Dr. Sowell is clearly a conservative economist. He advocates reliance on the free market to distribute goods. He bases his case on the fact that it is nearly impossible for a government or other planner to have the knowledge needed to set prices for all the items in an economy, especially when the relative value of those items are changing all the time. The book also discusses and suprisingly debunks some ideas on the bad effects of trade imbalances. He also points out that "known reserves" of commodities depend heavily on the relative price at which the commodity is available. Sowell is an entertaining and lively writer, and this book went by very quickly. ( )

A Stanford professor of economics, Sowell writes a clear and concise explanation of economics for the layman. Follow up with Economics in One Lesson.

Clear and thorough. I wish everyone would read this, especially if they ever vote or make choices. ( )

http://www.jimmyakin.org/2004/12/thom... ( )