As you can see from the previous reviews, this is a book that provokes strong feelings. As usual that's often more a reflection on the reader than on the book. You'd never guess that this book is (by intention) very funny. But it is.Mirowski has written elsewhere that John von Neumann is the "hero" of this book. Von Neumann thought neoclassical economics was nonsense, and made no secret of that opinion. As a result, many post-war American economists have tried to write him out of history. One fruit of their effort was the beatification of John Nash as the patron saint of game theory, a process that began in the 1980s.According to this book, the irony is that those same economists have "followed the trajectory" of von Neumann's thinking for the last five decades, even if they wouldn't acknowledge it. Through the 1970s or so they relied on fixed-point theorems and other nonconstructive proof techniques (von Neumann in the 1930s). From the 1980s to now, they have relied on game theory (von Neumann for a few years in the 1940s). Recently, they have begun to rely more on computers, particularly to study "agent"-type automata (von Neumann from the mid-1940s to the end of his life). And, as for von Neumann, military funding has been an important factor throughout this development.Actually, this isn't "the" irony, but just one of many. If you've ever had any suspicions that neoclassical economics was kind of a crock, you'll find them well-supported in this impressively well-researched book. (Some highlights include the misplaced aspiration to axiomatize economic theory, the impossibility of computing Nash equilibria, ditto for Walrasian general equilibria, the socialist antecedents of "free market" jingoism, the bounded usefulness of V. Smith's market experiments, and much else.) It may be a bit of a stretch to say that the book reads like a thriller, but the fun of uncovering some additional bit of intellectual dishonesty with each turn of the page did keep my attention.For over 500 pages, this story is told with a sustained, righteous and gleeful sarcasm. Such a tone may sound tiresome, but based on the evidence Mirowski brings forward - much of it the neoclassicals' own words - it struck me as quite justifiable. And I laughed a lot.However, be aware that this book is less self-contained than Mirowski's earlier book, "More Heat Than Light". Even if you've read that book first (which I recommend, especially if you're not an economist), you should have at least a Scientific American-level of acquaintance with theory of computation, a bit more math-intensive experience with game theory (like a few chapters of Myerson -- not that "Machine Dreams" has any equations, but the math is often alluded to), and smidgens of Arrow, Debreu, Herb Simon, Vern Smith and Kahneman & Tversky. You should also know "who" Bourbaki is and have some experience of the Bourbakist style, because it's taken for granted that you already do.There are a few quirks, but nothing so dire as what other reviewers have mentioned. For example, the "Newtonian" issue appears maybe in one offhand comment. More frequent, no less irritating, and just as utterly inconsequential is the use of the word "thermodynamics" when "statistical mechanics" would have been more appropriate. (None of those physics gaffes is important to the main theme.) An august group of manuscript readers allowed the author repeatedly to use "phenomena" and "automata" as singular nouns in the first two-thirds of the book. And throughout, there are ironic allusions and silly puns based on pop culture references, which is fine; but those of you born after 1965 may miss a lot of them.Maybe one day, some econ undergrad as yet unborn will write a senior honors thesis glossing those many dozens of goofy remarks. For its multitude of remarks both insightful and trenchant, this book deserves to continue to be read at least until that time.