The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers

Going along with this sort of fundamentally changed worldview theme - I loved Debt: The First 5,000 Years but for me it was equally important to read a book called The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers by Robert L. Heilbroner. This book summarizes the entirety of major paradigms in the history of economic thought, complete with great little biosketches of the authors and their times, from Adam Smith to Joseph Schumpeter. Highly recommended, especially as a counterpoint if you are already a little much in the David Graeber camp as I was.

These two are my favorite (that are reasonably priced!). Samuelson is definitely a formidable thinker and lays the groundwork for much later economic thinking. http://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Philosophers-Lives-Economic-Th... (http://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Philosophers-Lives-Economic-Thinkers/dp/068486214X) http://www.amazon.com/Price-Theory-Milton-Friedman/dp/020206... (http://www.amazon.com/Price-Theory-Milton-Friedman/dp/0202060748) However if you go with the Samuelson, Fridman, and Heilbroner you'll be missing out on some key concepts relating to information and games, which are essential for understanding modern developments in economics. So, I would also look at Myerson's Game Theory http://www.amazon.com/Game-Theory-Analysis-Roger-Myerson/dp/... (http://www.amazon.com/Game-Theory-Analysis-Roger-Myerson/dp/0674341163)…