Sir William Arthur Lewis moved from the realm of brilliant scholar into the realm of legend when he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979. Yet, little has been recognised of his scholarship beyond the field of economics, a scholarship that complemented and enhanced his economic thought.

In this collection of essays, borne out of the Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Symposium and the Sir Arthur Lewis Distinguished Lecture 2018, contributors present W. Arthur Lewis not only as a renowned Nobel Laureate in Economics but also as a cross-disciplinary scholar both prescient and adept in outlining a framework for development in all areas of society.

The W. Arthur Lewis Reader starts with an overview of Lewis’s early life and career and then delves into his varied contributions to the field of political science, management, and sociology, to name a few. It details how his cultural, political, and social worldview profoundly influenced the dynamism and nuance with which he advanced issues concerning West Indies and West African activism; racial and ethnic antagonism; social demographics; labour and unemployment; economic diversification; development of the cultural and creative industries; and ethnicity and entrepreneurship, all while providing an invaluable resource on one of the Caribbean’s greatest minds.