Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a degree in economics and I wanted to refresh myself on some of the things that I learned. This book is probably best for someone who is pretty smart but for anyone who has an interest in economics. In other words, this books assumes the reader has a brain. This also would be a really good book for a student before they take an economics class or who is pursuing a degree. Also, the book has (it has to have) some tables/graphs but the book is not overrun with them which can be intimidating. Also, I don't think there is a "For Dummies" book so this is probably the place to start for those who have an interest.

I would give this book 5 stars if it were not for the numerous and often confusing grammatical errors that are found everywhere. The person(s) who missed these errors should be bagging groceries. This is by far the best guide to general economics that I have ever come across. The author clearly and effectively explains complicated concepts in economics and uses illustrations and examples that will help anyone understand this often complex field. However, this book is loaded with grammatical errors and in some cases they can confuse the meaning of what's being discussed. I am no expert in English Grammar but I know enough to be able to see that an abundance of mistakes were missed in the editing process. A new corrected edition of this book would easily get 5 stars from me.

This is a pretty decent introduction to economics but much less effective than Economics for Dummies, by Sean Masaki, or Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell. Gorman just doesn't write as well, and as clearly, as Masaki and Sowell (who are both exceptional writers). He also seems to assume, unlike Masaki and Sowell, that the reader knows something the reader shouldn't be expected to know. That is, some of his explanations of economic concepts are frustratingly cursory and fail to connect all the dots for readers who are likely to be intimidated by this subject. Conversely, Masaki and Sowell constantly lead their readers, like patient guides who know how to give great directions, through every concept they address. Gorman also fails to give the kinds of real-life examples that really illuminate economic concepts. This book is not a waste of your time, but economically speaking, the cost opportunity of reading it is pretty high (after all, you could be reading Masaki or Sowell, instead).

I bought this book to broaden my horizons on economics since I had limited knowledge on the subject matter. Gives a good overview of the basic and intermediate theories of economics. I would recommend this book strongly to anyone who has either little or no knowledge in economics. It is also a handy book to have on your shelf to brush up on economical terminology. Overall a smart buy.

If you are the type of person who took a few economics course and did all those "math tests" and couldn't remember if the equations s/he solved were for demand or supply curve, then this is the perfect book for you! It gives you a great and comprehensive view of how economics (micro and macro) works, how different concepts are related and affect each other, and how everything adds up. You don't see formulations (There are a few curves that you could turn into equations if you like to!).

I bought this book as a supplemental reading to a Master's level Business Econ class. What a great choice! The format of the book allows the reader to skip around as needed and still comprehend the subject matter. This is an excellent aide for anyone struggling to understand micro or macro economics.

I just finished reading

The Complete Idiot's Guide To Economics by Tom Gorman

and I cannot highly recommend it enough. It is an excellent book, especially for people (like me) who hadn't a clue or were ignorant of the subject. It is so important to understand how the economy works to make better investment decisions and business analysis & considerations. Things like

fiscal policy,
monetary policy,
inflation,
interest rates and
Interest Rates Securities,
supply and demand,
the business cycle,
marginal utility,
free trade and globalisation,
exports/imports,

the relationship between business, employers and employees, employment, unemployment and the workforce, the social and economic factors of business and economics, budgets, deficits, assets & liabilities, business resource planning, consumer & producer psychology, with all the above, draw knowledge from lessons learnt in our economic history with provided factual "The Real World" examples and "Econo tips" captions, and charts to illustrate basic concepts on marginal differences, supply & demand and phase changes/shifts, income/price elasticity.

Pay attention to all chapters, especially the last part(s) on

Part 6 - Everyday Economics
Chapter 20. Monitoring the Economy's Pulse
Chapter 21. Applied economics in Business and Personal Life

which have the most practical use (and therefore in my opinion the most useful).

This book is highschool-grade, easy to read, entertaining and informative. It will give you a good starting point in your business analysis and investment decisions and considerations.

I will now start on financial statements and accounts reports analysis texts. This will give me a better understanding of fundamental business analysis (bottom up approach) and will serve me as I enter real-life business ventures and continue investing in equity markets.

I read the complete Idiot's guide to Economics. This book was worth every penny. It is packed with information that the average reader can interpert. It is almost a translator, translating the confusing information of economics. This guide has a very good chapter structure. It has an intro of what your about to be reading, and helpful facts on the side of the page. I recommend this book to ages 14 and up and for anyone who needs a great book about economics.

The examples given in book is digestable unlike my economics lesson whihch is quite dry in content.

As a non-economist, I very much enjoyed this author's explanations of fundamental economic concepts. I vaguely remembered a lot of this material from my Econ 101 course in college, but that was several years ago and I wanted to remind myself of some basics. I checked this book out of the library and found myself wanting to highlight so many passages that I decided to buy my own copy.

Gorman covers all the basic economic ideas that you would expect, but I was particularly impressed with his explanation of how money is created (Chapter 15), the effect of unions on the economy (Chapter 9), and key economic indicators and where to find them for myself (Chapter 20).

Something that might be a minor drawback for some people is the fact that this book was first published in 2003, back when Alan Greenspan was still Chairman of the Fed and we were not embroiled in our current economic crisis. Since I was looking for a refresher of basic economics this was not a concern for me, and I heartily recommend this book to others looking for such a refresher or introduction.