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The book has some annotations near the beginning, but as a student, those are just extra notes. The book is in really good condition and was VERY inexpensive. Great quality.
Some economics books read more like a manual of technical instructions, designed only for those with a PhD in economics, yet Landsburg's witty writing and precise examples keep the book entertaining enough that it's hard to put down.Landsburg does get a bit caught up in some heavy-handed language and technical jargon in a few chapters (most notably in the middle of the book), but the rest of the book more than makes up for it. In short, The Armchair Economist is a must-read for anyone who doesn't know anything about economics but would like to.
Not a very good book. The author is overly opinionated and not very open to conflicting ideas. He also does not do a very good job in educating the reader on economic concepts he uses to support his views. Overall, I would say it's not worth the time or money.
Landsberg explicitly defines the realm of pure economics vs. I am a firm believer that even the most complicated topics can be conveyed in plain language-- and enjoyed from the comfort of an armchair. policy. This book does an incredible job of presenting the essential tenets of economics in a memorable, witty, and easily understood manner. Equally as important, Dr. An incredible, thought-provoking read. I would gladly trade three undergraduate economics courses for a detailed review of this book.
regarding why popcorn is expensive in movie theaters. If you want answers. Sometimes he provides multiple theories, sometimes none at all.I'd advise taking the harsher reviews with a grain of salt: the author doesn't claim to reveal any profound new economic theories, and the wise reader will recognize that that sort of thing is to be found in peer reviewed academic journals, not pop-econ books.The author points out the flaws in some generally held truths, provides some solid, fundamental tools of economic thought with which to address them, and leaves the reader to his own devices.What he accomplishes is to provide the reader with interesting puzzles to ponder, and some guidance on how to begin.The end result is less like an economics textbook, and more like one of those "philosophy puzzles" books (e.g. look elsewhere. The author addresses many questions from "everyday life", but seldom provides credible answers.Of course, he seldom claims to; what he does is point out the flaws in conventional wisdom, e.g. http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0312314523).If you want to learn economics proper, start with the Schaum's outlines on Micro/Macro/International economics, or a good econ text. If you just want some extremely enjoyable, light reading that will make you really think, Landsburg delivers.
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