A Marginal Revolution Reader writes to Tyler:
There must be a good, short book out there on economics that illuminates the power of markets and the economic way of thinking.
I recommend The Best Book on the Market, by Eamonn Butler. I think it will satisfy the writer’s needs, because it is readable and relatively free of inside jargon.
It’s been too long since Economics in One Lesson. From time to time I work on such a project myself, and a co-author and I have a working outline. Maybe this summer we can crank it out.
My collection of essays, Learning Economics, appeals to people, but it would not suit the purpose of Tyler’s reader.
READER COMMENTS
dave smith
May 4 2011 at 7:35pm
I like “The Choice” by Russ.
Marcus
May 4 2011 at 7:41pm
Unfortunately, there’s no Kindle version. Do you have a book recommendation for a reader living in the 21st century?
Andy
May 4 2011 at 8:01pm
I’d buy that Arnold Kling book.
Purpleslog
May 4 2011 at 9:00pm
Charles Koch’s “The Science of Success”
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Success-Market-Based-Management-Largest/dp/0470139889
I blogged this book with:
“This is not a self-help book. It is an excellent slim introduction to free market economics and economic thinking masquerading as a business book.[…]”
Daniel Klein
May 4 2011 at 9:01pm
As I wrote at MR:
Henry Hazlitt. Its being written decades ago itself makes an important point.
Something newer:
David R. Henderson, The Joy of Freedom: An Economist’s Odyssey
Shangwen
May 4 2011 at 9:44pm
I always liked Charles Wheelan’s Naked Economics.
noiselull
May 4 2011 at 11:03pm
Jim Cox – Concise Guide to Economics
Les
May 5 2011 at 8:34am
On amazon.com for $12.95 buy the paperback “Economics Made Easy” 2nd edition, 2010. Also available in Kindle format. Plain, straightforward “executive summary” of basic economics.
BSF
May 5 2011 at 9:11am
Eveline Adomait’s book “Cocktail Party Economics” was written with the kind of audience Tyler refers to in mind.
Cyril Morong
May 5 2011 at 10:42am
“The Economics of Public Issues” by Roger LeRoy Miller, Douglass North and Daniel Benjamin.
Miller and Benjamin have a similar book called “The Economics of Macro Issues”
Both books have short chapters on about 30 issue
John
May 5 2011 at 10:48am
What about Buchanan’s Cost & Choice?
chipotle
May 5 2011 at 12:34pm
What about Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy?
[NB: The reason I ask this as a question is because I haven’t read this particular tome myself. In general, I have been impressed with Sowell’s books and too-often-disappointed with his syndicated columns.]
JCG
May 5 2011 at 8:40pm
Tim Hartford’s “Undercover Economist” hands down.
Scott G
May 6 2011 at 12:44pm
Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
Free to Choose by Milton Friedman
Invisible Heart by Russ Roberts
Globalization by Don Boudreaux
David Boaz
May 6 2011 at 1:53pm
I was surprised to discover recently that “Economics in One Lesson” really didn’t seem out of date.
But I think the best introductory book on economics is “Eat the Rich” by P. J. O’Rourke. It’s lively and funny, but it does also explain concepts like comparative advantage. And new readers are probably more likely to finish it.
Andy
May 6 2011 at 2:09pm
chipotle, Sowell’s book is excellent (check out the rave reviews on Amazon), but it would require some motivation to get through it, just because of it’s length and it’s no-nonsense approach.
Andy
May 6 2011 at 4:39pm
Meant to say “its” not “it’s” — Damn!
Comments are closed.