Book Review: Keynes, The Return of the Master by Robert Skidelsky

Abstract

After reading Krugman's, Coulter's, Conway's reviews respectively in "The Guardian", "LSE Review of Books" and "The Telegraph", I bought the book. During reading the book I made notes. This review is a summery of my notes. In this book, Robert Skidelsky, author of a magisterial three-volume biography of the Cambridge economist, the great biographer of Keynes, searches for clues in the original work of "the master". The book is part critique of the current state of economics (Chapter 1, "What Went Wrong?"), part biographical sketch (it's worth your time just for Chapter 3, "The Lives of Keynes"), part programme for the future (Chapter 7 and 8, "Keynes's Politics", "Keynes for Today"); (Skidelsky (2010)). At last I can argue the prose is vivid and clear. The pace of the book is excellent.