Basic Economics, Fourth Edition: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

Dr. Sowell presents economics in such clear and concise terms. Concepts, truths and fallacies all made crystal clear by detailed examples from economic history. Economics comes alive in this presentation.
The narration was so superb, He could make tax code interesting!

Sowell covers so many economic fallacies (fallacies we have heard propagated daily in the news, for all of our lives), and explains why they are wrong. He uses inventive illustrative scenarios to make clear difficult concepts. He takes you well-past a limited concept or idea, to the full consequences of that idea, and makes the case using real-world historical examples from around the world. This will inoculate you against future fraud for the rest of your life. My only critique: the reader, while clear and understandable, is a bit dry and devoid of expression. Still worth it though. I have "re-read" many chapters since I bought it.

Thomas Sowell does a fantastic job of explaining economics in simple non-technical terms that anyone can understand. He points out the many misconceptions about economics and helps the reader / listener understand events attributed to economics in a better context.

This should be required reading for every high school student. Certainly this offers the level of understanding every voting of our society must have before they can make informed decisions.

The "story" of economics, sadly, is not part of the basic education fabric in this country. One would think, a country built on a free-enterprise/captialism model would do a better job of informing it's citizens about what all of that means. Mr Sowell does a fine job of unpacking the baggage, talking about each piece along the way in understandable words and anecdotes, for the "interested" reader. What a great refresher or primer, depending on where you are when you pick it up.

It's amazing to me that people so frequently choose to ignore the best science available. Sowell dispels economic myths and misconceptions perpetuated by most politicians. He does this by illustrating basic concepts using very accessible examples of failure and success from the recent past. This is a great introduction to economics with just the right amount of editorializing. Readers of a the left-leaning persuasion are going to find this as challenging as Sean Hannity might find a textbook on Biology.

This book covers a lot of ground on economics. As I am a beginner on the subject I found this book very interesting. If I had had the printed version I'm not sure I'd have been able to go through the whole thing since it's a long book but the narrator did a fantastic job. Students of economics would find this book useful as well.

The first half of the book is mainly about concepts and explaining how things work on the market. The second half was way my favorite where the author destroys many of the fallacies we hear politicians talking. I wish everyone who votes would hear this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Thomas Sowell introduces economic concepts that really broadened my understanding of how the economy works. This is narrated very well. Listened to this on trips to work.

Highly recommend!!

I spend hours on the road so this was a great way for me to take a refresher course on economics while I drive. I liked how he teaches a theory or principle then supports it using one or more examples. I think this is just what most people need to hear and understand, especially at a time when many people around the world seem to be leaning toward socialism to answer all the problems of societies. Great book. I'm going to buy the book in hard cover just so I can reference it from time to time. If you're looking for a short simple "Economics for Dummies" then this is not for you. This book is very, very long and gives highly detailed descriptions of the basic principles. Highly recommended for real thinkers.

The author discusses the law of supply and demand and other basic economic laws. It is mildly interesting, but nothing out of the ordinary. The author is obviously a fierce capitalist, but really does not give other points of view a fair review.

i didn't enjoy this book, but it does give an overview of basic economic concepts. unfortunately, despite its length the book did not teach me anything i didn't already know, and as the book goes on, it becomes increasingly focused on the evils of government intervention, and less so on explaining economic concepts. i could have done without the extensive libertarian diatribes. i'm a believer in free-market economics and the global economy, but the agenda was so clear and tone was often so biased and closed-minded that the experience was simply not fruitful for me. it's a shame because when sowell sticks to economics, he explains things quite effectively, but i'd have rather purchased a less partisan book.