I could use some advice on the next economics book to read (beginner-ish)

for someone who has read Road to Serfdom and The Law, and wants something, quote "more economics" but not so incredibly dense it isn't readable.

Any ideas?

The Fatal Conceit by Hayek. It refutes any and all forms of socialism/collectivism.

End The Fed by Ron Paul. :D

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Originally Posted by sailingaway

for someone who has read Road to Serfdom and The Law, and wants something, quote "more economics" but not so incredibly dense it isn't readable.

Any ideas?

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Early Speculative Bubbles And Increases in the Supply of Money - Douglas E French

It's online too http://mises.org/books/bubbles.pdf

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Originally Posted by sailingaway

for someone who has read Road to Serfdom and The Law, and wants something, quote "more economics" but not so incredibly dense it isn't readable.

Any ideas?

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Lessons for the Young Economist

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman. Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell.

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

You're probably ready for some Rothbard. Maybe America's Great Depression or What Has Government Done to Our Money?

MIT open courseware economics section offers a bazillion entries' worth often interesting-looking material. I didn't notice anything "Austrian-oriented", but you still may find it worthwhile. Also, "Lessons For The Young Economist" by Bob Murphy and "Money, Credit, and Economic Cycles". http://mises.org/books/desoto.pdf

Thank you!

I had to leave just after I posted this, but you all gave me a lot of leads!

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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Yes. Perfectly fits your description. You won't be disappointed.http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-...2649109&sr=8-1

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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Great book.

Also, if you're interested in the financial crash, pick up Meltdown by Tom Woods. It's not really economics, more economic policy and the politics behind it, but it does a great job of explaining how politics and economics are completely intertwined. Explains how the Fed and Congress both created the housing bubble.

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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2nd this. By far. Written for the economic layman.

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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http://c457332.r32.cf2.rackcdn.com/E...one_lesson.pdf
For easy access on the go :)

Free ebook on what the fake libertarians do in economics:

http://www.conservativenannystate.org/cns.html

Maybe branch out. Read a saltwater piece and a freshwater piece; it's always nice to be well rounded.

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Originally Posted by loveshiscountry

Early Speculative Bubbles And Increases in the Supply of Money - Douglas E French

It's online too http://mises.org/books/bubbles.pdf

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I suggest you just spend some time at mises.org you'll get all the economics (and book recommendations) you can handle. You may also want to visit:

The Economist - World News
Financial Times - FT.com
Bloomberg
MarketWatch
Forbes.com
Business Insider
http://www.thestreet.com/

or... if you just need a laugh... check this thread:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ble-Old-People

and this video:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full...-cash-for-gold

presence

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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Double thumbs up for a new economic thinker

The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy by Thomas Woods

An essential read for any Christian, particularly any Catholic

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Originally Posted by cjm

Lessons for the Young Economist

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I second this recommendation.

I've read it and I think it is by far the best beginner/intro book on economics, surpassing Econ in One Lesson and the other popular beginner books, imo. I am by no means at the beginner level but i read it anyway, because it is still interesting and has some new interesting analogies--and is just very readable.

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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Seriously, this is what you are looking for.

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Originally Posted by PolicyReader

http://c457332.r32.cf2.rackcdn.com/E...one_lesson.pdf
For easy access on the go :)

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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This is my favorite beginner book. Perhaps it is outdated, at least in products and culture. If someone only likes modern thing, it isn't a book for them. But for most people, it is a wonderful, very easy to read book.

I have one question.... have any of you who are recommending Economics in One Lesson read Robert Murphy's lessons for the Young Economist? I have read both and found the latter to be a better intro book. Econ in One Lesson gets a bit dry in some parts for those who are not econ freaks. I love econ, so I loved Hazlitt's book and used to recommend it for this circumstance until I read Murphy's book... Just my opinion..

SOURCE:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/edu/economics.php

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An Introduction to Economic Reasoning
These three books, all relatively short and available online or for purchase, are an excellent starting point for an education in sound economics.

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt; online here Essentials of Economics by Faustino Ballve; online here (.pdf) An Introduction to Austrian Economics by Thomas C. Taylor; online here and here (.pdf) A useful companion to Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson is this series of videos, recorded in July-August 2008, in which various professors comment on each of the book's chapters — explaining the argument, elaborating on it, and applying it to present conditions.

Video 1: The Lesson Video 2: The Broken Window Video 3: Public Works Mean Taxes Video 4: Credit Diverts Production Video 5: The Curse of Machinery Video 6: Disbanding Troops and Bureaucrats Video 7: Who's Protected by Tariffs? Video 8: "Parity" Prices Video 9: How the Price System Works Video 10: Minimum Wage Laws Video 11: The Function of Profits Video 12: The Assault on Saving
Additional Introductory Reading in Economics

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul, ch. 4; the audiobook is here The Concise Guide to Economics by Jim Cox Making Economic Sense by Murray N. Rothbard Pillars of Prosperity: Free Markets, Honest Money, Private Property by Ron Paul Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow by Ludwig von Mises Free Market Economics: A Reader by Bettina Bien Greaves The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism by Robert P. Murphy Free Market Economics: A Syllabus by Bettina Bien Greaves The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury (a great introduction to economics for homeschoolers; study guide included)
Introduction to Austrian Economic Analysis: A Ten-Lecture Course

This course with Professor Joseph Salerno of Pace University, courtesy of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, is available in both video and mp3 audio at the links below. To learn more about the Austrian School of economics, read this essay and this essay.

Recommended supplemental reading follows each lecture.
Lecture 1: Scarcity, Choice, and Value — Audio and Video Percy L. Greaves, Jr., Understanding the Dollar Crisis, pp. 1-20, 27-54 Milton M. Shapiro, Foundations of the Market-Price System, pp. 81-113 Thomas C. Taylor, An Introduction to Austrian Economics, pp. 40-51 (ch. 4) Lecture 2: Exchange and Demand - Audio and Video Shapiro, pp. 31-58, 115-78 Taylor, pp. 12-39 (chs. 2-3) Leonard Read, "I, Pencil" Lecture 3: The Determination of Prices — Audio and Video Greaves, pp. 65-91 Shapiro, pp. 179-233 Taylor, pp. 52-62 (ch. 5) Murray N. Rothbard, The Mystery of Banking, pp. 15-27 (online pp. 14-23) Lecture 4: Price Controls: Case Studies — Audio and Video Lecture 5: Profit, Loss, and the Entrepreneur — Audio and Video Taylor, pp. 74-89 (ch. 7) Ludwig von Mises, "Profit and Loss," in Mises, Planning for Freedom and Sixteen Other Essays and Addresses, pp. 108-30 Lecture 6: Pricing of the Factors of Production and the Labor Market — Audio and Video Henry N. Sanborn, What, How, For Whom: The Decisions of Economic Organization, pp. 112-85 Taylor, pp. 63-73 (ch. 6) Greaves, pp. 105-32 Murray N. Rothbard, "Restrictionist Pricing of Labor," in Rothbard, The Logic of Action Two Lecture 7: Capital, Interest and the Structure of Production — Audio and Video Shapiro, pp. 235-60 Mark Skousen, The Structure of Production, pp. 133-49 Richard Fink, "Economic Growth and Market Processes," in Fink, ed., Supply-Side Economics: A Critical Appraisal, pp. 372-94 Lecture 8: Competition and Monopoly — Audio and Video Shapiro, pp. 319-72 Sanborn, pp. 62-65 Hans Sennholz, "The Phantom Called 'Monopoly,'" in Bettina B. Greaves, ed., Free Market Economics: A Basic Reader, pp. 162-69 Sudha R. Shenoy, "The Sources of Monopoly," in New Individualist Review, pp. 793-96 Lecture 9: Money and Prices — Audio and Video Greaves, pp. 141-67 Rothbard, What Has Government Done to Our Money? pp. 1-96 (online, chs. I-III; online .pdf, pp. 7-48). Rothbard, The Case Against the Fed, pp. 29-69 (or Rothbard, The Mystery of Banking, pp. 77-177; online, pp. 52-108) Lecture 10: Banking and the Business Cycle — Audio and Video Ludwig von Mises, et al., The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays, Read: Garrison, Introduction and Summary;
Mises's essay and Rothbard's essay. Taylor, pp. 90-95 (ch. 8)
Advanced Texts in Austrian Economics
Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles by Murray N. Rothbard The Scholars' Edition of this book, which we link to, also contains the book Power and Market, which had originally been intended as the concluding section of Man, Economy, and State but was released in 1970 as a separate book. The entire text is also available online here. A study guide is available for purchase and online here (.pdf). Human Action: A Treatise on Economics by Ludwig von Mises This entire book is available online here. A study guide to this book is now available here. Money, Banking, and Economic Cycles by Jes�s Huerta de Soto A sweeping and historic contribution to the literature of the Austrian School, showing how monetary freedom avoids the disadvantages of fiat money, including inflation, business cycles, and financial bubbles.
Foreign Aid and Development Economics

Equality, the Third World, and Economic Delusion by Peter Bauer
From Subsistence to Exchange and Other Essays by Peter Bauer
"The Marshall Plan: Myths and Realities" (.pdf) by Tyler Cowen
The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics by William Easterly
"The History of Foreign Aid Programs" (mp3) by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Miscellaneous Readings in Economics

"Politically Contrived Gasoline Shortage" (.pdf) by Craig S. Marxsen
"The Anatomy of Social Security and Medicare" (.pdf) by Edgar K. Browning
Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980 by Charles Murray
The Conquest of Poverty by Henry Hazlitt
The Economics and Ethics of Private Property (advanced) by Hans-Hermann Hoppe



Because monetary economics is so central to the Campaign for Liberty's mission, it has been given its own section: Sound Money

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SOURCE:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/edu/economics.php

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Originally Posted by MRoCkEd

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt.

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This is a classic.

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Originally Posted by cjm

Lessons for the Young Economist

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Yes, clearly written and very strong in fundamental economics.

I may have to do both Lessons for the Young Economist AND Economics in One Lesson... or flip a coin, and work to the others from there...

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Originally Posted by basebalf1rst

Yes. Perfectly fits your description. You won't be disappointed.http://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-...2649109&sr=8-1

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ok, ordered that for now!

Too much of econ now is dominated by math and stats. Which is absurd...econ should be first and foremost a philosophical, political or a historical study. The reason econ is such a convoluted mess now...is that's it tries to quantify and calculate subjective vague concepts that never have a basis in the real world. Econ professors won't change the system...because their background in stats and math (even if largely irrelevant to what should be a conceptional field) is what ensures them job security.

The University of Chicago actually made a very nice shift away somewhat from stats and more toward economic philosophy...but they are the exception rather than the norm.

As for specific suggestions... Hayek isn't frankly the most interesting author. Rothbard is MUCH better and I've enjoyed his works (as has Ron Paul who has suggested a number of his books).

Mises has much of his (and other Austrians) books available free to read online as others have pointed out:

http://mises.org/Literature

I will second the earlier suggestion to read, "What Has Government Done to Our Money"

Interesting background to our monetary system from a perspective you won't get from University texts (this is one Ron's favorite books too):

http://mises.org/document/617/What-H...e-to-Our-Money

Even better IMO and more detailed in regards to historical matters over conceptional ideas of monetary policy is:

"History of Money and Banking in the United States: The Colonial Era to World War II"

http://mises.org/document/1022/Histo...o-World-War-II