Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy [Hardcover]

Thomas Sowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0465022529 | ISBN-13: 978-0465022526 | Edition: 4th

The fourth edition of Basic Economics is both expanded and updated. A new chapter on the history of economics itself has been added, and the implications of that history examined. A new section on the special role of corporations in the economy has been added to the chapter on government and big business, among other additions throughout the book.

Basic Economics, which has now been translated into six languages, has grown so much that a large amount of material in the back of the book in previous editions has now been put online instead, so the book itself and its price will not have to expand. The central idea of Basic Economics, however, remains the same: that the fundamental facts and principles of economics do not require jargon, graphs, or equations, and can be learned in a relaxed and even enjoyable way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

“Clear and concise…among economists of the past thirty years, Sowell stands very proud indeed.”—Wall Street Journal

 

“Basic Economics is not only valuable for a general lay-person audience; it would also benefit lawyers, politicians, and yes, economists, as well.”—Washington Times

 

“Basic Economics is a healthy main course disguised as a rich dessert.  The expanded Fourth Edition now weighs in at well over 600 pages.  Readers will celebrate the girth. Tom Sowell’s smooth writing, irresistible logic, deep knowledge and flawless economics make each page an explanatory treat to experts and novices alike.”  —Thomas Hazlett, Professor of Law & Economics and Director, Information Economy Project, George Mason University

 

“Badly needed…. Anyone who has been subjected to biased and dreary economics textbooks should read Basic Economics as a bracing corrective.”—Claremont Review of Books

 

“Basic Economics demonstrates in every chapter why Thomas Sowell is one of America's greatest thinkers. It is must-reading for anyone who wants the truth about how the laws of economics govern so many of the events in our daily lives.”—Arthur C. Brooks, President, American Enterprise Institute and author of The Battle: How the Fight Between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future

 

“Alchian said the true test of whether one understands his subject is whether he can explain it to someone who doesn’t know a darn thing about it. Mr. Sowell wasn’t Alchian’s student, but Basic Economics demonstrates his ability to make economics understandable to a person who hasn’t set foot in an economics class. It’s a book rich with explanations and examples of everyday economics issues.”—Walter Williams, George Mason University

 

“The unyielding truths of economics befuddle social engineers of all stripes.  Sowell, in exemplary fashion, strips the mystery from those truths, making them intuitive—even obvious.”  —David Boaz, Executive Vice President, Cato Institute and author of Libertarianism: A Primer

About the Author

Thomas Sowell l has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institutions. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in academic journals and in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune, and he writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 786 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 4th edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465022529
• ISBN-13: 978-0465022526
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 2.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Business & Investing > Popular Economics
  • #85 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics

More About the Author

Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst and other academic institutions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in both academic journals in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine and Fortune, and writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

160 of 165 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great upgrade to essential volume January 3, 2011

By John R. Smith

Format:Hardcover

Basic Economics has become an institution in itself. With this, its fourth edition, the publisher offers the same great essential survey of economics with more examples and new material in the form of a chapter on the history of economics. If there was anything lacking in the first three editions, it was this general history of the study. The history is provocative and rings of new theories like that in Juggernaut: Why the System Crushes the Only People Who Can Save It.

In Basic, Sowell mainly addresses the various principles of economics through the problems and concerns of modern society such as the effect of price controls, the role of profits and losses, and international trade.

Altogether, Sowell covers some very complex and relevant topics. The theme that becomes clear upon reading this book, however, is that all of these issues have at their root very basic principles based on supply and demand, and the inherent risks of "unintended consequences" that stem from government intervention. As he states in the introduction, basic economics apply in many different kinds of economies--capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on.

The upgrade over the 3rd edition is definitely worth the extra cost (this coming from someone who has read both). For anyone debating whether to add Thomas Sowell to their shelves, this would be a great start.

150 of 157 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Blows Away Any Other Book You Will Read On Economics - 5 Stars for CLARITY!!!! February 5, 2011

By A Customer TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

There's a story Milton Friedman use to tell when he was the Nobel Prize winning Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He would say that an economist is a man that knows a thousand ways to make love, but has never been with a woman. The truth of this statement is embodied in just about every concept you will study in economics, and the people responsible for those concepts. It is as though they go out of their way to be as confusing as possible. They use language that only a fellow economist could hope to understand but probably doesn't.

This book by noted scholar Thomas Sowell seeks to DEMYSTIFY ECONOMICS, and it gets the job done very well. If you ever wanted to understand economics but could not get the job done, guess what? You now have your chance. This book is clear, readable, to the point, deep, logical, and gripping. You will never read the weekly jobs report or economic output release from the government in the same way again, what's more, you will understand it. We have all been involved with jargon. Some esoteric thinker lays a paragraph on you in such a way that you don't understand a word he is saying. It's all intentional. Here's your chance to get even. You read this book; it will be you laying out the economic concepts for your friends. Here's just a taste of what you will learn.

There are SEVEN distinct sections to the book. All of them will hold your attention. They are:

I Prices and Markets

II Industry and Commerce

III Work and Pay

IV Time and Risk

V The National Economy

VI The International Economy

VII Special Economic Issues

The author chooses his words in such a way as to make the topic highly readable. If it can't be made simple, he doesn't write about it. This means you will understand everything in this book. Make sure you get the 4th edition by the way. A lot of the information that was previously covered in the back of the book in appendixes and footnotes has now been moved to the front parts, and it is better off there. I personally loved many of the stories that the author employs. The use of metaphor is critical to retaining the concept, and once Sowell tells the story, you remember it forever. Consider the following:

* In the space of 14 years, the number of Chinese citizens living on a dollar a day went from 374 million in 1974 to 128 million in 2004.

* In the space of 20 years, India was able to move 20 million people out of destitution.

* How many are aware that China with 20% of the world's population has only 10% of the world's arable land. This is why America's farmers are encountering unprecedented prosperity at this time.

* KFC which we recognize as the old Kentucky Fried Chicken company now sells more product in China than it does in the United States.

* About 25% of the Chinese adult population is overweight, and remember this use to be a country known for mass starvation.

* When Mikhail Gorbachev met Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in England, she was amazed at how little Gorbachev knew about economics.

* Boris Yeltsin visits the United States in 1989, and sees a super market in Houston Texas. The inventory on the shelves freely displayed sends his brain spinning, and his view of communism is altered right there. He goes back to Moscow and the audience is stunned by his narrative of what he saw.

* Sowell describes the Indian bureaucracy prior to 1991 as being impossible to do business. Between brides and unnecessary regulations, it was virtually impossible to grow a business in India. One powerful wealthy family, the Tata's made close to 120 proposals between the 1960's and 1989 to grow their current business, or start new ventures. All of them were turned down by the government. When reforms went into effect in 1991 foreign investment went from $150 million to $3 billion in 12 months.

* What a difference computers have made. Farmers in India know routinely log onto their computers once a day to find out the prices of soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade.

CONCLUSION:

Don't even think about missing Chapter 25, which is the history of economics. Sowell takes you through all the modern concepts beginning with the Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith in 1776. He's then onto David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. He covers John Maynard Keynes in detail and Post Keynesian economics as well.

There is no reason to ever stick your nose in another economics textbook again. Paul Samuelsson would turn over in his grave in awe if he knew how easily Sowell explains the economics of the modern world in easily readable language. Thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck

59 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Add to Your Library January 5, 2011

By Patti Chadwick VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is one hefty book that surveys the basic principles of economics written by educator Thomas Stowell. The author covers the entire gamut of economics in a single volume, which is a huge project (comparable to superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound), yet he does it effortlessly. From the simple to the complex, Stowell covers it all. This updated edition also includes a chapter on the history of economics, which I found enlightening. If you are thinking of getting an introductory book on economics, you will want to get this one. But don't let that recommendation fool you, this book will be of interest to even the expert.