John Kenneth Galbraith hotsell OC (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-born economist, public official and diplomat, and a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950's through the 2000's. As an economist, he leaned toward post-Keynesian economics from an institutionalist perspective.
Galbraith was born on his family's farm to Sarah Catherine (Kendall) and Archibald "Archie" Galbraith, in Iona Station, Ontario, Canada. His father was a farmer and schoolteacher, and his mother was a homemaker and community activist, who died when he was fourteen years old. In his teens, he took the name Ken, because disliked being called John. He grew to be a very tall man, attaining a height of 6 feet, 9 inches tall.
He was a long-time Harvard faculty member, during a half-century as a professor of economics. He was a prolific author and wrote four dozen books, including several novels, and published more than a thousand articles and essays on various subjects. Among his works was a trilogy on economics, 'American Capitalism' (1952), 'The Affluent Society' (1958), and 'The New Industrial State' (1967).
As a part of a team charged with keeping inflation from crippling the war effort, Galbraith served as a deputy head of the Office of Price Administration (OPA) during the Second World War in 1941–1943. In February, 1946, Galbraith took a leave of absence from his magazine work for a senior position in the State Department as director of the Office of Economic Security Policy where he was nominally in charge of economic affairs regarding Germany, Japan, Austria, and South Korea.
He was active in Democratic Party politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. He served as United States Ambassador to India under the Kennedy administration. His political activism, literary output and outspokenness brought him wide fame during his lifetime. Galbraith was one of the few to receive both the World War II Medal of Freedom (1946) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000) for his public service and contributions to science. The government of France made him a Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur.
Galbraith died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, of natural causes at the age of 97, after a two-week stay in a hospital. He is interred at Indian Hill Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut.
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976.
Signed by the author.
Third Edition, Revised - stated.
Near Fine copy, in a Near Fine dust jacket.
Brown buckram, gilt letters on spine & front cover. One slight spine bump at the head, else fine. Signed & dated (1988) by the author across the front free fly. No other markings. Crisp white pages, appears to be un-read. The Dust jacket has a 1 1/2" tear at the top front cover (closed), and two other minor blemishes (1/2" tear; minor chip, both closed) at top back cover/head of spine. There is also a tiny bit of edge-chipping along the foot of the spine. Otherwise, the jacket is pristine, still bright & colorful. Publisher's original price of $10.00, top of front flap. Now in a BroDart protective sleeve. 287 pages
Product code: The Affluent Society, hotsell by John Kenneth Galbraith. Signed. 3rd Edition, Revised.