The instant economist Everything you need to know about how the economy works

Review by Choice Review

Currently The Instant Economist is the most readable and up-to-date summary of a typical US college principles of economics course. Following the traditional table of contents--from microeconomics through macroeconomics and international topics--and using original, helpful metaphors (and only two graphs), Taylor (managing editor, Journal of Economic Perspectives) takes the reader through the terminology, key concepts, and controversies dominant in today's economics profession. Noteworthy additions to the standard textbook canon are a chapter on personal investing and detailed accounts of the minimum wage, corporate merger, and inequality debates, introducing readers to the data issues that lie behind these controversies. The 36 short chapters reflect the book's origin in the author's Teaching Company recording, Economics; however, the book is a valuable stand-alone option. For supplementary coverage of the history of economic thought and more complete institutional context, see Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow's Economics Explained (4th ed., 1998; 1st ed., CH, Oct'82). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of undergraduate students as well as general readers wanting a readable introduction to economics. M. H. Maier Glendale Community College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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Review by Booklist Review

From the Teaching Company, producers of DVD and audio recordings of courses by academics, this handbook on economics is a readable, nontextbook approach on the level of an undergraduate introductory course. Taylor sets out to teach us how economists think and begins with a microeconomics understanding of the economy (the view of individuals). We learn how markets work in the context of goods, labor, and financial capital and also about unregulated markets, including monopoly, the environment, and poverty; he notes that although these issues can attract democratic government involvement, such intervention can fail. He concludes with macroeconomics (an overall view of the economy), with topics including economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. Taylor wants us to respect the power of market forces but understand where those forces fall short; he encourages a belief that government policy can be useful but, in some cases, can be useless or even counterproductive. This guide to the key principles of economics is an important source of information for many library patrons. Excellent book.--Whaley, Mary Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

Taylor's (managing editor, Journal of Economic Perspectives) volume can help conversationalists looking to raise the bar for their watercooler chats and casual readers who want to understand better the current economic condition of the United States. Taylor uses simple language with field-specific vocabulary to explain economic concepts, and each concept is successfully reinforced with a real-life-and usually entertaining-example. He hits all the subjects that might interest a layperson, such as division of labor, supply and demand, wages, competition and monopoly, inflation, banking, and trade, for a total of 36 petite chapters-just enough information to give the reader a basic but well-rounded understanding of the subject. VERDICT This highly readable, nonpoliticized look at some of the economic principles that shape our society, presented in an engaging, anecdotal fashion, is highly recommended for armchair economists and anyone with a general interest in the state of our economy.-Poppy Johnson-Renvall, Central New Mexico Community Coll. Lib., Albuquerque (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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