Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science Audiobook

" A curious and optimistic book to read in our current economic turbulence... "

" This book should be mandatory in high school. This is an easy, and interesting read about economics in our daily lives. "

" Easy and fun read that provided a good high level overview of some applications of economics in modern society. I particularly enjoyed his discussions of the affects of government on economies. "

" A layman's version of basic economics that is anything but dry reading. Interspersed with real-life examples which makes this a great read. "

" This book assumes that you have no clue about how things work. I'm far from being an expert, but I found myself wishing the author would hurry it up. The information is solid, but far too wordy. "

" I would like to give this book about 3.5 stars. This is a book designed to present the topic of economics to people who would not otherwise be that interested in it, and give them an introduction to core concepts that are necessary for general economic discussion. In some ways, it did accomplish that, but it had some shortcomings. It touched upon a lot of interaction between the government and economics, and had a more free market view than I anticipated. The emphasis was more on the number of examples than fleshing out the details of each one. I felt like more depth with fewer examples might have been more powerful. Although they served slightly different purposes, I thought that the book Freakonomics demonstrated a good balance between covering topics and offering more depth. To a degree, the point of the book was to offer only intuition without any charts, graphs, or numbers, and he delivered on that. I thought the book would have been a little bit stronger if he did offer one or two charts or graphs in a few of the chapters. The fact is, we come across charts and graphs as we look at economic data on the evening news, and I thought some discussion was warranted. If people think that charts and graphs are scary, it is my view that it’s better to show how accessible they are by explaining the components, rather than leave them as some mystery that a lay person cannot figure out. I thought it was lacking in sources a little bit as well. He is a big fan of a few economists/economic commentators (such as Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman) and has many examples from articles that they have written in the New York Times. I thought that examples by more of a variety of people (not just going to Thomas Friedman every time you needed an example) would have been better. Lastly, this book seems like it was written to seem very current. Many of the examples were very current and newsworthy…in 2002. This is fine, but instead of being somewhat timeless, it reads a little bit like a walk down memory lane where you keep thinking, “Oh, yeah, I remember when people used to care about the WTO” and other things of that nature. There were some shortcomings, and the somewhat rambling style did not inspire me to read it for hours at a time, but he did cover a number of good topics, and was on target with most of his explanations. As with anything, there is a bit of room for your own opinion to overshadow the facts of the matter, but he did a decent job of presenting what is generally accepted economic thought without just presenting opinions. Overall, I would recommend the book to people who have previously been intimidated by economics to get a general overview of a wide range of concepts dealing with how people respond to incentives and how the economy works in general. For people who already know a bit about economics, it probably won’t be that informative, but it will give you a sense of what people might know from reading another one of the mass market economics books that is out there. "

" A lot of information, some basic, but overall very informative. "

" Delivers on making a dry subject very interesting. I can see myself reading this again. "

" This book opened my eyes to the way that economics shifts perspective. I'm certainly not an economist because I'm not used to thinking around things the same way. Pretty interesting stuff. "

" Amazingly accessible. "

" This book was great. I couldn't put it down, and now I have something to talk about with friends at dinner. It also has some humor in it. Enjoy! "

" Loved it! It opened my eyes to possible answeres to questions I had been pondreing, like why is there no customer service anymore. A great intro to why things work the way they do in the realm of economy. "

" Very approachable guide to economics - I read it so I can explain parts of my job to my friends! "

" A basic and informative introduction to economics with no equations, charts, graphs, and not many numbers. Sometimes the breezy journalistic style gets annoying, but overall, a decent book. "

" Economics is such an important topic to understand. This book does a great job of explaining complex topics in an easy to understand way using real world examples. If you want to better understand economics this is a great place to start! "

" All right for an economics book, but definitely not one I'd read again and again. "

" I loved this book. Everyone should read it (or understand the subject matter). "

" Exellente for learning the bascis in economics in a fun and interesting way...without all the graphs and charts! "

" Written for those like myself who cannot avoid a column in the economist; Econ that too in a language I understand :) Must read "

" Amazingly, the author does not show strong ideological bias, for an economics book this is very strange. I now know what 'The Fed' does, also he has converted me wholly to free-trade (previously I was uncommitted). "

" Perfect for anyone whose eyes glazed over in college ECON courses. "

" Naked Economics is, so far, my favorite book on economics. Having read only 1 book on economics this may seem a trivial endorsement, but whatever. It was funny and easy to read - if you're looking for some light but educational non-fiction I'd recommend it. "

" Good book for explaining basic economics on a base level. Mostly rehashing basic info I already knew, but well written for someone looking for some basics on how the global economy works. "

" This is a fabulously insightful introduction to the invisible hand that governs our world: economics. Wheelan has written a page-turner. I recommend this book for everyone; it should be required reading. "

" Much more interesting than any Econ class I had to take. Nice to read something that isn't politically motivated; he explains problems with both "left" and "right" ideologies at times . . . this was helpful to hear in an as neutral as possible framework. Great everyday examples for explaining ideas. "

" Excellent intro to economics <br/>examples are easily understood and language is for the layman, not the economist "

" A great explanation of economic issues and the disastorous consequences when people misunderstand them. "

" Awesome crash course on basic economics and basic economic policy. Easy to read. Loved it. "

" An entertaining, yet accurate introduction to economics - and why it matters. "

" Thanks for letting me borrow this book, James. I like the author's tone and his approach to explaining different economic theories. "

" I felt educated about policy and the economy when I finished this book. I don't know that I could speak eloquently on the topic, but I understand a lot more than when I started. It's accessible and even amusing at times. It seemed to lean liberally and reminded me of &quot;Nudge&quot;. "

" I learned a lot. This book both explained concepts and encouraged thinking. The way of banks and monetary value has always seemed a great mystery to me. Turns out - it's confusing but really interesting. A worthwhile read I will recommend. "

" Awesome easy to read book on different economic concepts. Basically explains what you need to know to sounds intelligent and read the WSJ on a decent level. "

" an interesting approach to economics, making fun of an other wise perceived boring subject. "

" Never took an Econ class but this book simplified this topic better than any college course probably could have. "