Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science | 
| Author: Charles Wheelan
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  123 reviews
Sales Rank: 1123
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 260
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0393324869
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780393324860
ASIN: 0393324869
Publication Date: September 2003
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Book 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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| Customer Reviews: Read 118 more reviews...
 Well Worth Reading - Maybe Twice! July 17, 2008
This has to be among the best "popular" economics books out there, if not THE best. The book has pretty much everything one could hope for:
- Broad coverage of economics
- Clear explanations of concepts
- Abundance of practical examples to illustrate the concepts
- A writing style bordering on perfection (economics made entertaining!)
- Reasonably balanced treatment of controversial topics
One of the central points illustrated by the book is that we're prone to making bad economic decisions when we oversimply matters and neglect secondary, cumulative, and long-term consequences. The examples in the book illustrate this point, though one could argue that many of the examples are themselves oversimplified to the extent that one might draw wrong conclusions. However, I think that criticism would be unfair, since it should be self-evident that the examples are illustrative, rather than attempts to be comprehensive analyses of the issues involved.
Like most nonfiction books, I would have loved to have a bullet-point summary of key points at the end of each chapter, but the book still fully deserves 5 stars and my highest recommendation.
Well written and a must have June 1, 2008
Economics lies at the heart of most policies. In order to understand these policies, one should have a basic understanding of economics; however, economics can be a "dismal science" which pretty much means its boring.
The problem with economics is that the charts and statistics can many times be confusing. While some branches of economics such as Austrian economics are simpler to understand, mainstream economics is difficult. Naked Economics provides a change in pace for those that really do not have a great deal of understanding in economics.
The book, however, is not for only those individuals that have never studied economics. I have studied it some and this book provided a real understanding of some of the more difficult subjects such as the Federal Reserve.
The main problem with this book is that many times the author talks of his politic views. With the environment, the author deems that environmental issues are issues for the economy and government almost immediately. Other measures such as social change are not discussed. He is also pro-bush from the readings as noted in other reviews. I do not hold this against him because I realized that if he was anti-bush I would probably not hold it against him.
 A simple non-mathematical intro to econ May 30, 2008
This book is really quite good at explaining economic concepts without using any math or graphs. As a high school econ teacher, I see some students who immediately understand a concept if they see a graph that shows the relationship; most students don't work that way though and this book provides a lot of anecdotes that can be used to illustrate key concepts. Definitely useful as a supplemental reader at the secondary level.
Fantastic reading! Fast paced for economics. May 29, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I highly recommend this book. That alone should be enough to make you buy it - but I will go on to say that it was enlightening and fast paced.
enjoy.
Simon
DryCast.com
Very well written May 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'd just like to confirm what a lot of other reviewers have said. This book is very entertaining and makes its points forcefully (but you can be left wondering if there are deep assumption errors or facets the author has glossed over). Time and time again he adresses issues that I keep hearing (If only the goverment would so and so...) and gives a pretty compelling point of view on the issue.
I keep this book for times I am a little tired, because reading it is so effortless. Now if only the author would write a book on linguistics and one on ethics for example!
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