Economics Books (for Economics Applicants)

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Reply 40

yoyo462001

Wow great list, hopefully get to work through at least 4 of those books before i start uni.

Reply 41

Rob_dob

Mozzy0712

Add
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets -Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Very good boook.!

Haha I just bought that book yesterday, sounds like a made a good choice then :p:

Reply 42

neomilan

keeping this thread alive!

i am 3/4 way through armchair economist, and its my favourite so far
still got to read the stiglitz books on globalisation and roraring 90s
not sure if i should read anymore!

Reply 43

The Magnificent KoloToure

I bought Undercover Economist, Freakonomics, Armchair Economist, Roaring 90s and The Accidental Theorist. Will try to read them quickly so I can get through a few more before writing my personal statement.

Thoughts so far: Undercover Economist was interesting in parts but a bit boring and basic/vague in others.
Freakonomics is great, I know it's not "real economics" but the writer and the topics are fascinating. Only read a little bit so far but his strategy to catch cheating teachers was genius!

Reply 44

illy123

The Magnificent KoloToure

I haven't read Freakonomics so I don't know what it is about. Could you elaborate on how it is not 'real economics' as I'm a bit confused - not sure whether it is worth buying it (to complete my collection as I have ready practically all the others lol)

Reply 45

illy123

neomilan

Yes! Armchair, Globalisation, Roaring 90s are my 3 favourite books.

Btw. How do I multi quote?

Reply 46

neomilan

illy123

freakonomics is not great, its too americanised and the topics they discuss are crap and they dont really bring in true economics...
but i think that a lot of non economists appreciate it!

illy123

Btw. How do I multi quote?

click quote twice to open two new posts with 2 differen quotes, copy and paste one quote into the other post... voila

Reply 47

The Magnificent KoloToure

illy123

It's not really much to do with economics, it's more to do with how the writer has used what he learnt in economics/ economic theory to manipulate and work out information using data.

For example (first chapter) he came up with a way to catch the majority of cheating teachers in the Chicago area by looking for a certain formula in their students' answers. So it's not really got anything to do with what you will be learning in an economics degree but worth a read for how the subject can be used in other fields.

Reply 48

keepoffthelawn

illy123

In my opinion based on the books in your list:
Bad

Undercover Economist
Age of Turbulence
Free Lunch

I've finished exams so I can start reading Logic of Life by Hartford; should be quite interesting! Speaking of whom, he is quite excited at this new book: http://blogs.ft.com/undercover/2009/06/create-your-own-economy/

I've been thinking of getting that book (The Age of Turbulence), is it really that bad?! I'm interested in why you thought of it as bad? thanks :smile:

I notice there's no mention of Naomi Klein's No Logo, apparently its a very good read, though I haven't read it myself (yet) but i will once i finish The Black Swan by Nicholas Nassim Taleb that i'm currently reading :smile:

Reply 49

TheNihilist

Anyone heard of a new book coming soon by Tim Harford called "Dear Undercover Economist"?
It's just some of the letters he gets from his weekly column in the FT. Not sure whether to get it or not...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dear-Undercover-Economist-Everyday-Mysteries/dp/1408701545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247333908&sr=8-1

Reply 50

illy123

keepoffthelawn

I've been thinking of getting that book (The Age of Turbulence), is it really that bad?! I'm interested in why you thought of it as bad? thanks :smile:

I guess I thought it would be more than a biography when I bought it. The first half is a biography of Greenspan's life (Jewish heritage, etc) and parts of the second half have got bits about American Economic history but nothing you can't get from wiki. Considering how long the book is you would be better off reading wiki for an hour and devote the other 50 hours to 3/4 different books.

Reply 51

.ACS.

Just wondering whether anyone has read The Economic Naturalist: Why Economics Explains Almost Everything, and if so, what did you think of it? I've been tempted to get it since I first heard about it (okay... maybe the cover being blue and having a cow on it isn't a great reason for getting a book :p:

) but was just wondering what others thought of it before I made the buy.

Reply 52

illy123

.ACS.

) but was just wondering what others thought of it before I made the buy.

It's a fun book to read - kind of helps you get into the economics mindset (explaining things) e.g. difference in the shape of milk and juice drinks - he claims that as storing milk is expensive (fridge) max space should be utilised, whilst this is not so for juice (the benefit of it fitting into your hand outweighs the cost of wasting space).

The whole book is basically an aggregation of small questions - I think it is good practice to read the question and try to answer it (as it requires no further knowledge) and then see if you are right.

Reply 53

Prilynn

Hi guys,

Are there any interesting books I could read before I start my economics course at Swansea in September? I'm currently reading the Economic Naturalist and Freakonomics, and have recently read the economist on a regular basis.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Reply 54

.ACS.

Do you want suggestions of popular economic books or more textbook style books?

Reply 55

neomilan

TheNihilist

ooh cool

i thought undercoover economist was ok, not the best out of all the ones i've read so far
but i like tim harfords column online and so it might be a good book!

Reply 56

JeevesTSR

Hey Guys,
The summer holidays are upon us and so I could you recommend any Economics books to read over the Summer. The books should be interesting, and look good when writing my personal statement.

I have just completed my first year of AS economics and am looking into expanding my economics knowledge.

Thanks for the help :biggrin:

Reply 57

cconstant

JeevesTSR

The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money although not exactly what i call interesting its good for expanding economic knowledge.

Freakonomics is a good interesting read.

The Undercover Economist similar to freakonomics but not quite as goon in my opinion

The Truth About Markets : Why Some Countries are Rich and Others Remain Poor, interesting read to do with what markets can and can't do.

Reply 58

cconstant

Oh, Capitalism and Freedom is really good too.

and The Road to Serfdom is a good read.

I'll probably think of more in a bit lol

Reply 59

cconstant

oh I forgot Keynes and After, the first economics book I read, confused the hell out of me as i had only been studying economics for a couple of months lol. But I read it again in the summer and made so much more sense.