I was not very impressed with this book. My background is that I am familiar with stock market basics but needed a better understanding of how economic indicators that are often reported in the Wall Street Journal play into the stock market. For instance, people seem to write a lot about the jobs report and I never understood all of the ramifications of this indicator. How the Economy Works doesn't say anything about the jobs report.
The descriptions of various aspects of the economy weren't documented as thoroughly as I would have liked either. As a specific example of this, I was familiar with the basic idea of GDP but didn't understand all of the details. How the Economy Works broke down the components that make up the GDP but did not explain why certain components were necessary, such as "changes in business inventory." In other words, what was the rationale for including changes in business inventory as a component of the GDP? You would never find out by reading this book. You would only know it's in there. I didn't find my economic confusion cleared up very much with this book.
I later purchased The Secrets of Economic Indicators (ISBN: 0-13-145501-X) from Amazon and found this book much more clear, factual, and in depth. In chapter 3 they covered the jobs report as "the most eagerly awaited news on the economy". The GDP description was very clear in comparison to How the Economy Works, and much more thorough.
My recommendation would be to go with another book if you are interested in really understanding the various aspects of the economy. However, How the Economy Works might be useful for people who feel overwhelmed and just need a good overview of the different aspects of the economy.
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