Laurence Steven Moss, 1944–2009

I Introduction LARRY MOSS lived a full and busy life. He exuded such warmth and friendship at his numerous attendances at the History of Economics Society (HES) meetings, even after losing his vocal cords to laryngeal cancer. His sense of humor was always evident. Larry's brave and determined handling of that illness to the very end made the news of his passing so shocking to many of us who saw him at the last HES meetings he attended in Toronto, Canada, June 27-30, 2008. Larry touched many lives through his prolific publications and fostered the academic productivity of others through writing book reviews, mentoring young scholars, editing scholarly volumes, serving the HES community in various capacities including the presidency, and editing the American Journal of Economics and Sociology (AJES). It is fitting that his life's achievements be celebrated in this special volume of the AJES by some of those who knew him closely. A biography typically includes informative accounts of an individual's childhood, schooling, professional life, hobbies, and accomplishments. My account, by necessity, has to be in the nature of a sketch. Other contributors to this volume that celebrates Larry's life and accomplishments, including such closer associates as professors Karen Vaughn, Warren Samuels, and Craufurd Goodwin, provide many of the details missing from my account. In a sense, the arrangement to have contributions from others is an immense time saver for me. I have known Larry personally only since the 1980s, becoming fairly close from about 1989. (1) My interactions with Larry were mostly at HES meetings, once at the Western Economic Association International meetings in San Diego (1995) and another time at the Allied Social Science Association Meetings in Chicago (1998), as well as through his requesting a couple of book reviews from me during the early 1990s, his requests for my refereeing manuscripts for the AJES, the last of which he acknowledged receipt in January 2009, and e-mail exchanges. Attempting to write a biography of a person with such diversity of talents, interests, and achievements as Larry in less than three months is quite daunting. Indeed, I would have declined the request to undertake the assignment had not Widdy Ho, Larry's widow,2 volunteered to be my "research assistant" for the project. Widdy's assistance has been invaluable in my accessing the requisite pieces of information for the write-up, including providing Larry's curriculum vitae. I have also benefited from contacts with Larry's son, Joshua Louis, Pete Boettke, and Ross Emmett. II The Early, Formative Years LARRY WAS BORN Laurence Steven Moskowitz in Queens, New York, on November 13, 1944, one of two children, to Martin Moss (deceased in 1997) and Dorothy Moss. His sister is Vicki Moss. Larry's family name was changed on March 2, 1947 upon the legal request of his parents. The petition followed similar requests at the time by people of Jewish origin who, following the experience of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust during World War II, sought to blend their names in with others of the general population. Larry attended the Edgar D. Shimer Junior High School in Queens, New York, and the John Adams Senior High School in Richmond Hill, New York. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Queens College at the City University of New York in 1965 and his Master of Arts in Economics from the same institution in 1967, writing his master's thesis on "Mountifort Longfield's Lectures on Political Economy." As I recall from Karen Vaughn's presentation at a commemorative panel about Larry at the History of Economics Society Meeting in Denver, Colorado, on June 29, 2009, he had wanted to write on Adam Smith. But he was discouraged by his influential teacher in the history of economic thought, Josef Soudek, who asked him to choose a personality other than a well-known classical economist to write about. …