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Average Customer Rating:

'Ok'

Customer Rating:

I found this book to be written in a very formal style, rather long winded sentences and a bit hard to stick with. I agree with a reviewer above how mentioned that the examples became too much of the backbone behind the concepts... and I found myself re-reading the EXAMPLE over and over to try and understand or infer the 'rule' that should be learnt and applied. This isn't the easiest way to do things..

If possible - buy another one

Customer Rating:

Whether a text is understandable and accessible ultimately depends on the reader; some people find a text well-written while others do not. Begg's Economics, although heavily advertised as the "Student Bible" of Economics, has proved to be among those books I do not find easily accessible. While I acknowledge that some may find it helpful, I want to outline my criticism of the text for those who are expecting similar qualities of a textbook as I do. It should be mentioned that Begg's Economics is far from incomplete. It is very unlikely that topics that come up in introductory Economic Analysis classes are not covered in this book; indeed, it might be among the most comprehensive textbooks for that purpose. It is accurate in its descriptions and very clear in its structure; furthermore, it makes frequent application of current economic data, a feature many textbooks lack. However, I have found several drawbacks about this book. Firstly, it is neither really general nor really specific. When explaining an economic issue or concept, the authors frequently employ examples that span over several columns, sometimes failing to draw a general conclusion from these examples. While examples are essential in understanding economic concepts, what we finally need is the general rule behind them; but since an example can often only explain bits of a concept, it is also not specific enough. Disentangling example from rule is not easy with this book, and instead of making a concept more easily understandable, this text confused me or bored me so much that I had to give up and use other books. This leads me to my second criticism. The book is written in a boring and confusing style. While I do not honestly expect any writer of such a book to come up with a bedtime read, there are plenty of other textbooks that succeed in making concepts understandable in a down-to-earth language, not economic jargon. When reading this book, I found myself wondering whether I should be studying economics because, quite apart from understanding the concept explained, I did not even come to terms with the language. With other textbooks, I did not get this feeling, even if I had to work hard to understand an issue. To sum up, I found this book very discouraging; however, my lecturer in Introduction to Economic Analysis strictly adhered to both structure and coverage of this book, so that I could not simply buy another one. While I am studying in England, I think that US introductory textbooks are the best when it comes to easily readable and understandable texts. My favourites in that department would be Samuelson & Nordhaus' Economics, which is superbly written by two excellent economists, but sometimes unconventional in its structure of chapters and topics; and any of N. Gregory Mankiw's Economics textbooks, which are provide an excellent and, believe it or not, refreshing read. However, his textbooks lack some of the concepts required of UK undergraduates. A very good English textbook is Lipsey & Chrystal's Principles of Economics, well-written and most comprehensive, with probably the clearest structure you can get.

worst book for introductory economics	Customer Rating:
unkind explanation, unsuitable topics for introduction of economics. Should buy another book.