About the author

John Rae (1845–1915) was a Scottish journalist and biographer. Public information about his early education and professional career is limited, and his influence rests mainly on two books on quite different subjects. The first, Life of Adam Smith, traces the life and intellectual development of the pioneering economist in a biographical mode and remains a useful reference for understanding Smith as a person and a thinker. The second, Contemporary Socialism, reviews for contemporary readers the rise of socialist thought and the debates surrounding it. One work profiles a thinker, the other examines a living movement, showing Rae's dual approach as a researcher of historical sources and a public commentator. His writing is clear and practical, attentive to facts and context, and is still cited in relevant scholarship.

Written (2)

Publishers

Project Gutenberg