Skousen, author, editor, and academic, tells the story of the development of economic thought, describing his approach as '' . . . a candid, irreverent, passionate, sometimes humorous and often highly opinionated account of the lives and theories of famous economists from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman.'' The author's unique view compares the development of economic thought to the construction of a building, designating Adam Smith's 1776 Wealth of Nations as the foundation. He contends that Smith's philosophy of natural liberty and the invisible hand was a sound foundation that created a new era of wealth and economic growth spanning two centuries. With the inclusion of photographs, diagrams, commentaries, and even appropriate music selections, each chapter is devoted to a major economist and his theories, showing how he added to or detracted from Smith's positions. Skousen ends on an optimistic note even as fighting continues over which economic policies to pursue in times of crisis, uncertainty, and globalization.