Brilliant Economics: Making Sense of the Big Ideas (Brilliant Business) Paperback – 11 Jul 2013

I see that Phil works for an organisation called Clarity Economics which is precisely what this easy-to-read book provides.The writing is refreshingly uncomplicated, clear and at times witty. The references to current affairs (some of which are earlier this year) is also a very clever angle and makes the topics accessible and relevant. As a small business owner, without much spare time, but with a desire to understand some of the jargon in loan applications, commercial agreements etc. as well as items in the news, this is a fantastic encyclopedia of economics. It was also fascinating to learn more about the different economists and theories which I have come accross previously, albeit never really understood.A great read which I would thoroughly recommend.

If you want to know about economics in the wake of the global financial crisis but are too afraid to ask, this book is a real help. It's written in a very accessible style with no complicated jargon or maths and takes you through the main issues from growth through to the future of economics. A nice feature is the 'brilliant facts' that crop up throughout the book that bring the issue down to an everyday level. Very handy to keep in a suit pocket or handbag just in case you need to know what the difference is between the budget deficit and the government's debt.

Well I can't say that what I learned about Economics first time around was exactly painful. Just very very boring. And irrelevant. I passed the course (part of my business degree) but I can't say that I ever really 'got' the subject.Times change. Its no longer such a remote 'academic' topic for me so I need to take a second pass at understanding the big economic questions. What's happening and what might happen next if we following X path or Y route, and how and why this is all happening now. Suddenly Economics is really relevant. But I expect I am not alone in getting hung up on 'I did Economics at school/college/university and simply cannot face that boredom again'. What we have here is a non-boring and right relevant book about Economics. By someone who has written about the subject for a living, but as a journalist rather than as an academic. So a writer who knows his stuff but also how not to bore the readers. Someone showed me this book and I read a bit, put it down, read a bit more (repeated several times and they were lucky to get it back). Its a nice format, interesting and accessible tone and it says things to me that I want to pay attention to. Its a collection of readable stories about Economics. I think it could well help me get to actually ... understand. No mean feat.Why 4*? Because its an undeniably boring cover and I am very hard to please. Seriously, not a book to change the world but it should definitely help you to understand the world a whole lot better. Thanks.

This was just what I needed, after years of thinking I broadly understood these concepts, I realised I only really knew them in name only."Brilliant Economics" sets the record straight in clear, well written and entertaining prose.By reference to contemporary issues, the ideas and their relevance are made real.I read this book very quickly, and would highly recommend it to others in a similar position.

This book introduces the key players of the history of Economics and explains, simply, their theories.Using a refreshing mix of theoretical explanation, witty historical anecdotes and contemporary facts this book makes a great read.I found this an entertaining and highly informative book and would recommend it to anyone who is considering studying economics.