This book started with the thought that here was an interesting man who lived at an interesting time. He was born a Jew, he made his fortune as a financier, he discovered his vocation as an econo mist, he entered Parliament. Such in outline was the life of David Ricardo. He was born in 1772 and he died in 1823. It was a time of war and the aftermath of war, of change and of resistance to change. As far as possible I have tried always to see him in the context of his time. Though much necessarily is said about the economist in the book, I must make plain that it is not primarily a study of his...