Why read Frank Ramsey?

Book cover of Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers

Book description

When he died in 1930 aged 26, Frank Ramsey had already invented one branch of mathematics and two branches of economics, laying the foundations for decision theory and game theory. Keynes deferred to him; he was the only philosopher whom Wittgenstein treated as an equal. Had he lived he might…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Frank Ramsey as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Roger E. Backhouse

Author

As someone who has studied and written about the economist, Maynard Keynes, the name of Frank Ramsey (brother of the more famous Archbishop Michael Ramsey) was already very familiar, but this book brought him to life.

Clearly, it helps to have an interest in philosophy and economics, the subjects to which Ramsey contributed so much, but, unusually for an academic, his tragic and short life alone is fascinating. As Tom Stoppard says on the back cover, “it is a wonderful book that lights up the brain and breaks the heart.”

From Roger's 3 favorite reads in 2023.