Great Minds Series: The Theory of the Leisure Class : An Economic Study of Institutions (Paperback)

from

Veblen was a Norwegian American writing this around early 1900's. I came across this book after reading Adam Smith. Veblen is focused mostly on the social ladder, conspicuous leisure, consumption. He takes a darwinian approach to social evolution in society. I learnt new words like occidental, wh...

from Devil_llama

This is one of the most classic works on America told by a European observer. It is dense and wordy, as befits the time in which it was published. Interesting, if somewhat dated, though many of the ideas and observations are still eerily accurate. Don't try to read this on a train if the fellow b...

from gazzy

A classic in the field of economics. Coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption." Not as dry as economic theory books go, brimming with ideas, but also not a page turner.

from breadhat

Amusingly dated in some respects and disturbingly relevant in others, this book is full of engaging ideas and dry humor. So I am at a loss to explain why I could rarely make it through more than five pages at a time without starting to fall asleep. I think that the lack of a scholarly apparatus, ...

from whitewavedarling

I'm not versed in economic theory, so I was worried about making it through this one, but it ended up being extremely readable. It's a bit flat to read in long marathon sessions instead of a chapter here and there, but Veblen does a good job of balancing much needed explanation with more technica...