Karen Horn's remarkable interviews with ten Nobel Laureates explore the conditions required for scientific progress by navigating the 'roads to wisdom' in economic science.How does progress in economic theory come about? Where do path-breaking ideas come from? What is it that has enabled these outstanding scholars to make their substantial contributions? How deep are the footprints of a particular historical situation, how strong the political tide or the state-of-the-art in economics, and how influential is personal history on their individual roads to wisdom? Analytical answers to these fundamental questions are presented in this insightful collection of deep and highly inspiring conversations with Nobel Laureates Paul A. Samuelson, Kenneth J. Arrow, James M. Buchanan, Robert M. Solow, Gary S. Becker, Douglass C. North, Reinhard Selten, George A. Akerlof, Vernon L. Smith and Edmund S. Phelps.

Superbly supplemented with concise overviews of the Nobel Laureates' lives and works, these fascinating discussions culminate with a comprehensive inquiry into progress in economic theory. As such, this eloquent and highly accessible book will prove to be a compelling read for scholars and students of the discipline, and all those with an interest in economics and the history of economic thought.