Irving Fisher
A Biography
Irving Fisher was one of the greatest and certainly one of the most
colorful American economists. Widely acknowledged as the chief
architect of modern neo-classical economics, he was a writer and
teacher of prodigious scope and output whose business career
included the earning of a fortune from the invention of a card
index system, and its subsequent loss in the Great Crash. He was
also an active campaigner for numerous causes, including world
peace, prohibition, and 100 percent deposit reserve money.
This biography, focusing both on Fisher's personal life, as well
as on his intellectual contributions, will be of wide interest to
economists and of particular interest to American economics
scholars who regard him as their pre-1950 giant of the
discipline.
Chronology xiii
Chapter 1. Irving Fisher: Scientist and Crusader 1
Chapter 2. The Making of a Scientist (1867-91) 20
Chapter 3. The Scientist Matures and Expands (1891-8) 42
Chapter 4. The Crusader Joins the Scholar (1898-1910) 80
Chapter 5. Completing the Foundation (1910-15) 109
Chapter 6. Tilting with Windmills (1916-24) 144
Chapter 7. Making and Losing Money (1925-9) 179
Chapter 8. Theorist, Reformer, Loser (1930-2) 219
Chapter 9. Activist, Advisor, Politician (1933-9) 250
Chapter 10. Moving into the Shadows (1940-7) 272
Chapter 11. Epilogue 295
Selected Bibliography 303
Index 313
