Rating: 
Summary: Roberts hits the mark
Review: Dr. Roberts handles issues like globalization, government regulation and the power of self-interest in a very entertaining and insightful manner. Throughout The Invisible Heart I found myself saying out loud "He gets it -- he gets it." As an entrepreneur, I've had to defend my employee compensation arrangements -- not to my employees but to well-intentioned, yet ignorant do-gooders who attempt to brand me as one who exploits others with my methods (I pay my workers on output (per piece) not on input (per hour). I've said to these people, "ask my employees if they feel exploited. I have 20 people on a waiting list wanting to work for me." For some reason these people never take me up on my offer. Hmmm.These uninitiated would do well to read Dr. Roberts book. Roberts takes a number of esoteric issues and brings them to life. This is a must read for anyone who thought economics was boring.
Rating:
Summary: An economist in love
Review: It's every economist's nightmare. Being forced, at a party or a diner, to discuss economic policy with non-economists. Surrounded by bright intellectuals - lawyers, artists, scientists - the economist has made the error of taking off his (or hers) political correct mask. He has digressed upon his views on society. Having too much to drink, he explained why minimum wages harms unskilled workers, why electricity companies should be privatized, or (god forbids) why 'globalization' is a good thing. Whatever the topic, nobody understood. Everybody has turned against the him. How can someone be so right wing, so inhumane, so myopic? A passionate economist is seldom appreciated. The main character of The Invisible Heart learned that the hard way. Sam Gordon teaches economics at a high school in Washington, and is an economist who would make Milton Friedman look a liberal sissy. Gordon believes passionately in the market mechanism, and abhors government intervention, and just can't shut up about this. The problem is that Sam is in love. The object of his love is an English teacher named Laura Silver. But he is definitely no Don Juan. Sam tries to woo Laura by relentlessly discussing economics. He understands he has a problem. "It would be a good idea to talk about something else than economics", Sam sighs after one of his semi-successful attempts to lure Laura. "But what could it possibly be?" This book is not the first attempt to take boring economic theory and bake it into crusty and tasty fiction. Other economists have tried to sell economics by writing it into a detective story or a thriller. Writing a love-story about economics is without doubt the boldest attempt. And the most successful. O.K. the pages aren't filled with sizzling sex and pulverizing passion, so an experienced reader of the genre may be a bit disappointed. But the upside is that the conversations (quarrels would perhaps be a better word) really are about something. Sam's provocative assertions about the free market and interventions of government are both convincing and intriguing. The author, Russell Robert did the impossible. He wrote a crystal clear, and very readable book about hardcore economics, that keeps you reading until the final page. A must for every frustrated economist. And perhaps even more so for the other 99.9 percent of humanity that thinks that economics is a weird and dangerous science.
Rating: 
Summary: *snort*
Review: Read it 'cause it's a first-rate novel. The will-the-boy-get-the-girl aspects of the book keep it moving briskly. (I'm one who doesn't finish books if they drag, and I finished it in two sittings.) The surprise twist in the plot keeps the reader guessing. That the book also includes some of the most reasoned discussions of markets and the economy in no way intrudes on the readability of the novel. And the reader may learn something in the meantime.
Rating:
Summary: Catch this wave early
Review: Read this book now to get an early taste of 21st century economics, call it "Compassionate Capitalism". It deals wisely and accurately with today's socialist based - and economically doomed - attempts to legislate equity. Not only does some of this modern legislation have a negative economic impact, it directly assails our liberties. Take Russell Roberts' antagonists and consider their argument - taking decision away from the individual leads to the Orwellian nightmare, big brother knows what is best. Our American free spirit is ultimately indomitable, the swing of the pendulum toward the far reaches of political correctness will be shrugged off by the younger generation. This book does a fine job articulating why. Enjoy the read, it is fun. It is also remarkable to see Rabbi Maimonides quoted, the 'RAMBAM' would have been proud!
Rating:
Summary: Catch this wave early
Review: Read this book now to get an early taste of 21st century economics, call it "Compassionate Capitalism". It deals wisely and accurately with today's socialist based - and economically doomed - attempts to legislate equity. Not only does some of this modern legislation have a negative economic impact, it directly assails our liberties. Take Russell Roberts' antagonists and consider their argument - taking decision away from the individual leads to the Orwellian nightmare, big brother knows what is best. Our American free spirit is ultimately indomitable, the swing of the pendulum toward the far reaches of political correctness will be shrugged off by the younger generation. This book does a fine job articulating why. Enjoy the read, it is fun. It is also remarkable to see Rabbi Maimonides quoted, the 'RAMBAM' would have been proud!
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking and entertaining
Review: This book explores a range of timely economic and societal issues, from corporate greed to homelessness, in an engaging and entertaining way. A real page turner, the reader can't wait to find out what happens to the characters in the two concurrent plots. I was delighted by the surprise ending, but perhaps more importantly, I learned a great deal of free-market economics along the way. I only wish more people would read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: A book about Unintended consequences and goofy polemics.
Review: This book was brilliant. I bought it before going on vacation and I couldn't put it down. It is a very fast read (maybe 2 or 3 hours total reading time) and taught me about 15 economic lessons that are incredibly valuable. I find myself quoting the lessons of the book constantly. Perhaps the most valuable element of the book is that the author cleverly uses the characters to argue both sides of each economic argument. You not only learn the "right" answer, but you learn the holes in the most common arguments that are advanced by those that don't subscribe to more "free market" thinking. This should be required reading for anyone involved in business or economics. Note that the book will be very interesting even to those marginally interested in economics as the love story is exceptionally well written and thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: A book about Unintended consequences and goofy polemics.
Review: This is a book about Unintended consequences and goofy polemics. This is the funniest book I have read in a long time - even though it is supposed to be a heart felt 'romance.' I enjoyed the stilted dialogue and the portentous arguments postulated by the 'econ prof.' as he attempts to woo the heart and mind of his beloved yet wrong headed liberal special lady friend. Don't read it as a romance, read it as a critique of the ruling class and how through its ideology it attempts to sell everything via the market place. Yes - even your heart is an battlefield between the forces of freedom and socialism!
Rating:
Summary: An interesting way to address the fundamentals
Review: This is a very creative, and downright brilliant book. It very palatably presents free market economic theory in a sweet, engaging, and endearing tale. Were I a high school teacher or a college instructor teaching an entry level economics course this would be a book that I would definitely require -- it outlines fundamental economic concepts in a practically fashion easily understood by the "lay" person. Additionally, it presents a perspective that those left of center (such as myself) are compelled to respect, even if they are philosophically not in agreement. Besides its educational merits, this is simply a touching novel that keeps you committed, and makes you feel warm and satisfied finishing it. A reader completed devoid of any interest in economics whatsoever would find this an interesting and worthwhile read (and end up better educated despite himself).
Rating:
Summary: This might convert Marx
Review: This is a very creative, and downright brilliant book. It very palatably presents free market economic theory in a sweet, engaging, and endearing tale. Were I a high school teacher or a college instructor teaching an entry level economics course this would be a book that I would definitely require -- it outlines fundamental economic concepts in a practically fashion easily understood by the "lay" person. Additionally, it presents a perspective that those left of center (such as myself) are compelled to respect, even if they are philosophically not in agreement. Besides its educational merits, this is simply a touching novel that keeps you committed, and makes you feel warm and satisfied finishing it. A reader completed devoid of any interest in economics whatsoever would find this an interesting and worthwhile read (and end up better educated despite himself).
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