Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works and Where It's Going
Author: Robert L. Heilbroner, Lester C. Thurow
List Price: $14.00
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ISBN: 0684846411
Publisher: Touchstone Books (May, 1998)
Sales Rank: 30,679
Average Customer Rating: 3.3 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
My handy reference to Economic Theory
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.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Liberal vs. Conservative Views of Economics
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. The other side 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 'balance' that of Heilbroner, 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.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Economics Explained--Hardly
Interested in a book to explain the basics of economics? Sorry, this one isn't it. Furthermore, this work is such an insult to read that it would take great self-restraint not to pluck out your eyes after about 20 pages. The authors use this book as a vehicle for two purposes-- (1) to ineffectively convey economic ideas in the most confusion, convoluted manner possible and, more notably (2) to grind their political axe against your skull. The tone is so negative they should sell the book with a bell to toll as you flip through the pages. Please do not give the authors the pleasure of trying to sway your politics with their palsied arguments--read anything else. Similar Products
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