Rating: 
Summary: A clear introduction into trade theory and macroeconomics
Review: A clear book which gives a good introduction into trade theory. While the authors sometimes take their time (space) or engage in a conversation with the reader, it gives a good account of trade theory. Slightly more advanced and requiring a bit more background is the other half about open macroeconomics. But this too is quite clear and gives a good acocunt of the field.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent theory and plausible assertations.
Review: Extremely interesting book.
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Summary: The book to start with in International Economics
Review: For anybody - but especially students - interested in exploring the subject of international economics, this is the book to start with. It is illuminating (as it is always the case with Krugman's writings) on otherwise technical concepts as comparative advantage, trade policy and exchange rate determinants, but it is also entertaining, with its "reality checks". The first part of the book deals with the "real" economy, the second part with monetary international economics. It will save you a lot of time to begin your study of the field with this book. If you have had previous experiences with international economics but either forgot most about it or had trouble making sense of the whole thing you will probably get a good grasp of the subject after reading this manual. The bibliography is accurate and rich, the exercises won't give you an headache. Readers with some background in economics are most likely to take full advantage from the book. For the others, well, some introductory economics will be necessary. Once you've read this book, you can continue more safely your studies/readings on international economics.
Rating: 
Summary: international economics
Review: Have those reviewers really read the book? As I started reading, I found that Figure 2-3 in Part ONE is misprinted, that the definitions of the key terms are not clearly mentioned where they are indicated, and that it is hard to find the key point in each section with too long verbal explanations on mathematical points. The authors are famous, I know. BUT do they really try to let us understand the subject?
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book.... Too bad its a bit baby
Review: Having taken a class on Commodity Flow Theory (Micro) and a seperate class on Int'l Finances (Macro), I can say that I enjoyed the former much more then the latter. I used Krugman's latest edition for the former and thought it was adequatly written for the scope of the class.
I really wish they would make undergraduate Economics more rigirous as I believe many undergrads who have taken 2 or 3 university math courses (up to the linear algebra level) could easily understand most of the mathematics found in "high brow" Economics theory.
Seeing I've only had the pleasure of reading two textbooks on the subject (and different sections of each respective book), I am not in a position where I can make a relative judgment on the quality of the material.
I felt Krugman's writing (I am assuming the majority of the micro section is his writing) was mostly neutral. I found, from my reading, the only section that could have been biased was the section on political economy, but since I am unfamiliar with that field in general I cannot make a more descriptive comment.
Overall, I liked the fact that their was some mathematical indexes at the end of the chapter (something my other int'l economics textbook lacked). I've come to expect the option of a more quantiative treatment in most modern textbooks (both my intermediate macro/micro and econometrics text were layed out in this fashion).
So in conclusion, the text was easy to understand, well organized, and perhaps abit biased.... However, if you are just being introduced to the matter, I doubt you will notice much of the bias since the majority of what he covers in the book are well established models and theories.
Rating:
Summary: Verbose and confounding
Review: I'm sure Krugman knows his economics but this book needs to be rewritten in a more understandable fashion. It is confounding because Krugman assumes too often that the reader knows and understands the underlying fundamentals of economics, which is definately not second nature to introductory students of international economics. Krugman needs to learn how to write simply and concisely like Mankiw, who's textbooks are simply understandable.
Rating:
Summary: Worst economic book
Review: It is true that the authors of this book know what they are talking about. It is not true, however, that they can relay that information to others in an easy to understand manner. Important terms and concepts are lost in numerous mathematical functions. The functions themselves would be somewhat self-explanatory if they had included numerical examples;however, they did not include enough to make the concepts crystal clear. Besides, how many college students can really get into products such as wine and cheese which the author's uses to illustrate a concept in the second chapter. They could have illustrated it much better with the use of beer and pizza. Agreeably, this has to be one of the worst economic textbooks I have read.
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Summary: An important and useful text for understanding trade theory.
Review: Krugman and Obstfeld provide a full detailed analysis and examples for the basis of trade among nations. It is relatively straightforward to comprehend for both economists and noneconomists. International trade is an important component of economic policy for the growth and development of countries. This book examines various theoretical trade models and provides real world examples of policy formulation and their impact. The authors do not take any political positions, thus making their analysis a purely objective, or positive study.(p)I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing research in international trade and development. It is a must read for prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it as a useful reference.
Rating:
Summary: An important and useful text for understanding trade theory
Review: Krugman and Obstfeld provide a full detailed analysis and examples for the basis of trade among nations. It is relatively straightforward to comprehend for both economists and noneconomists. International trade is an important component of economic policy for the growth and development of countries. This book examines various theoretical trade models and provides real world examples of policy formulation and their impact. The authors do not take any political positions, thus making their analysis a purely objective, or positive study. I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing research in international trade and development. It is a must read for prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it as a useful reference.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book.... Too bad its a bit baby
Review: Krugman et al constantly contradicts earlier statements throughout the text in the international trade section, it will give you a headache. The finance side is better. If you really want to learn international trade and finance (for undergrad), get the Caves, Jones, Frankel text.... I learned the hard way and had to pay restocking fees (etc) when I wanted to exhange it for Caves et al. Krugman should stick to writing editorials for the NY Times b/c this text needs some serious help!!!
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