Free Lunch: Easily Digestible Economics [Paperback]

Once again David Smith has demonstrated his talent for opening up the world of economics and finance to a general audience.

David Smith delivers a highly accessible guide to a subject that many claim to understand but very few do.

Those of you looking for an entertaining and stimulating gift should look no further than this excellent new book..it's worth every penny.

This book is a good read. It is well written and in a few hours someone who didn't know much about economics could learn a great deal.

Updated with a filling course on the credit crunch, this digestible guide to economics, organised like a convivial meal with friends, will lead you through many of the mysteries of the economy. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

'There's no such thing as a free lunch' is the one phrase everyone has heard from economics. But why not? Never? What does economics tell us about the price of lunch - and everything else in the world? This is the perfect introduction to economics. It is not some dreary textbook, but an explanation of how economics works and how it can help to solve all sorts of interesting problems. Written for the lay reader, this book makes the economics pages of the newspaper intelligible, the financial pages interesting and answers questions all of us worry about, like how can house prices carry on rising so much? Is there no limit to the increase in their prices? Set out like a good lunch-time conversation, the book follows the course of a meal, with starters (the introduction), main course and then the discussion which one always has at the end of a good meal. And along the way there are a few guest speakers (Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes) who make appearances to enliven the meal and entertain and inform us, the diners. This is a clever, completely original and witty introduction to economics. It costs less than even the cheapest meal and is far more satisfying than even the most gourmet banquet.

David Smith is Economics Editor of The Sunday Times. He has a number of other books under his belt and is regularly on the radio and television, commentating on economics.