While many of the examples are woefully outdated (published 2002), the concepts are purely timeless. I laughed out loud a couple of times. Well, sometimes because of the outdated examples ("I recently visited a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that was experimenting with a self-serve checkout line."); but sometimes because he was just really (deliberately) funny.

And sometimes because I raise Angora goats, and the great mohair subsidy of 1955 that lasted for about 35 years was one of his great examples of the power of organized interests to get legislation on the books that is a boon for the interests but way outlives its usefulness and isn't big enough for any non-interested party to get worked up about enough to revoke. Although it seems some people got worked up about the mohair subsidy eventually, it just took 35 years. (We got into the hobby less than a decade too late to sit back and make a tidy living off of it.)

And sometimes I felt personal pride, while reading the whole chapter on the Federal Reserve. While it would be an overstatement to say we've forgotten 9/11, we've forgotten plenty of the details of those first weeks, months, and year of aftermath (again, publication date of this was 2002). "On September 11, 2001, hours after the terrorist attacks on the United States, the Federal Reserve issued the following statement: 'The Federal Reserve System is open and operating. The discount window is available to meet liquidity needs.'" This was his example of simple statements speaking loudly. A simple, calming statement, with not so calm people behind the scenes doing not so simple things to make it so.

What was fantastic about this book was that it had no ax to grind. It's facts and concepts. You judge. This is what government intervention can sometimes do for good. This is what it can sometimes do for ill. Know the basic economics presented in this book first; then maybe you can hold forth with an informed opinion. ( )

Informative. Entertaining. Enlightening. Awesome.

Loved it. ( )

Economics texts to me are generally really, really wordy and my main thought while reading them is to edit, edit, edit. I love the real world examples but the principles are pretty dull. I needed a refresher in the world of straight economics (where the rules hold rather than break) and who better to turn to than the man who made statistics exciting (see Naked Statistics).

If you’re a fan of Freakonomics, you will enjoy the more in-depth approach by Wheelan. He uses examples that are applicable to real life (and also sometimes hilarious) to explain economic principles and then build on them. Want to know about incentives and how to get people to do what you want? (Or why they won’t do it?) Chapter 3 is your friend and I promise, does not overuse the term ‘maximise utility’. There is also the economics of information, which goes into why health economics bends the rules (reason: you know too much when it comes to health insurance but not enough when it comes to treatments) and two chapters on government and economics. Yes, I know it sounds boring, but government (even flawed) can be helpful in the economic field to ensure your welfare (and to build undercover car parks in really rainy areas). I also liked the chapter on international economics, trade and the Federal Reserve as it helped me to understand the basics of how and why trade makes me better off. (It means I can have my choice of computer, lipstick or phone made by those who know best what they are doing).

Another great thing about Naked Economics is the lack of graphs and equations. No random unlabelled curves or lines or proofs but good examples that make you say when reading the news, ‘Hey! That is completely the wrong thing to do when the economy is in recession!’ or why globalisation is a useful thing or why workers in developing countries choose to work in sweatshops.

If you’re unfamiliar with economics or in need of a refresher in the subject, Wheelan’s book is excellent. It’s interesting, funny and teaches you while you’re not even thinking about it.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

Facile and shallow. However, it did remind me that I want to dig into that more substantive work, "Economism", by James Kwak. ( )

VERY interesting and easy to understand. Author seemed very unbiased politically and stated the pros and cons of both ways of thinking on the economics of our country and a global level. I believe I learned more from this book than anything I've read in a long time! ( )