Product Description

In its fourth edition, Economics Explained continues its announced purpose -- to explain that mysterious thing called economics. But there is a new urgency to the book. It is announced in the first sentence of the introduction: "Just in case the reader-to-be hasn't noticed, disturbing things are going on in the American economy these days."

This new edition is about these disturbing things: a trend toward inequality of incomes, the appearance of a new "globalized" capitalism, the "specter" of inflation. As before, Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow treat these problems in language that seeks to make clear their causes and treatments. In this straightforward, highly accessible reference, Heilbroner and Thurow -- two of America's most respected and articulate economists -- offer all the economics essential for becoming an effective investor, a savvy business decision maker, or simply an informed member of society.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68990 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780684846415
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Booklist
Heilbroner and Thurow are two of today's better-known economists, their commentary more likely to appear in the New Yorker or Newsweek than as a piece in the American Economic Review. This is the substantially revised and updated third edition of their primer on economics. Well written and readable, it successfully targets those with little or no background in the subject, clearly explaining concepts such as the GNP, deficit spending, and price systems. It also provides an overview of the history of economic thought by contrasting the theories of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. While economic theories are often likely to be colored by political or moral values, the authors readily identify opinions or statements that may be controversial. David Rouse

Review
The Boston GlobeAn excellent course in the history of capitalism and socialism, of growth, progress, and decline.

Ms.At last, a patient but not condescending, detailed but not recondite, conversational but not glib discussion of the factors and terms that any reader of the daily newspaper needs to understand.

Robert B. Reich, former Secretary of Labor and author of Locked in the CabinetIn this delightfully written primer, Heilbroner and Thurow sweep away the debris of economic theory to expose the political and social choices lying just below it.

About the Author
Robert Heilbroner is the Norman Thomas Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at The New School for Social Research. He is the author of over twenty books, among them The Worldly Philosophers. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

A readable introduction
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.

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.

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.

Not a perfect explanation of economics...
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."