Rating: 
Summary: Basic Economics offers a very near sighted view of the world
Review: Sowell sees the free market as this potential utopia, only deterred by the mismanagement of the government. Laissez faire is such a supreme good that he chooses not to even delve into the problems that face in the 'real world'. I am not saying that his analysis of the market is wrong, but he barely even pays lip service to such phenomena as recessions, mass lay-offs and unemployment. The government, he says, can only save jobs at the expense of losing other jobs, which is true enough, however this does not explain what happens when large portions of wealth and industry are moved from country to country. I think the single thing that bothered me most was his dismissal of the national debt. For him it seems to be nothing more than a statistical anomaly.
Perhaps I missed the point of the book. Perhaps Sowell is not trying to paint a picture of a utopian free market society. Perhaps economics is not meant to offer any insight onto the health of a nation at all. In which case I apologize. Let me just offer a different economics primer, in which the world is a little more complex than Basic Economics. Hidden Order, by David Friedman is a fantastic book that will not only give you a thorough understanding of economics, but will also provide a solid foundation if you should choose to pursue the topic further.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but poorly edited
Review: Having been confused for many years on economic matters by politicians and journalists, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air. It is well written, easy to understand, and has made many important issues clear to me.Unfortunately, it is very poorly edited (i.e. it has lots of typos and grammatical mistakes), which is why I have only given it four stars. It is a bit like a new car with scratches all over the bodywork.
Rating: 
Summary: It is 2004: Do You Understand Economics?
Review: I heartily endorse this textbook in basic economics for the literate American, and for any reader who wishes to analyze and understand ANY economy. Why should we care? We saw the economy of the LARGEST nation (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) collape completely only fifteen or so years ago. What followed is chaos that few Americans, perhaps save legal immigrants, can understand. And in our country, the United States of America, where we all rely on a food distribution system that, if shut down, would leave grocery store shelves empty in three days, ALL of us should know more about economics--supply and demand, or, as Sowell might say, resources and prices. How much more would you pay for a FIVE day supply of food after a unthinkable disruption of distribution. Sowell will help you think clearly about such questions. Can you name ONE Nobel Prize Winner in Economics? And if you can, why it was earned? I would suggest the Thomas Sowell, in making the complexities (which are really not so complex) CLEAR in PLAIN ENGLISH of Economics ought to receive at least a Pulitzer for his writing, if not the Nobel for succint clarity. WHY don't more editors (in every media type) make this book mandatory for reporters, investigators and researchers? It should be. The analytic mind demands some model for reasoning out problems of the allocation of resources, whether they be animal, vegetable, or mineral. This book, cheaper than even a Community College course in Economics, will be called back for re-reading many times by anyone who cares about freedom, liberty, and prosperity, whether that person thinks of him or herself as liberal, moderate, independent, conservative, or libertarian. I recommend: BUY this book. And then, please read it!
Rating:
Summary: A solid foundation
Review: I liked this book a lot. It was written foremost for people with little or no understanding of economics, so even I sometimes had to wade through a lot of informantion I was familiar with to find something new and interesting, but I'd consider this an excellent read for almost anyone. Is this a political book by the way? It is NOT political any more than can possibly be helped. Obviously, no author is entirely capable of supressing their political beliefs on any subject 100% of the time, and I will tell you before you pick this book up that Sowell has a libertarian outlook (use the word conservative, the phrase far-right, or something else like that if you want, but I'm trying to put a neutral label on his beliefs), and you will get a little of that. However, most of what one or two of the above readers might see as far-right or laize-fare propaganda are one of 2 things-
1- Showing evidence to support the conclusion that the laize-fare approach produces more WEALTH than a system with more controls. Though Sowell has his own opinions, he goes out of his way to avoid expressing them in this book. Nor do you exactly have to read a 350 page book about ANYTHING to know that freer markets=higher per capita GDP's.
2- Attacking numerous misconceptions about why various things happen. The 1973 gas shortage for example. The person who complained Sowell ignored the fact that OPEC imposed an embargo that year apparenlty has a reading comprehension problem as Sowell DOES mention this and ALSO mentions that OPEC imposed a similar embargo in 1967 (anyone remember a gas crisis that year? Thought not.). The difference being that government imposed rationing of gasoline in 1973. The Nixon cabinet member who was in charge of the rationing HIMSELF said that the shortage was artifically induced by our govt. and not merely a product of what OPEC with-held. Also, Sowell does NOT ignore that supply can be manipulated. There are chapters dealing with every possible restriction of the free market- outright monopolies, government intervention, cartels, and labor unions. Reaching a conclusion on a subject that does not agree with your own is entirely different from ignoring that subject.
In conclusion, the there are 2 ultimate lessons to be learned from this book.
1- Do not accept at face value what ANYONE says about any economic issue. The odds are overwhelming that they are ill informed or manipulating what they tell you for their own purposes. Find your own figures, and ask a lot about the way THAT information was compiled. (you do not need Sowell or any other specific author to tell you this by the way. All you need is to be a reasonably intelligent person)
2- Like Sowell himself said over and over again in this book- Economcis is the study of allocating scarce resources that have alternative uses. So there is going to be a trade-off in every decision anyone makes about the use of any of them. In short, it is impossible to get something for nothing, so any time ANY person promises to get or do something for you, you must ask yourself what you have to exchange for it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Usual Suspects
Review: Sowell's book is a rehash of his laissez faire economic philosophy, with at least lip service to the problems associated with it. I found the book valuable, however, for its very well written exposition of the beneficial role prices play in free market economies.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be the Standard Text for All Economics 101 Courses
Review: Thomas Sowell has written a powerful book that is useful for those new to economics, as well as to those well versed on the subject. After years of hearing the twisted economic spin by politicians and the mass media outlets, I sometimes tend to forget some of the basic concepts that this book covers. Only time will tell, but I think this book will help elevate Mr. Sowell to a level achieved by few others in the field of economics. Not that the ideas are new or complex, they are neither. But the manner in which Sowell presents economic concepts is masterful. I can only hope that young people all over the world read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: More Politics Than Economics
Review: Written for those who have never taken freshman year Economics 101, readers who are trying to make up for a lack of higher education will unfortunately remain uninformed. This book ignores basic historical facts: For example, the writer completely ingores the OPEC Oil Embargo on 1973 and blames the oil shortage on America! Rather than teaching the laws of supply and demand (and the risks that supply can be manipulated), the writer attemps to sell the reader on his personal economic preferrences by ommitting weaknesses, adverse consequences, and facts to the contrary.
Rating:
Summary: A book about life and choices, not just economics
Review: A book about life and choices, not just economics. In less than one hour this book cleared away the silliness of years of college economic education. Clear and concise. No preaching. No clutter of the chattering elite. Just the plain truth. Thanks to the author for this fine book. I wish I'd had read this 20 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I can't give more praise than the previous recommendations; I agree with all of them. Instead, I want to warn all readers about an author's mistake on page 239: there was no coup d'etat in 1999. We had general elections in December 1998, and the winner was a former Lt Col (two ranks lower than a General) who was the leader of the failed February 1992 coup d'etat. He takes office in February 1999. All the other considerations by Mr Sowell in the paragraph are absolutely true. To all interested in economics and coup d'etats, I would like to recommend the book "Paper tigers and minotaurs" by Moises Naim, who was the Venezuelan Minister (Secretary) of Trade and Industry by the time of the 1992 coup (he is now the Editor and Publisher of Foreign Policy magazine)
Rating:
Summary: Scarce resources that have alternative uses
Review: Sowell defines economics as, "The allocation of scarce resources that have alternative uses."
He approaches this book from that standpoint, arguing that, what is given to one group must be taken from another group.
Simple. Within this context, he addresses how politicians and the like put forth economic "solutions" by using emotionally appealing rhetoric such as, "affordable housing," "living wages," "more jobs," as if these enviable goals are attainable simply by establishing price caps and minimum wages. He argues, quite persuasively, that these proposed "solutions" are really just "trade-offs," and that they have historically done more damage than good because they ignore the simple fact that, to give to some you must take from others. The entire book is devoted to this very basic fact. Division of labor, monetary systems, purchasing power, etc. are all addressed within this context. The book is easy to understand, surprisingly fun, and extremely enlightening. It reads like a history of economics and dictionary of economic terms at the same time. I left this book with answers and with new questions.
Highly recommended.
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