Rating: 
Summary: Hated it!
Review: A classic view of economics from the extremely liberal perspective. If you believe that all rich people are evil, then you will enjoy this work of fiction. Contradicts everything being taught at 'major' universities. You would be better off flushing your money down the toilet.
Rating: 
Summary: Its Not 'Everything You Need to Know'
Review: A good, brief introduction to economic concepts targeted torward the layman. It served as a good refresher for the year of economics I had long ago in college, but it also added a grand overview that I was lacking. It does examine some of the limitations of the free market system, which some seem to take as an endorsement of communism. Nonsense. Buy this book as a good intro or refresher, but don't let it be your last!
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Summary: My review on Economics Explained
Review: As a 15 year old who was forced to read this by the board of education for some stupid summer reading, my only review to this book is that it was beyond boring. How anyone of my age can enjoy this book is beyond me, but I personally thought it was horrible. I don't understand how one can go on and on for 200+ pages on economics.I sugest the board of education wises up and starts to pick books we might enjoy even a little. I know some of you who may read this will be very mad at my remark but doesn't everyone have an opinon?
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Summary: My handy reference to Economic Theory
Review: At times, I find myself reading other books that refer to various economic theories that I am either unaware of or do not fully understand. I have found that Heilbroner and Thurow have done a very thorough job in this work to create a laymens book on economics that is easy to read and understand. I have found that this book in particular, serves my needs very well, as a primer on basic economic theory.Robert Heilbroner is an excellent writer, notwithstanding his liberal slant. Lester Thurow, was the author of my college econimics text. The combination of the two, creates a powerful synergy and delivers a superb product. I believe you will find the book reader-friendly: Easy to read, full of answers to of the laymens questions, and even somewhat enjoyable to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a perfect explanation of economics...
Review: but a very readable and enjoyable one. It's not as thorough as an economics textbook, but it's got the main points spelled out for the layman (or laywoman). As an introduction, I thought it was more than adequate, and it was quite a feat to include so few technical aspects of economics (there are a few VERY simple supply and demand graphs and some other pictorial info). It's broken into short chapters which doesn't mean anything except that it can be read in small chunks. And yes, for someone who's forced to read it at the age of 15, it might be boring, but if you're one of those, rebel and read something else. Also, the authors do have their own opinions on economics and this seeps into their book. But they are very well aware of it, and they are careful about when and where they include their own thoughts. Economics isn't as boring as many think. It's actually very interesting and very VERY relevant to our everyday lives. This is a good introduction to the topic, but don't let it be the only book you read. If you like this book, you may also like Heilbroner's, "The Worldly Philosophers."
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Summary: More about left wing politics than Economics
Review: Hmmm, well I read the other reviews here with interest, looking for an entry level book on economics, and decided to read both the Hazlitt book and this one. I read Hazlitt first, which I liked, but thought there should be some good left side criticism of it, so I turned to this one. However, I was quite surprised and disappointed how far left this was, and also how political it was, right out of the gate. It wasn't even a good response to Hazlitt it was so far out there. I am in the center and usually find myself seeing both sides. Examples: in the introduction they mention three things that are not true, one is that in the recent past the rich have gotten richer while the poor have gotten poorer. Even Ralph Nader doesn't go that far left, what he says is that the bottom 20% have stayed the same, the rest are better off, and the rich have made more by percentage, so these guys ended up to the left of Nader. More centrist economists say that one group, blue collar workers, are making less, but that at the same time there have been a huge increase in highly paid professional jobs in technical positions, far outweighning the loss of blue collar jobs. The only person who could think this book is good economics is someone with a very left wing bias, I think. Another thing is they named three great economists, one of whom was Marx. Huh? I think this is as left wing and biased as you can get. They also said that jobs going to Seoul mean less jobs in Seattle--demonstrably untrue. What has happened is that the type of jobs is changing, but we (US) are getting the higher paying ones. If you are looking for some political propaganda, this book is for you. If you want to learn something about economics, you better look elsewhere.
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Summary: great book for beginners
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to understand and full of information for those who are interested about economics in general.
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Summary: Covert socialist propaganda
Review: I have no quarrel per se with someone who wants to advocate socialism. But I would insist that they admit that is what they want to do. What makes reading this book actually painful is that it is so manipulative, the author pretends to teach economics when he really wants to preach collectivism and even class envy. A premise that is usually not addressed in books such as this is the notion that we can divide up evenly all the income in the nation and that somehow this would not affect productivity. Then after ignoring this quite serious objection he points out that some people have more than others (oh, really?). The implication being that this must certainly be "unfair". The author is entitled to these opinions and attitudes, I wish that he wouldn't disguise them as "the science of economics". To the reader who is curious about economics I would suggest Henry Hazelett's "Economics in One Easy Lesson". That book is very clear and readable. And as to the left-wing, right-wing controversy in economics, please, make up your OWN mind, but take a couple hours and listen to what Hazelett had to say on the subject. And please ignore these rantings of a jealous man, consumed by envy.
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Summary: A great place to brush up or begin your econ studies
Review: I really admire this writer a great deal because he has a gift for making complex concepts clear as crystal. I don't know about you, but I am sick of overly sarcastic or "humorous" approaches to series topics - the whole "atomic fusion for dummies" style of writing. I find a clear, insightful explanation entertaining enough, thanks. When I read this book, I found it thrilling because all the basic economic principles we all live with everyday (but so often are clouded in mystery) suddenly opened up before me because of the author's clarity. It is true that Mr. Heilbroner is a liberal\democratic leaning economist. He admits that up front, however, in the introduction, and he promises the reader that all points of view in the book will be clearly marked as opinion and never given as fact. I should say that I lean to the right heavily, and I did not find this book unfair or overly biased at all. If you are a conservative like me, do not omit this book because of the author's stated economic preferences. It is a wonderful book full of deep insights and observations, written for serious grown-ups looking for an introduction into the fascinating world of economics. --Mykal Banta
Rating:
Summary: A great place to brush up or begin your econ studies
Review: I really admire this writer a great deal because he has a gift for making complex concepts clear as crystal. I don't know about you, but I am sick of overly sarcastic or "humorous" approaches to series topics - the whole "atomic fusion for dummies" style of writing. I find a clear, insightful explanation entertaining enough, thanks. When I read this book, I found it thrilling because all the basic economic principles we all live with everyday (but so often are clouded in mystery) suddenly opened up before me because of the author's clarity. It is true that Mr. Heilbroner is a liberal\democratic leaning economist. He admits that up front, however, in the introduction, and he promises the reader that all points of view in the book will be clearly marked as opinion and never given as fact. I should say that I lean to the right heavily, and I did not find this book unfair or overly biased at all. If you are a conservative like me, do not omit this book because of the author's stated economic preferences. It is a wonderful book full of deep insights and observations, written for serious grown-ups looking for an introduction into the fascinating world of economics. --Mykal Banta
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