The Undercover Economist, Revised and Updated Edition: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor - and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

After reading a decent chunk of Sowell's "Basic Economics", I had to put it down. It was steeped in bias and omission. Fundamental objections one might have were not addressed.This book is what I found instead, and it was a treat. This introduces you to pricing and markets. The book does a decent job of talking about what these tools are good at and what they're bad at with engaging anecdotes and thought experiments to illustrate the point. It takes a fun little detour through auction theory and the use of economics to solve real world dilemmas. One thing I found particularly neat is that at the back of the book Tim explains his process for how he comes up with pricing data, volume estimates, and all the other stats in the book.Now that I've read this I'm ready to go start a coffee shop at my local train station.

This was assigned as part of my MBA curriculum. If you want to be able to hold your own in a conversation about the economy this is a great stand-alone source. But be careful bc this book could turn you into a neo-liberal Wall Street sympathizer. I feel de-radicalized and it feels dirty. But i can finally impress my stepdad

A nerd at heart, I am always looking for a good laymans book on economics. This book is a bestseller for a reason. The author takes every day situations and explains economic theories based on these situations. The result: The reader is able to understand the how and why things unfold as they do. Economics is not just a bunch of complex mathematical equations. It is a study of scarcity be it money, or time, or resources. My only complaint is that the author becomes too wordy at times and interjects his personal opinion too often. Still, if you are interested, it is an easy read.

Fantastic book, economics can be fun when written like this. Sarcastic, comical, witty, sharp. It’s great.

Despite its age, this book is a must read for those that have an interest in economy and how the world really works. Very easy to read with no technical language that will challenge many preconceived ideas.

Like applied math, this is applied economics. Gets at real world problems with real world conclusions. Solution to health care financing is as close as we can hope to get to a bipartisan solution. Too bad right wing ideologues and their paymasters won't let this happen.

Tim does a fantastic job explaining important economic concepts and without the confusing charts, graphs and formulas you usually see in an economics course. You get some fascinating anecdotes about how economics plays out in everyday life. You will never look at a supermarket or Starbucks quite the same away again. Tim delivers on every provocative question he asks in this book and answers the all important question of what the major difference is between rich countries and poor countries.

Useful anecdotes. Well written. As an IB Econ teacher I have used it as a supplement resource. His second book, though, may be better. I have just started it and find it more closely follows the macro syllabus. Still, the last few chapters of this book are useful for debate on development, trade, and growth.

One of my favorite books, especially in the current political environment. Explains many nuances in every day shopping, as well as some of the fallacies perpetuated in today's rhetoric.

I found this a very useful introduction to the various branches of economics. It is well written and presents good examples. While informative, the author's writing is also fun to read.

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