I am an economics professor who believes my profession has important things to contribute to society but has done a poor job. My colleagues spend much of their time writing esoteric articles that 6 other academics will read, and one in a million will actually improve the lives of people. I consider myself a “blue-collar academic”; I am basically a farm kid (still live on a small farm) with a bunch of degrees attempting to bring good economic insights to more people so those ideas can be applied and used by real people living real lives so I am always on the search for others who are doing just that.
I think economics has a bad reputation, and it is mostly due to economists' either deliberately or inadvertently communicating poorly in class, on TV and radio, in podcasts, and in writing.
This book is none of that. It was written by a well-respected old-school journalist who could really write. I like its approach of short, punchy chapters. Hemmingway-like in its writing and style, it truly delivers what the title promises. I have a poster of this author on my office wall.
With over a million copies sold, Economics in One Lesson is an essential guide to the basics of economic theory. A fundamental influence on modern libertarianism, Hazlitt defends capitalism and the free market from economic myths that persist to this day.
Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,” which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication. Hazlitt wrote…
So many people miss the fact that economics is a social science; it is about us as people, and I love this book because it does not forget that, indeed, it reminds me that everyone is an amateur practicing economist.
I like this book because it applies economics to every day and not-so-everyday situations and explains how people can use economic ideas to practically make their lives better. It is one of the few books I have read that has changed a common activity I do: what I order at a restaurant.
In Discover Your Inner Economist one of America’s most respected economists presents a quirky, incisive romp through everyday life that reveals how you can turn economic reasoning to your advantage—often when you least expect it to be relevant.
Like no other economist, Tyler Cowen shows how economic notions--such as incentives, signals, and markets--apply far more widely than merely to the decisions of social planners, governments, and big business. What does economic theory say about ordering from a menu? Or attracting the right mate? Or controlling people who talk too much in meetings?…
I believe Landsburg, whom I have met, may be one of the most creative and interesting thinkers in America today.
I love this book because it is his personality on every page: quirky, creative, and entertaining. It asks and answers questions others have never even considered or incorrectly assumed are so obvious as to not be worth the time to explore. I use questions from this book, which is 30+ years old, to stump and pique the curiosity of my students every semester.
The extensively revised and updated edition of Steven Landsburg’s hugely popular book, The Armchair Economist—“a delightful compendium of quotidian examples illustrating important economic and financial theories” (The Journal of Finance).
In this revised and updated edition of Steven Landsburg’s hugely popular book, he applies economic theory to today’s most pressing concerns, answering a diverse range of daring questions, such as:
Why are seat belts deadly? Why do celebrity endorsements sell products? Why are failed executives paid so much? Who should bear the cost of oil spills? Do government deficits matter? How is workplace safety bad for workers? What’s wrong with…
I do not read romance novels; they're not my thing, except this one. I found this book to be charming and an easy read. It delivers good ideas in a format that is so missing these days: earnest conversation between people who respect each other despite differences, a respect that grows into a romance.
I thought this was a fun read, I found myself rooting for the characters, hoping things worked out and the economics is delivered in easy chunks and not preachy or overbearing and a natural part of the story.
A lively, unorthodox look at economics, business, and public policy told in the form of a novel.
A love story that embraces the business and economic issues of the day?
The Invisible Heart takes a provocative look at business, economics, and regulation through the eyes of Sam Gordon and Laura Silver, teachers at the exclusive Edwards School in Washington, D.C. Sam lives and breathes capitalism. He thinks that most government regulation is unnecessary or even harmful. He believes that success in business is a virtue. He believes that our humanity flourishes under economic freedom. Laura prefers Wordsworth to the Wall…
I like mysteries, and I have read all of the greats. This is not Sherlock Holmes quality, but it is good and another fun read. It presents ideas and their practical application in a fun and familiar format.
I love this book for the story. The hero is an economics professor, and it has a sense of humor. Co-written by two award-winning economists who invented a nom-de-plume and gave it a very funny backstory about being a cocoa bean investor, that sort of fun comes through in the book as well. Plus, it is set where so many great adventures are: in the Caribbean. Murder, the tropics, and economics—what’s not to love?
Cinnamon Bay Plantation was the ideal Caribbean island getaway--or so it seemed. But for distinguished Harvard economist Henry Spearman it offered diversion of a decidedly different sort and one he'd hardly anticipated: murder. While the island police force is mired in an investigation that leads everywhere and nowhere, the diminutive, balding Spearman, who likes nothing better than to train his curiosity on human behavior, conducts an investigation of his own, one governed by rather different laws--those of economics. Theorizing and hypothesizing, Spearman sets himself on the killer's trail as it twists from the postcard-perfect beaches and manicured lawns of a…
This book explores the small but growing homeschool movement and seeks to answer a fundamental question that no one before this book has seriously considered: "How come home-schoolers perform better than public school students?"
After all, public schools have trained teachers and administrators, big budgets, and are specialists in educating young people. Home schools are untrained parents with minimal budgets and no specialization, and yet home schools are producing students who regularly perform better than public school students in all disciplines and compare favorably to students from the best private schools in the country. How is that possible? This book thoroughly examines the issue, presents good data, accessible explanations, and even a little “how to” for the prospective home school parent.
My wife suggested we try scuba diving while on holiday in Grand Cayman. We were already falling in love with the island, and the incredible experience underwater opened a whole new world to us. From that moment on, our yearly travels changed completely. Our destination choices were now based upon diving opportunities. That was twenty years ago. Today, I’m a certified divemaster with dives all over the US (including Hawaii), the Caribbean (including Cuba), Australia, and even Iceland. Throw in my sense of adventure as a former race car driver, motorcycle rider, and outdoor adventurer, and I had plenty of personal experiences to create the AJ Bailey series.
Readers who enjoy police procedurals with an offbeat main character and fascinating locations will love this thriller.
One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.
Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget... if she survives. When the daughter of a wealthy businessman is taken, Nora is first on the scene and unwittingly 'chosen' by the kidnapper.
With the crime live-streamed across the internet, the eyes of the world are upon her as she faces a sequence of difficult challenges with the life of the kidnapped girl hanging on…
One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.
Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget - if she survives.
When the daughter of a wealthy businessman is taken, Nora is first on the scene and unwittingly 'chosen' by the kidnapper. With the crime live-streamed across the internet, the eyes of the world are upon her as she faces a sequence of difficult challenges with the life of the kidnapped girl hanging on Nora's success - or failure.
Deadly Sommer is the thrilling first book in the Nora Sommer…
