Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: I'm a student in a first year Political Science course, and I have found this book very interesting in its most of the time unbiased view of economics. It is an easy read and a good starting point in understanding the confusing jargon in the world of economics.
Rating: 
Summary: Why Did The Newest Edition Shrink?
Review: I'm still reading this book, which so far is exactly what I want - a general overview of how the economic system works. This subject put me to sleep in college, but now that the economy directly affects what happens to my job (or future job), I need to pay more attention.Something worth noting: the various editions of this book are quite different. First I found a damaged copy cheap at a book store, then I found a better copy at a used book store. But when I compared them, I found out that the newest edition (4th) was thinner than the one before it. I'm reading the fatter, older one now. Later I'll compare them to find out what's changed. I thought books always got bigger when they were revised.
Rating:
Summary: Why Did The Newest Edition Shrink?
Review: I'm still reading this book, which so far is exactly what I want - a general overview of how the economic system works. This subject put me to sleep in college, but now that the economy directly affects what happens to my job (or future job), I need to pay more attention. Something worth noting: the various editions of this book are quite different. First I found a damaged copy cheap at a book store, then I found a better copy at a used book store. But when I compared them, I found out that the newest edition (4th) was thinner than the one before it. I'm reading the fatter, older one now. Later I'll compare them to find out what's changed. I thought books always got bigger when they were revised.
Rating:
Summary: Consumer surplus maximised!
Review: If you are <16 yrs old or an ideologically driven right-wing sociopath, then this is not the book for you. It's not for individuals of the former description because it is, after all, economics. It's not for individuals of the latter description because it doesn't dogmatically parrot anti-intellectual dribble like "government intervention in a free market results in Pareto sub-optimal outcomes" or "deregulation of the labour market results in the wage rate falling to its full-employment equilibrium level". If this readable, non-technical and socially aware introduction to basic economics really did contradict everything being taught in "major" (North American) universities then it would be a damning intellectual and pedagogical indictment of those universities. In any case, such a ludicrous charge is (fortunately) just plain false, as anyone with any experience of any economics course at any university ("major" or otherwise) would know. In short, this book is as good a mainstream introduction to basic economics as any other one is likely to find on the market. Ideally, for students, it functions as an excellent companion to their textbook (as seems to be intended).
Rating: 
Summary: Economics Explained--Hardly
Review: Interested in a book to explain the basics of economics? Sorry, this one isn't it. Furthermore, this work is such an insult to read that it would take great self-restraint not to pluck out your eyes after about 20 pages. The authors use this book as a vehicle for two purposes-- (1) to ineffectively convey economic ideas in the most confusion, convoluted manner possible and, more notably (2) to grind their political axe against your skull. The tone is so negative they should sell the book with a bell to toll as you flip through the pages. Please do not give the authors the pleasure of trying to sway your politics with their palsied arguments--read anything else.
Rating: 
Summary: Liberal vs. Conservative Views of Economics
Review: The co-author, Robert Heilbroner is a delightfully articulate speaker and thinker. I read his "Worldly Philosophers" while in high school and loved it -- it kicked off a life-long study of economics and politics. My undergraduate economics course used Heilbroner's very famous friend Paul Samuelson's textbook. My grad school used Heilbroner's text book on economics, among others. I was one of Prof. Thurow's students at MIT. So, my bona fides show that I like and know both these authors' works and respect their intellect. However, the authors' views of economics and their political leanings are inseparable. Economics and politics are so closely related that they cannot help but deeply influence each other. One cannot be 'objective' about economic theory, however high one's integrity. This is the reason why I want to point out to readers of Profs. Thurow and Heilbroner's works that both authors lean to the political Left. The other side of the political spectrum is well represented by authors such as Hayek and Friedman whose works are also very readable and thought provoking, who offer a point of view that 'balance' that of Heilbroner, Thurow, Samuelson, Gailbraith.... I strongly suggest that 'beginners' in economics read broadly from both the Left and the Right thinkers on how to generate and allocate economic resources.
Rating:
Summary: Liberal vs. Conservative Views of Economics
Review: The co-author, Robert Heilbroner is a delightfully articulate speaker and thinker. I read his "Worldly Philosophers" while in high school and loved it -- it kicked off a life-long study of economics and politics. My undergraduate economics course used Heilbroner's very famous friend Paul Samuelson's textbook. My grad school used Heilbroner's text book on economics, among others. I was one of Prof. Thurow's students at MIT. So, my bona fides show that I like and know both these authors' works and respect their intellect. However, the authors' views of economics and their political leanings are inseparable. Economics and politics are so closely related that they cannot help but deeply influence each other. One cannot be 'objective' about economic theory, however high one's integrity. This is the reason why I want to point out to readers of Profs. Thurow and Heilbroner's works that both authors lean to the political Left. The other side of the political spectrum is well represented by authors such as Hayek and Friedman whose works are also very readable and thought provoking, who offer a point of view that 'balance' that of Heilbroner, Thurow, Samuelson, Gailbraith.... I strongly suggest that 'beginners' in economics read broadly from both the Left and the Right thinkers on how to generate and allocate economic resources.
Rating:
Summary: A well written overview of economics in the real world
Review: This book gives the reader a broad perspective on how economics are applied in the real world. After reading it, one could get a good sense of the dynamic economic forces at work in our lives and understand how and why they affects us. Macroeconomic issues are addressed through the discussions of the GDP, savings and investings, passive consumption, active investments, the pubic sector, the role of the government, and the role of money. Microeconomic issues focus on the market- how market works as well as where market fails. It then goes into the discussions of inflation, the inequality problem, as well as globalization. Needless to say, the ability to understand these issues would greatly help anyone to understand the more finer points of economics. This book is easy to follow and down to earth. Check it out if you can.
Rating:
Summary: Solid insights, but aging
Review: This economics text is a great introduction to the background of economic thought, macroeconomics, microeconomics and current (circa mid-1990s) problems in the world. It develops the concepts from the ground up, using intuition without requiring the mathematics or jargon of other economics texts. I give the book 5 stars because it was exactly what I needed - a refresher on the subject that answered several intuitive questions I had on how money supply interacts with inflation and economic growth. Despite this rating, the book had several shortcomings:
1 - Several key terms could have been defined better.
2 - The authors have a left leaning agenda. They acknowlege this, and do their best to separate controversial points from universally agreed points, but I think their "general concensus" was still left of where many academics land.
3 - The material is aging, and the book could use an update explaining the internet downturn and the after-effects of the Asian financial crisis. An explanation of the near-meltdowns of Russia and Latin America would be interesting, as the authors had previously highlights the Confederate States of America and Czarist Russia as the only countries to ever previously default on their money. Despite these drawbacks, this is an excellent tome on the subject for critical thinkers willing to keep an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: Solid insights, but aging
Review: This economics text is a great introduction to the background of economic thought, macroeconomics, microeconomics and current (circa mid-1990s) problems in the world. It develops the concepts from the ground up, using intuition without requiring the mathematics or jargon of other economics texts. I give the book 5 stars because it was exactly what I needed - a refresher on the subject that answered several intuitive questions I had on how money supply interacts with inflation and economic growth. Despite this rating, the book had several shortcomings:
1 - Several key terms could have been defined better.
2 - The authors have a left leaning agenda. They acknowlege this, and do their best to separate controversial points from universally agreed points, but I think their "general concensus" was still left of where many academics land.
3 - The material is aging, and the book could use an update explaining the internet downturn and the after-effects of the Asian financial crisis. An explanation of the near-meltdowns of Russia and Latin America would be interesting, as the authors had previously highlights the Confederate States of America and Czarist Russia as the only countries to ever previously default on their money. Despite these drawbacks, this is an excellent tome on the subject for critical thinkers willing to keep an open mind.
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