This is a survey of the treatment of selected themes in the famous textbook from the first edition in 1948 to the last in 1995.

The sales figures:

Edition, Year, Author(s,) Sales

1, 1948, Samuelson, 121,453

2, 1951, Samuelson, 137,256

3, 1955, Samuelson, 191,706

4, 1958, Samuelson, 273,036

5, 1961, Samuelson, 331,163

6, 1964, Samuelson, 441,941

7, 1967, Samuelson, 389,678

8, 1970, Samuelson, 328,123

9, 1973, Samuelson, 303,705

10, 1976, Samuelson, 317,188

11, 1980, Samuelson, 196,185

12, 1985, Samuelson & Nordhaus, N/A

13, 1989, Samuelson & Nordhaus, N/A

14, 1992, Samuelson & Nordhaus, N/A

15, 1995, Samuelson & Nordhaus, N/A

The themes:

The Keynesian motif

Anti-saving views

Evolving views on monetary policy

Defender of activist government

The Family Tree of Economics: The Mainstream and Marxism

Central Planning and economic growth

Where are the economic success stories?

The impact of the textbook