The Fun Books of Economics

shelved under Business

Many great books have been written lately about the dismal science of economics. The once madatory core class for business majors has come more into the pop culture and nomenclature. Economics covers such a large area and explains in monetary terms how society acts and the the costs of moralizing. Economics is often just sociology being quantified and explained. A once boring business topic is now at the forefront.

 

Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

A great story by Ayn Rand explaining the economics of how the capitalist of the world keep it moving forward and when their incentive dies so does the economy. A fictional story that centers around a woman as its main capitalist.

 

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

by Stephen J. Dubner, Steven D. Levitt

Leavitt and Dubner make sense of the non-sensical, explain the unexplainable, and do it through use of statistics and sociology. Excellent book. (I loved the explanation on the drop of violent crime——not anything an administration did)

 

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell’s latest and weakest effort. Still good, but not on the level of Blink. He basically says that there is no such thing as dumb luck or lucky sperm, rather the successful elite work their tails off.

 

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell

One of my favorite non-fiction books of all time. Explains that we humans should trust our instincts.

This book also appears on The Books of Malcolm Gladwell

 

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell’s first book — that was widely popular with churches and businesses — explains why stuff gets popular, why we migrate seemingly all at once to a subject/gimmick/TV show, etc.

This book also appears on The Books of Malcolm Gladwell

 

The Fountainhead

by Ayn Rand

I need to read this again but it is profound. Ayn Rand introduces us to the concept of Objectivism, which for me, means laissez-faire capitalism and government should leave me alone so that I can follow my bliss...

 

Silent Witness

by Richard North Patterson

This book has nothing to do with economics. I found the book intriguing with its use of flashbacks and the backdrop of high school to set the stage in the reflective moments of the book.