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Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science By Charles Wheelan ( W. W. Norton & Company )
Release Date: 2003-09
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List Price: $15.95
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Product Description
Finally! A book about economics that won't put you to sleep. In fact, you won't be able to put this one down. Naked Economics makes up for all of those Econ 101 lectures you slept through (or avoided) in college, demystifying key concepts, laying bare the truths behind the numbers, and answering those questions you have always been too embarrassed to ask. For all the discussion of Alan Greenspan in the media, does anyone know what the Fed actually does? And what about those blackouts in California? Were they a conspiracy on the part of the power companies? Economics is life. There's no way to understand the important issues without it. Now, with Charles Wheelan's breezy tour, there's no reason to fear this highly relevant subject. With the commonsensical examples and brilliantly acerbic commentary we've come to associate with The Economist, Wheelan brings economics to life. Amazingly, he does so with nary a chart, graph, or mathematical equation in sight—certainly a feat to be witnessed firsthand. Economics is a crucial subject. There's no way to understand the important issues without it. Now, with Charles Wheelan's breezy tour, there's also no reason to fear it.
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 Loved it!
This book was not only interesting and entertaining, it was also very funny and educational. I've taken Intro to Macro and Intro to Micro Economics and I retained very little from both of those classes. It wasn't until I read "Naked Economics" that I finally grasped the concepts of economics and how they relate to the average person. I would definitely recommend it!
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Well written and fun ( nick31144 )
As an accountant and former college Econ minor I found this book to be fun and engaging. It tackles common misconceptions about how the economy operates and truly sheds light on how things work from a high level. This is a great read for anyone who wants to understand our economy and should be required reading for all Econ 101 students.
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an exciting and mostly objective introduction to economics ( pwr888 )
First of all this is an exciting book. Yes exciting. Naked Economics presents some of the key aspects of economics by using real world situations which are frequently presented in the form of the controversies that arise over these concepts. Is government intervention in the economy a good thing? Naked Economics answers this question in two chapters; the first chapter shows how government can help the economy and the second chapter shows how government can hinder the economy. The author's conclusion, that a corruption free government is an essential component of a functioning economy but that there are a myriad of ways for the government to do harm, somewhat epitomizes the author's approach to explaining economics, rather than take the side of one type of economic theory he presents several of them, pointing out the merits of each one as he goes along. I said "somewhat" above because the author is clearly pro globalization and, I thought, did not do enough to present countering views of anti-globalization adherents. For example he makes no mention of the Fair Trade movement. I still think this is a very good book as it leaves you with the ability to follow, at a high level, layperson articles on the state of the economy. This book covers the importance of among others, incentives, human capital, information, financial markets and monetary policy. All in all I thought it was a very good read.
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 Excellent book
The first chapter had me hooked with the Coke/Berlin Wall story. If you are looking for a balanced book on economics for newbies, without the math, than this is the book for you. The author does a good job explaining his point of view and usually succeeds at being balanced. I am half way through the book and have no complaints so far.
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Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
My 20 year old nephew, a junior college student not known for his scholarly pursuits, took this book before I had a chance to read it. He found it so fascinating that he began taking it with him into the bathroom. He says he's going to take an economics course next semester.
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