The Selected Letters of John Kenneth Galbraith

The Selected Letters of John Kenneth Galbraith invites readers to join in conversations with presidents and first ladies, diplomats and schoolchildren, the McCarthy 'loyalty board', foreign heads of state and fellow economists, and a host of other correspondents. In his long and cosmopolitan life, Galbraith wrote thousands of letters, and Richard P. F. Holt has selected the most important of these from his archival research, now available in print for the first time. The letters provide an intimate account of the three main political goals to which Galbraith devoted his professional life: ending war, fighting poverty, and improving quality of life by achieving a balance between private and public goods in an affluent capitalist society. Showing his thoughtful insights and charming wit, this collection confirms Galbraith as a man of broad learning, superb literary skills, and deeply held progressive ideals.

Introduction; 1. 1930s: Berkeley and Harvard; 2. 1940s: war and price czar; 3. 1950s: liberal democrats and The Affluent Society; 4. 1960s: triumph and tragedy; 5. 1970s: the shooting star of American liberalism; 6. 1980s: the rise of American conservatism; 7. 1990s: political and economic moderation; 8. 2000s: a goodbye: economics, peace and laughter; About the editor.

Richard P. F. Holt is a Professor of Economics at Southern Oregon University. He has authored and edited many books, two of which were named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. He has also published more than sixty articles and book reviews in a variety of academic journals, and has served on various editorial boards.