Customer Reviews

Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works and Where It's Going

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a book written for a layperson about the field of economics, the thinking of economists, and what is going on in some of the major current economic debates. There is no math (which may or may not be a good thing) and the few graphs are of the basic supply and demand curves which are simple to understand at this level, and which you can't really pass up when learning economics. Heilbroner and Thurow discuss the major economic concepts like GNP, inflation, the role of government, monopolies, etc. and they do a good job describing them and explaining how things work.

There is a liberal bias. The authors are not blind to this, and they do try to exhibit different viewpoints, and they try to point out when they are stating their own stance. If you want an unbiased view of economics, you will probably have a difficult time finding that one book that meets your standards-if anything, it will be the book that most closely agrees with your own biases. If you want an unbiased view, read many books, read textbooks, read news from several sources, and then come to your own conclusions. I don't think the biases in this book really disturb the education you can receive from this book. Just be aware that they exist.

If you didn't find this book exciting, like the 15 year old reviewer, it may be because you were not part of the intended audience. Heilbroner and Thurow wrote this book for those who "want to understand the nature of the economic forces that are upsetting their lives." In the modern world, people need to know some economics in order to be in full control of their lives. If you read nothing else but this, you will at least be able to read business and financial news with greater understanding and perhaps participate in economic discussions.

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.

This book pre-dates Prof. Heilbroner's, a self-confessed Socialist, conversion to Capitalism upon observing the collapse of the the greatest Socialist experiment, the 70-year reign of the Soviet Union. Heilbroner had the intellectual and personal courage to say publically [paraphrasing] 'I've been proven wrong! I've changed my mind. As a professional economist, I admit that Capitalism works; Socialism does not.'

The Right 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 'balances' that of the fomerly Socialist Heilbroner, and probably still Socialist 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.

but a very readable and enjoyable one. It's not as thorough as an economics textbook, but it's got the main points spelled out for the layman (or laywoman). As an introduction, I thought it was more than adequate, and it was quite a feat to include so few technical aspects of economics (there are a few VERY simple supply and demand graphs and some other pictorial info). It's broken into short chapters which doesn't mean anything except that it can be read in small chunks. And yes, for someone who's forced to read it at the age of 15, it might be boring, but if you're one of those, rebel and read something else. Also, the authors do have their own opinions on economics and this seeps into their book. But they are very well aware of it, and they are careful about when and where they include their own thoughts.

Economics isn't as boring as many think. It's actually very interesting and very VERY relevant to our everyday lives. This is a good introduction to the topic, but don't let it be the only book you read. If you like this book, you may also like Heilbroner's, "The Worldly Philosophers."

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.

I really admire this writer a great deal because he has a gift for making complex concepts clear as crystal. I don't know about you, but I am sick of overly sarcastic or "humorous" approaches to series topics - the whole "atomic fusion for dummies" style of writing. I find a clear, insightful explanation entertaining enough, thanks. When I read this book, I found it thrilling because all the basic economic principles we all live with everyday (but so often are clouded in mystery) suddenly opened up before me because of the author's clarity.

It is true that Mr. Heilbroner is a liberal\democratic leaning economist. He admits that up front, however, in the introduction, and he promises the reader that all points of view in the book will be clearly marked as opinion and never given as fact. I should say that I lean to the right heavily, and I did not find this book unfair or overly biased at all. If you are a conservative like me, do not omit this book because of the author's stated economic preferences. It is a wonderful book full of deep insights and observations, written for serious grown-ups looking for an introduction into the fascinating world of economics. --Mykal Banta

At times, I find myself reading other books that refer to various economic theories that I am either unaware of or do not fully understand. I have found that Heilbroner and Thurow have done a very thorough job in this work to create a laymens book on economics that is easy to read and understand. I have found that this book in particular, serves my needs very well, as a primer on basic economic theory.

Robert Heilbroner is an excellent writer, notwithstanding his liberal slant. Lester Thurow, was the author of my college econimics text. The combination of the two, creates a powerful synergy and delivers a superb product.

I believe you will find the book reader-friendly: Easy to read, full of answers to of the laymens questions, and even somewhat enjoyable to read.

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.

This is an excellent introduction to today's economics. It covers the basics like supply and demand, inflation, savings and investment, but also covers more modern concepts like privatization and the public sector, globalization and money and banking. It touches on a few traditional economic personalities - Smith, Marx and Keynes. It discusses the national debt and deficit spending and all the major things most people are talking about in today's average world. If you know nothing about economics but want to learn, this is the book for you. If you know all about economics but want to review the basics this book is for you. This book even discusses the ethics and morality of our modern day capitalism which I thought was rather refreshing.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

America On Strike - A survey of Labor strikes in America.

A good, brief introduction to economic concepts targeted torward the layman. It served as a good refresher for the year of economics I had long ago in college, but it also added a grand overview that I was lacking. It does examine some of the limitations of the free market system, which some seem to take as an endorsement of communism. Nonsense. Buy this book as a good intro or refresher, but don't let it be your last!

I'll tell you what this book is: it's a primer on financial markets for people who already have a strong background in economics (say, college courses in micro and macro) and are looking to transmute that knowledge into the kind of practical know-how that will help them make money with their investments.

The authors do not specifically recommend specific investments or brokerage houses, no; it's more of a general review of economics, though with a constant view towards putting that knowledge into practical and profitable use in a variety of situations.

Well, once you understand that, the book isn't so great, despite one of the authors (Heilbroner) being just famous for his excellent "The Worldly Philosophers." Plus the thing's out of date, being (among other things) pre-tech bubble burst.

However, I can help you: if you need a book that does what this book is trying to do, perhaps the best one I know of is "How the Economy Works," by Edmund A. Mennis. Also immensely useful is the "Guide to Economic Indicators" by the editors of the British magazine, the Economist (also useful for Americans). Both are available on Amazon.

If, however, you are merely looking for an entertaining and informative precis of contemporary economic issues and aren't planning on doing anything knowledge-requiring with your money, this book simply will not do. The writing is stuffy, the coverage is incomplete, and the explanations are way too elliptical for a novice.

For this last purpose, seek out instead Charles Wheelan's "Naked Economics."