations invites the further reading or rereading of the original texts, beyond the quotations themselves. Sills and Merton draw extensively upon the writings that constitute the historical core of the social sciences and social thought; those works with staying power often described as the "classical texts." Many quotations have been drawn from these classical texts because the quotations contain memorable ideas memorably expressed. Both consequential and memorable, these words have been quoted over the generations, entering into the collective memory of social scientists everywhere and at times diffusing into popular thought and into the vernacular as well. This book is useful to social scientists, anthropologists, economists, historians, political scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and statisticians, and for all who want to learn or verify memorable formulations and phrases concerning social thought and social theories. It is particularly useful for graduate students taking courses that examine the history of their discipline.