In his long and distinguished career as a writer and scholar
Julian Simon came to be known as one of the leading--and most
controversial--authorities on population economics. An immensely
productive writer, his work is unified by a basic core belief: that
human intellect and ingenuity are ever-renewable resources in the
use and preservation of natural resources. Inevitably, Simon's
position provoked the hostility of doctrinaire environmentalists,
both in academia and in the movement at large. However, Simon's
arguments were invariably built from facts and powerful evidence
that stood him well in many high-profile public debates.
The first part of Simon's autobiography takes the reader through
his childhood, his years as a midshipman and then as an officer in
the Navy, plus a stint in the Marines, and his experiences as a
copywriter in an advertising firm. Simon's plan after receiving his
Ph.D. from the University of Chicago was to be an entrepreneur,
which would afford him enough money to care for his parents and
allow him free time for writing fiction. He ran a small mail-order
business for two years, during which time he wrote his first book,
"How to Start and Operate a Mailorder Business, "which has since
gone through seven editions. Deciding to seek a professional
career, in 1963, he accepted a position at the University of
Illinois.
Although he spent thirty-five years of his life as a faculty
member at three universities, his autobiography contains almost no
discussion of departmental affairs or university politics, topics
about which Simon had little or no interest. Rather, after the
personal chronology and experiences, the book includes substantive
chapters on research methods, population economics, and
immigration. It also explains how Julian Simon became the economist
he was. He analyzes crucial periods in his life when he developed
his ideas on fundamental issues.
Written in an engaging and amusing manner, Julian Simon's
autobiography is a combination of personal memoir and professional
contribution to important ideas in economics, research methods, and
demography. His observations and personal reflections will interest
the general reader on a humanitarian level as well as
environmentalists, sociologists, and economists on a professional
level.
General
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