For readable bios of the major economic thinkers, I like: New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought, by Bucholz and Feldstein

For readable bios of the major economic thinkers, I like: New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought, by Bucholz and Feldstein The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers, by Heilbroner And for a readable sample of the economists' thought in their own words, there's: Teachings from the Worldly Philosophy, by Heilbroner