'Bill Vickrey is an economist's economist; not only an original and creative theorist but, wonder of wonders, inventor of brilliant ways of applying those theories. While many difficult selection choices had to be made, the best known of Vickrey's pieces - including, for example, the famous 'Counterspeculation, auctions …', 'Some objections to marginal cost pricing' articles, and the remarkable ' … New York's subway fare structure' proposal - are all here together with a fine sampling of other valuable contributions. The volume also contains helpful introductions, by an all-star cast of economists, to all the major categories of Vickrey's professional work.' Jack Hirshleifer, University of California, Los Angeles