An enjoyable and well-organized history that will attract many readers to this highly readable treatise on the 'dismal science.' -- Amartya Sen, Harvard University Economic Thought ranges from harvest details on ancient Babylonian clay tablets to select recent developments in economic theory. Despite this breadth, Heinz D. Kurz achieves a truly impressive attention to detail and is able to provide intellectually satisfying explanations of many economic theories, both classical and modern. Any noneconomist wishing to acquire an intellectually serious introduction to economic theory would be well advised to begin with this book (and some overspecialized economists could certainly benefit too!). -- Ian Steedman, Manchester Metropolitan University An excellent read both for economists trained in the current traditions who want to know more about how their field evolved and for general readers looking for a broad but relatively compact history of economic thought. -- Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University The curious reader could not ask for a better guide to the significance of the history of economics than Kurz, who has distilled his many years of scholarship into this fine, easily readable book. Kurz understands well the dual nature of historical studies: to establish what the relevant theories meant in their time and their often changed application to our time. -- Geoffrey Harcourt, University of New South Wales If you're looking for a short but masterful overview of the course of economic thought, Heinz Kurz's book, translated from the German by Jeremiah Riemer, might be just the ticket. -- Brenda Jubin ValueWalk The book is remarkably successful in its objective of providing a brief history of economicthought. Economic and Political Weekly A definitive history of the field... Recommended. Asia Pacific Business Review