Naked economics : undressing the dismal science

 by Charles Wheelan. Wheelan, a magazine and radio correspondent, offers ideas about economics in plain language without equations, jargon, and diagrams. He brings us the most powerful concepts in economics while simplifying the building blocks or not using them at all. Basic principles come alive in the author's explanation of individuals acting to make themselves as well off as possible (however that is defined) and the notion that firms try to make as much money as possible by deciding what to produce, how and where to produce it, how much to produce, and at what price. In a manner that is informative and understandable, Wheelan covers such topics as the power of markets, the role of government in the economy, productivity and human capital, the Federal Reserve, and trade and globalization. This is an excellent book, which, as Wheelan posits, "is not economics for dummies; it is economics for smart people who never studied economics (or have only a vague recollection of doing so)." --Choice (Check Catalog)