Curtis reviewed The undercover economist by Tim Harford
Review of 'The undercover economist' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Quite a good little intro. I read enough economics texts and blogs (note to self: add Tim Harford's blog to my already bulging list of RSS feeds) that I didn't find anything too surprising. Nevertheless, the overall presentation is well done for a popular overview, and served as a good review. As an aside, the constant coffee-talk reminded me of [a:Peter Navarro|57585|Peter Navarro|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]'s stock trading treatise [b:If It's Raining in Brazil Buy Starbucks|99892|If It's Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks|Peter Navarro|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347908850s/99892.jpg|96305].
The only point of cognitive dissonance I had was that, having been published in 2005, this book feels a little dated even now. Obviously, it doesn't mention anything about the 2007/2008 financial crisis, and I expect if it were written now, more attention might be paid to health care, campaign finance, etc. That doesn't take away from what's there — it just means that perhaps there's a good opportunity for …
Quite a good little intro. I read enough economics texts and blogs (note to self: add Tim Harford's blog to my already bulging list of RSS feeds) that I didn't find anything too surprising. Nevertheless, the overall presentation is well done for a popular overview, and served as a good review. As an aside, the constant coffee-talk reminded me of [a:Peter Navarro|57585|Peter Navarro|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]'s stock trading treatise [b:If It's Raining in Brazil Buy Starbucks|99892|If It's Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks|Peter Navarro|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347908850s/99892.jpg|96305].
The only point of cognitive dissonance I had was that, having been published in 2005, this book feels a little dated even now. Obviously, it doesn't mention anything about the 2007/2008 financial crisis, and I expect if it were written now, more attention might be paid to health care, campaign finance, etc. That doesn't take away from what's there — it just means that perhaps there's a good opportunity for a revised edition! :) (Or, perhaps Harford has addressed these in his other books.)
