The Best Books on: The History of Game Theory

Hi there

As some of you may have gathered, I’m fascinated with the history of game theory, especially what occurred in Vienna in the 1930s and Princeton from 1940-60. It is a topic that includes everything I love: mathematics, equilibrium theory, Princeton University, the lives of John von Neumann, John F. Nash Jr. and so on.

Per today, Privatdozent essays on the history of game theory include:

• The Legend of Abraham Wald, February 12th 2021

• David Hilbert’s Influence on Economics, November 26th 2021

• Karl Menger’s Vienna Colloquium (1928-36), October 22nd 2021

• Oskar Morgenstern’s Transformation (1925-38), August 27th 2021

• Nash’s Bargaining Problem (1950), December 3rd 2021

• John von Neumann’s Minimax Theorem (1928), March 26th 2021

• The von-Neumann-Morgenstern Collaboration (1938-43), August 21st, 2024

See below my favorite books on the topic.

1. Towards a History of Game Theory (1995)

by E. Roy Weintraub