julesjim's review against another edition
4.0
A general introduction to economics, so it doesn't go very much in-depth, but insightful as his previous books
sodope's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty good book, it explains the main ideas of economics, reviewing some of the most important schools. Also, a lot of concepts are explained in a simple way so anybody could understand them.
Maybe some times it feels kinda boring or heavy reading, and it lacks some microeconomics important concepts, but I'd still give this book to someone who wants to understand how it works though.
Maybe some times it feels kinda boring or heavy reading, and it lacks some microeconomics important concepts, but I'd still give this book to someone who wants to understand how it works though.
folly_problem's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a clearly written account of how economics views the world, and how different approaches can see the same thing as a failure or a success. The aim of Ha-Joon Chang's book is to allow you to think clearly about economics, because you too can have valid or critical opinions of economics. And when economics is everywhere, with it's power and it's jargon, being able to understand what's being said, and what's being hidden, are essential tools.
As he says at the beginning, Economics is mostly common sense. And, as he says at the end, economics is simply too important to be left to Economists. Whether or not you want to be actively engaging or not, reading this book will help the world of economics seem a lot less complicated. And at the very least, that knowledge is more than worth your time.
As he says at the beginning, Economics is mostly common sense. And, as he says at the end, economics is simply too important to be left to Economists. Whether or not you want to be actively engaging or not, reading this book will help the world of economics seem a lot less complicated. And at the very least, that knowledge is more than worth your time.
cdbuckler's review against another edition
2.0
First, the good: this book covers a TON of ground, introduces readers to a lot of new concepts and is filled with citations to back up the numbers presented.
The bad: Unfortunately for a book meant to make “the dismal science” accessible to newcomers, this book is often quite dry and overwhelms the reader with so many concepts and terms. In my eyes, those detract from the book’s great strengths and make it a far less effective introduction.
Overall, this book would be great as a supplementary textbook or as a reference to dig into the context behind major terms & trends. But for an approachable introduction to economics, it might be better to look elsewhere.
The bad: Unfortunately for a book meant to make “the dismal science” accessible to newcomers, this book is often quite dry and overwhelms the reader with so many concepts and terms. In my eyes, those detract from the book’s great strengths and make it a far less effective introduction.
Overall, this book would be great as a supplementary textbook or as a reference to dig into the context behind major terms & trends. But for an approachable introduction to economics, it might be better to look elsewhere.
dinosaursatwork's review against another edition
It took me ages to get through this book and I only remember a fraction of this book ... which is something the author warns you about.
Still, I appreciate the effort that went into this book. I should have followed the strategic reading recommendations of the author and you probably should too. One more tip: read the epilogue first or early on, it tells you the main points the author wishes you to understand about economics and it was also a bit inspiring to me.
Still, I appreciate the effort that went into this book. I should have followed the strategic reading recommendations of the author and you probably should too. One more tip: read the epilogue first or early on, it tells you the main points the author wishes you to understand about economics and it was also a bit inspiring to me.