Best Selling Books by John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes, then a rising young economist, participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as chief representative of the British Treasury and advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He resigned after desperately trying and failing to reduce the huge demands for reparations being made on Germany. The Economic Consequences of the Peace is Keynes' brilliant and prophetic analysis of the effects that the peace treaty would have both on Germany and, even more fatefully, the world.

"The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. Very few of us realise with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the economic organisation by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century." - CHAPTER I-INTRODUCTORY As the most important figures in the history of economics, the work of John Maynard Keynes is nearly without precedent in the history of economics. THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF PEACE, first published in 1919, achieved great notoriety due of its contemptuous critique of the French premier as well as President Woodrow Wilson. Keynes criticized the Allied victors for signing the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, which would have ruinous consequences for Europe. At the time, few world and economic leaders appreciated his criticisms as Keynes saw his worst fears realized in the rise of Adolf Hitler and the resulting devastation of World War II. JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES, 1883-1946, was born into an academic family. His father, John Nevile Keynes, was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge where he taught logic and political economy while his son was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Most importantly, Keynes revolutionized economics with his classic book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936). This work is generally regarded as perhaps the most influential social science treatise of the 20th Century, as it quickly and permanently changed the scope of economic thought. Interestingly, Keynes was a central member of the Bloomsbury Group, a collection of upper-class Edwardian aesthetes that served as his life outside of economics, which included Virginia Woolf, Clive Bell, and Lytton Strachey.

A full account of Keynes's activities between the Wall Street crash in October 1929 and Britain's departure from the gold standard in September 1931 - his contributions to the Macmillan Committee on Finance and Industry and to the Economic Advisory Council.

Of the fifteen famous scientists, economists and statesmen sketched in this collection of essays, which was first published in 1933, John Maynard Keynes was directly acquainted with all but three. The unique quality of immediacy in these biographical fragments contributes immensely to our more intimate appreciation of the historical significance of these men. This volume is made up of two parts: The first part, titled Sketches of Politicians, includes chapters on Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Lord Oxford and Sir Winston Churchill. The greater portion of the second part, Lives of Economists, is taken up with the lives of Robert Malthun, Alfred Marshall and F. Y. Edgeworth. All are literature, and the reader needn't be an economist or a specialist to enjoy the excellent flavor of Keynes' style of writing.

In A Tract on Monetary Reform, which was first published in 1923, British economist John Maynard Keynes argues that the objects of British government should be the stability of trade, price, and employment. The gold reserve should be demonetized. However, this does not mean that gold serves absolutely no purpose anymore. Rather, it is a store of value and a means of correcting the influence of a temporarily adverse balance of payment. "This is a very brilliant as well as a very important book. Like all that Mr. Keynes writers, it is full of matter, and also full of wit...If any argument were wanted to show that whether we like it or not, we must tackle the monetary problem, it is to be found in Mr. Keynes's book. It is a bright light, and though it may, if misused, do harm to the eyesight of some people, it throws a light, and a true light, on the world's dilemma."—The Spectator

The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money of 1936 is a book by English economist John Maynard Keynes. It caused a profound shift in economic thought, giving macroeconomics a central place in economic theory and contributing much of its terminology - the "Keynesian Revolution". It had equally powerful consequences in economic policy, being interpreted as providing theoretical support for government spending in general, and for budgetary deficits, monetary intervention and counter-cyclical policies in particular. It is pervaded with an air of mistrust for the rationality of free-market decision making. Regarded widely as the cornerstone of Keynesian thought, this book challenged the established classical economics and introduced new concepts. It remains a relevant topic of debate to this day, perhaps more than ever. Given the economic turmoil of recent years, this debate is more heated than ever, between the Keynesian model of economics of Bush and Obama which favors bailouts and other government intervention to try to stabilize the market, and the Austrian school of economics which sees government intervention as detrimental and favors letting the market sort itself out on its own with minimal government interference.

With this insightful exploration of the probabilistic connection between philosophy and the history of science, the famous economist breathed new life into studies of both disciplines. Originally published in 1921, this important mathematical work represented a significant contribution to the theory regarding the logical probability of propositions, and launched the “logical-relationist” theory.

In 'Essays in Persuasion,' John Maynard Keynes articulates his cogent analyses of economic policies and theory during the tumultuous periods between the two world wars. The collection offers an intimate examination of the societal and political implications of fiscal strategies and the human consequences they can harbor. Keynes' prose combines incisive argumentation with eloquent rhetoric, inviting readers into a contemplation of economics as a deeply humanist discipline. These essays not only delineate the evolution of Keynesian thought but also contextualize it within the broader literary and economic conversations of the early 20th century, resonating with the concerns of contemporaneous intellectuals and policymakers. John Maynard Keynes stands as a towering figure in the landscape of economic philosophy, his ideas shaping the policies of nations and the course of global finance. His profound insights in 'Essays in Persuasion' mirror his experiences as a participant in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and his disappointments with the Versailles Treaty. Keynes' passion for economic reform and stabilization was driven by his conviction that sound economic policy could serve as a bulwark against the societal upheavals and the tribulations of the interwar years. 'Essays in Persuasion' is a compelling read for anyone with interest in the forces that sculpt our economic realities. It is an essential addition to the libraries of economists, historians, and political scientists. With clarity and conviction, Keynes does not merely inform; he challenges and entices the reader to engage with the ideological underpinnings of economic decisions and their pervasive influence on the fabric of society. For contemporary audiences, Keynes' visionary ideas offer a timeless reflection on the application of economic thought to practical problems and the enduring quest for a just and prosperous world order.