The Undercover Economist

by Tim Harford; Sandy's book #12

I learned more about economics from this 252-page book than I did from my entire 11th grade civics class (sorry, Mr. Ramsdell.) Author Tim Harford purports to expose "why the rich are rich, the poor are poor, and why you can never buy a decent used car." Along the way, he also manages to illuminate what the hell is wrong with the U.S. health care system (answer: a lot) and why boycotting products made in Third World sweatshops won't do a modicum of good for anyone.

I admit that my eyes did glaze over during certain "story-problem"-type scenarios (because let's face it, a lot of economics has to do with math and logic-- not my strong suits!), but I'm proud of myself for getting to the end of something that could legitimately be deemed "brain food." My medulla oblongata usually has no appetite for such things.