Essays by nine leading 20th-century economists (Friedrich Hayek, Ronald Coase, Thomas Schelling, Gordon Tullock, Israel Kirzner, Frank Graham, William Hutt, Clarence Philbrook and D. McCloskey) are presented in this volume. They all address the question of how economists contribute to human betterment, and express their esteem for economic research which is firmly rooted in public issues and contributes to public discourse. Some suggest that the academic focus on technical refinement not only diverts economists from efforts at public edification, but might even mislead economists in their own understanding of economic affairs.