"A Student's Guide to Economics" by Paul Heyne is the first book in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) series that I have encountered. On the basis of this one slim volume (64 pages total) I have just ordered the guides for several other subjects, because this one is impressive, and well worth the cost.



Heyne's eloquent summary of the people, basic concepts, and some main ideas that make up the historical and current body of economics is remarkable for being masterfully (yet conversationally) written, and artfully distilled. I will keep re-reading this book over and over because it bears very careful reading, though it is deceptively simple prose (and thankfully contains no mathematical formulas to wrestle with). The "big" ideas he presents as questions to be asked and problems to be solved in a market economy are thought-provoking, long after the book is put down.



As an introduction to economics this book would be a great (or even an essential) gift for a high school student or college freshman who truly wants to receive a modern education. But any adult who knows little about economics or economists and reads this book will be in a better position to understand more and ask more questions about what our teachers, media, and government are telling us (and what they're not). So I am also buying additional copies to give to my friends who wonder, "What IS the 'economic way of thinking' about current policies and events and why should we care?"



The book includes a bibliography for additional reading that would keep me busy for a year or more. A serious student interested in economics would salivate. Thanks to Paul Heyne, this book is definitely a winner.