John Maynard Keynes, Vol. 1: Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920

An almost perfect intellectual biography, thought-provoking, well-constructed, and enjoyable. I didn't want to buy this because I couldn't imagine really reading something so long. Then one day I found a copy in a box of books on the street and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. So far--I'm about 100 pp. into vol. 2--it's not at all a burden even at this extraordinary length.

The first vol. really captures the elitism and creativity of prewar Cambridge, discussing K's relationships to figures like G.E. Moore, Lytton Strachey, and the Bloomsbury group. I can't think of another book in which sex and philosophy are both discussed with such lucidity and common sense. My only gripe is that the discussions of economic policy were a bit technical, seeming to presume a reader who already knows a bit of macroeconomics. But these are not too much of the book, and Skidelsky is the kind of writer that makes you at least eager to learn more about what you don't know. ( )