Posted on December 01, 2005 by Jim Moser

I just recently completed a book entitled Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, by Charles Wheelan. It was great. If you are like me, the only economics that you know is from highschool or the cranky rants of your father. I really wanted to know more about economics without reading a dull, thick textbook. This book was awesome!

The book offers a pretty comprehesive survey of the general facets of economics, and it does it in a humorous but very informative manner. The book is for intelligent readers who don’t have much of a background in economics. It offers tremendous amounts of real world examples to illustrate its points, and the concepts really stick with you.

It talks about the importance of human capital: “Why Bill Gates is Richer than You”. It talks about how the economics of information can be very lucrative: “McDonalds Didn’t Make a Better Hamburger”. It discussed the basics of the Federal Reserve, which is something I previously knew very little about…why are interest rates important, and how do they relate to inflation and unemployment? The book answers these questions thoroughly.

I loved the book, and I would read it again. If I had children at this point, I might break this out as bed time reading since it is so engaging. An interesting note, this book contains no math; although I am a math major and appreciate math as much as the next guy, it made the book go a lot quicker.

To buy the book, find more reviews here is the link to Amazon.com

Or I also recommend checking the book out at your local library (A lower cost alternative.)