Customer Reviews

Economics (Addison-Wesley Series in Economics)

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I don't know what the other reviewer have against this book, but I found it extremely well written. I picked up this book over Christmas break so I can read about economics to prepare myself for the class I have this semester. This book made everything so clear to me. The organization of this book is great. It's divided into four sections, the first is an introduction to economics, the second focuses on microeconomics, the third is on macroeconomics and the last is about international economics. The chapters are clear and precise, great for a beginner to understand the various concepts of economics. The graphics and tables are easy to read. The examples are simple yet interesting. I found the various interviews in between chapters facinating. Reading Between The Lines gave real life examples from newspapers to illustrate economics in everyday life. Our Advancing Knowledge gave historical perspective on how the science of economics was developed. What more can you ask of a textbook? It's one of the best textbooks I've read. No wonder many prestigious universities use it.

this is a very good, well written textbook. I'd buy books from these authors again.

Parkin does a wonderful job of explaining the intricate concepts behind microeconomics and macroeconomics. The emphasis of this textbook is on understanding, and Parkin clearly makes an effort to elucidate every graph and concept presented. Although Parkin's text overlooks the mathematics of economics, it is superb for an introductory level Economics course.

Through close reading of this textbook, I was able to fully understand economic terms and the graphing of economic forces (supply/demand curves, GDP curves, aggregate supply/demand curves, etc.) Parkin's explanation of each graph facilitated a true understanding of economics.

With excellent, easy-to-understand writing and extensive use of graphs, Parkin's guide served as an Economics bible, and I did not need any supplementary reading for the course. Although a little confusing in certain areas such as growth theory, as a whole, Parkin's text is undoubtedly the only textbook you'll ever need.

I am using this text for my economics course I am currently enrolled in. I find the book very easy to understand, and it explains everything in detail. I like to know that if I cannot understand the material the professor lectures about clearly, I can rely on the book to clarify.

A very bad economic decision to buy this book. Brief, highlighted notations; unclear charting examples - and "Reading Between the Lines" is a silly way to pad the book with additional pages. As are the photos of French vineyards.

The CD-ROM program that comes with it, is bug ridden, and will not work - contacting their technical support is an excercise in futility. Repeated "feedback" messages sent - not one response.

About the best that can be said, is if you were required to purchase it for a college course, do so through the bookstore - at least that way you stand a chance on getting some of your money back when you resell it to them.

Parkin's text is probably one of the best introductory textbooks for economics. The primary criticisms of Parkin's text seem to stem from its perspective on teaching economics. Parkin presents the full breadth of "high economics" - a means of analyzing and resolving problems of scarcity. Parkin stresses the underlying problems that the techniqiues of analysis are designed to address rather than merely reciting mathematical formulae that seem to exist in a vacuum.

Parkin's graphs and explanations are generally excellent and well worth reading.

To Parkin's credit, he clearly distinguishes between positive and normative conclusions of economics. Many introductory textbooks become dogmatic regarding the author's conclusions.

Some readers apparently do not like the additional information and text boxes that Parkin includes in this book. These criticisms appear to be misguided. One of this book's greatest strengths is that it is not afraid to admit that it is introductory. In many ways the best introductory texts are survey-type books that allow you to learn the language and primary concerns of that field of study. Further courses in price theory, public choice, welfare economics, antitrust, money & banking all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of basic economics. After reading Parkin the careful reader will be able to comprehend the primary considerations of economics and communicate with more advanced scholars in this field.

Even my professor agrees with me. I have taken both accounting and finance courses, and the disciplines complement each other, yet this book does an awful job explaining even the most basic economics concepts, and at times it's even contradictory to the concepts of the disciplines mentioned before. I consulted other economics textbooks and noticed that between them they recycle and repeat the same explanations of the concepts. Apparently this is a pedagogical deficiency in the way this discipline is taught; memorized concepts are useless if they are not understood, and when this is because they are not being well explained this is simply unforgivable and unexcusable, and this textbook is a prime example of how you do not teach. And I am a teacher, so I should know.

Parkin does a good job of introducing the elements, and is particularly helpful with the graphs. However, he labors, generally unnecessarily, concepts that are quite straightforward. He is not very good in the macroeconomic, especially fiscal and monetary, parts of the book. More applied examples would also have been helpful.

Parkin's text is probably one of the best introductory textbooks for economics. The primary criticisms of Parkin's text seem to stem from its perspective on teaching economics. Parkin presents the full breadth of "high economics" - a means of analyzing and resolving problems of scarcity. Parkin stresses the underlying problems that the techniqiues of analysis are designed to address rather than merely reciting mathematical formulae that seem to exist in a vacuum.

Parkin's graphs and explanations are generally excellent and well worth reading.

To Parkin's credit, he clearly distinguishes between positive and normative conclusions of economics. Many introductory textbooks become dogmatic regarding the author's conclusions.

Some readers apparently do not like the additional information and text boxes that Parkin includes in this book. These criticisms appear to be misguided. One of this book's greatest strengths is that it is not afraid to admit that it is introductory. In many ways the best introductory texts are survey-type books that allow you to learn the language and primary concerns of that field of study. Further courses in price theory, public choice, welfare economics, antitrust, money & banking all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of basic economics. After reading Parkin the careful reader will be able to comprehend the primary considerations of economics and communicate with more advanced scholars in this field.

This book, which I used in my Economics course at NYU was sad, at best. I recommend you purchase a book by Lieberman.