Fair and balanced

Great introductory book to economics with fair and balanced presentation of different schools of thought. The writer simplifies theories by using real life illustration. The narrator is also brilliant. Highly recommended.

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High quality introduction to economics

A very well structured book with some interesting observations. It's a great introduction to economics because each chapter could be a book in itself (and indeed the references at the end of each chapter show that they are). The regular use of facts and figures and the challenging of agreed norms demonstrates how well thought out the information and arguements are.

My only criticism is the sound has a lot of hiss on the narrator's S's. Turning the treble to minimum makes it usable.

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brilliant

fantastic narration coupled with engaging content. you really have to concentrate at points as there are parts where a lot of numbers are thrown at you but overall a really good introduction to economics from a non biased perspective, each theory is represented fairly and comes with a great message, "the economy is too important to be left to professional economists"

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1 person found this helpful

Super helpful for a beginner!

Really helped me understand the importance of economics in pretty much every aspect of life!

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Superb. I can now use economics.

Brilliant, plainly and homourously explained guide. Breaks down complex economic theories into simple and real world examples. Stuff makes a lot of sense now.

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Entertaining, engaging and very thought provoking.

Highly recommended. A really enjoyable listen. Clear, easy to understand guide written in an entertaining way.

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Spot on

Ha-Joon is very knowledgeable and can explain economics in plain terms. This is the second book I am listening to from him - the first one was "23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism". Both books share quite a bit of the content but differ in some respects. Anyways, I had trouble following some of the explanation (I did understand a lot but it's still quite a bit to take in) so the repetition was actually very good. Your view of the world changes and some beliefs are challenged e.g. service vs manufacturing.
I really like that the author is South Korean so has more of a worldwide perspective than some other author's books from e.g. the US or the UK.
It's interesting which role the financial world like banks have played. How it's much easier to make profit through banks rather than manufacturing. And how the investment into Research and Development has decreased considerably to satisfy stockholders through dividend payments.

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Outstanding

What a well written book and fantastic narrator. I have just bought the edible edition also.

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loved it

it is well written, well read, easy to understand and thought provoking. would easily recommend.

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Just about acceptable

Pros:
- Gives a very basic introduction into Econmics
- Categorised into easily understood chapters
- Well read

Cons:
- More opinionated/bias than it should be.
- Uninteresting and badly presented in many sections.
- Attempts to casualise the subjects more than it should. Economics is not easy and never has or will be.

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2 people found this helpful