Economics

Forstater (Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City) has produced a delightful volume that is brief, inexpensive, and more importantly, useful. It contains short entries, only a page or two, of key topics and individuals in economics, organized more or less chronologically into six sections: "Pre-Classical Economics," "Classical Economics," "Neoclassical Economics," "Keynesian Economics," "Historical and Institutional Economics," and "Development Economics." All but seven entries within these sections are of individual economists, with a brief overview of the essence of their work. The quality of this information makes this book unique. Rather than just giving a brief thumbnail sketch of each economist along with birth, death, country of origin, and a few book titles, Forstater manages to compress important analytical information in a readable form. Each entry includes a subject header as well as the name of the economist; the index identifies both. So, for example Milton Friedman is predictably "Monetarism Monitor" and Nicholas Kaldor, "Cumulative Causation and Endogenous Money." This book will be a welcome addition to any library that serves undergraduates. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; all levels of undergraduate students. M. Perelman California State University, Chico

Adult/High School-Each of these surveys presents a series of enthusiastic and illuminating essays on people who contributed significantly to the advancement of their fields. The roughly 500-word entries explain concisely what they did and why it was important. The essays also include an inset stating when and where the individuals were born and died, and a one-sentence summary of what they accomplished, and often include a second inset defining relevant vocabulary. Moore also sets the scientists within the context of their times. In both books, accessibility varies from piece to piece. Some present the central idea simply enough for laypersons to readily grasp; others are difficult for readers without minimal education in the discipline to comprehend. The emphasis on conciseness can also result in misleading information. Moore's discussion of Landsteiner's discovery of ABO blood typing, for example, gives the correct original names of the four blood types, A, B, C, and O, but leaves readers to guess how they correspond to the current nomenclature of A, B, AB, and O (hint: C was not renamed AB). All in all, though, these books are valuable sources of succinct information on key concepts and will provide inspiration for budding scientists and economists.-Sandy Schmitz, Berkeley Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Adult/High School— Each of these surveys presents a series of enthusiastic and illuminating essays on people who contributed significantly to the advancement of their fields. The roughly 500-word entries explain concisely what they did and why it was important. The essays also include an inset stating when and where the individuals were born and died, and a one-sentence summary of what they accomplished, and often include a second inset defining relevant vocabulary. Moore also sets the scientists within the context of their times. In both books, accessibility varies from piece to piece. Some present the central idea simply enough for laypersons to readily grasp; others are difficult for readers without minimal education in the discipline to comprehend. The emphasis on conciseness can also result in misleading information. Moore's discussion of Landsteiner's discovery of ABO blood typing, for example, gives the correct original names of the four blood types, A, B, C, and O, but leaves readers to guess how they correspond to the current nomenclature of A, B, AB, and O (hint: C was not renamed AB). All in all, though, these books are valuable sources of succinct information on key concepts and will provide inspiration for budding scientists and economists.—Sandy Schmitz, Berkeley Public Library, CA