100 Books Like Worldly Philosopher

Joan Robinson is widely considered to be the woman who should have received the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics but never did. This book is the story about how she managed to forge a career as an economic theorist, at a time when such a career path was unusual, in the misogynistic environment of Cambridge. Not only did she succeed in writing a book that arguably changed the way firms and markets were analysed, but she also became involved in the Keynesian revolution. Her career did not just happen: it needed to be promoted and for that strategy was important. Aslanbegui and Oakes focus on the interpersonal interactions through which her career developed taking the story up to the outbreak of the Second World War, by which time she was established as one of the most distinguished economists at Cambridge.

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-8, everyone knows about the transformation of financial markets that has taken place in recent decades. It also well known that developments in information technology have played a major role in that transformation. What is less well known is where the ideas that made it all possible came from. In this book, Perry Mehrling tells the story of Fischer Black, one of the creators of the Black-Scholes formula for pricing options (rights to buy or sell assets at a specified price at some point in the future) which are one of the foundations on which modern finance rests. The book shows how these ideas emerged out of a new type of community that spanned university economics departments and business schools as well private-sector financial firms, many of them founded in order to trade on the basis of the theories their founders had developed.

Lionel Robbins was very important in twentieth-century British economics, primarily because he was a key figure at the London School of Economics, which by mid-century came to dominate the field. Susan Howson tells the story of his life, from his birth on a farm just outside London, through his military service in the First World War to his career as an economist. His views brought him into conflict with Keynes over how government should (or should not) take action to cure the Great Depression, and he was responsible for bringing the Austrian economist, Friedrich Hayek, to London. In the Second World War, he worked alongside Keynes in what later became the Government Economic Service. However, he was much more than an economist and after the war he became a major public figure, important for the arts and laying out a blueprint for the development of British higher education. It is… show more.

In the 1950s and 1960s, J. K. Galbraith was probably America’s most famous economist. A Canadian, whose career began as an agricultural economist, Galbraith achieved notoriety in the United States as Director of the wartime Office of Price Administration, until he was forced to resign. He was one of the economists responsible for spreading Keynesian ideas in America, and became active in the Democratic Party, and a close friend and adviser to President John F. Kennedy. He was the author of a string of best-sellers: American Capitalism, The Great Crash:1929, The Affluent Society, and The New Industrial State, as well as a talented essayist and speech-writer, coining phrases that have become well known, including “the conventional wisdom” and “private wealth and public squalor.” Holding radical political views, he became an outsider to an economics profession that increasingly turned away from his non-technical literary style. Parker has… show more.

I love this one because Elinor Ostrom challenges the idea that only states or markets can manage shared resources. Her work, grounded in rich field research, proves that communities can sustainably govern common goods through cooperation and trust.

Beyond legal frameworks, she focuses on real-world institutions and human interaction, making this book an enduring inspiration for those rethinking governance, sustainability, and collective action today.

I love this book because it opened my eyes to global historical transformations beyond Latin America. Theda Skocpol’s monumental research and comparative approach fascinated me, especially her structured explanations of why revolutions emerge and succeed.

Her distinction between social and political revolutions reshaped my understanding. As a young student, I also found inspiration in her work as a leading female scholar in the field.

I loved this book because it starts with a candid, personal reflection from the authors—both renowned Brazilian political scientists—who momentarily believed their country had escaped its economic instability, only to be reminded of its cyclical nature. Their argument is compelling: while politics matters, Latin America's deep dependence on international markets makes its democracies uniquely vulnerable to external shocks.

A must-read for understanding the region’s persistent instability.

I love this one because it brings fresh insight into Marx’s intellectual journey at a time when Marxism is both fading in practice and paradoxically feared by the radical right. Leipold’s historical review is fascinating, highlighting intellectual struggle as the driving force of Marx’s life and philosophy as a tool for political intervention.

It’s an engaging and thought-provoking read that sparks much-needed debates today.

This book is a lovingly and expertly written biography of an underappreciated but vastly significant economist, Herman Daly. Professor Daly was an early proponent of ecological economics, and his work is becoming increasingly important and relevant if we want to stop climate breakdown.

One of the main reasons we are approaching climate breakdown is because neo-liberal economic theories and the economic system they have led to through trade agreements and the like rely on false or oversimplified assumptions—like pollution is free or that any resource constraints can be met by new inventions. The fact that neither is true—and the policy implications that set out from that conclusion - are persuasively documented in this biography.

The book is about economics and a great economist who brilliantly and convincingly demonstrated that the Planet and human resource demands on it must be included in our economic analysis and rules. As such, the biography… show more.

I first purchased and read this book as a senior undergraduate student not knowing anything about the author.

Little did I know that this book would later play an important role in not only understanding the limitations of mainstream economics but also in providing me with an alternative approach to make sense of our economic surroundings. 

Bharadwaj’s book is truly a classic and one that I always recommend to my students. 

Her book continues to inspire and educate me.