A series of thirty-odd essays on economics. Topics range from the gold standard to how bad the Versailles treaty was to the first cogent explanations of deficit spending and the multiplier effect. Keynes' essays are also very clear, precise, and even witty, a rare breed in economics.

Although these positions are now some eighty years old, it is remarkable to see how many of them hold up - most notably, criticism of austerity after the Great Depression. If people are more inclined to save, then less money is spent. The less money is spent, the less products and services are demanded. Not to mention social nets and massive economic losses for the unemployed. ( )

Peter Keller, president of polling company YouGov has chosen to discuss John Maynard Keynes's Essays in Persuasion, on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - British Democracy, saying that:

"Every essay is readable and compelling. This volume spans the aftermath of the First World War and his assault on the Versailles Treaty and the damage it was going to cause – as it did, because in humiliating Germany it led, arguably, to Germany choosing Adolf Hitler – right through to the 1920s and 30s and the arguments over the gold standard, through some of the essays he wrote in preparation for his General Theory, right to his writing on how to pay for the Second World War.”

The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/Peter-Kellner ( )