Harford is obviously well read, well traveled and decent at explaining complex concepts. This book is 6th grade reading level, tops, and explains the obvious. I would rather have spent my $25 on numerous other things, like a good meal or $25 worth of coffee. If you understand nothing about economics or have a cursory understanding but lack common sense, then this is the book for you. Very disappointing.

I read this book back-to-back with Steven D. Levitt's "Freakonomics." Both are interesting and well-written, but quite different in tone. Harford attempts to present basic economic theory in a unified context, drawing on daily-life examples, while Levitt's book spends more time exploring "oddball" examples of economically-motivated behavior. The two authors, both economists, make some of the same basic points (e.g. that economics is really the study of how people respond to opportunities and incentives) but Harford is more intent on proposing remedies to what he sees as flaws in "pure" market-driven systems. Occasionally he gets a bit preachy, and he is inclined to make proposals whose economic soundness is questionable. Of the two books, I'd recommend this one if you want a good lay introduction to economic theory, and "Freakonomics" if you're looking more for intriguing nuggets to use in cocktail party conversation.

The Undercover Economist's aim "is to help you see the world through the eyes of an economist." The book builds momentum early on delving into concepts such as:

1. scarcity power - farmers vs. landowners, or coffee shops on busy streets vs. coffee drinkers running late to work
2. "the world of truth" - trying to by a "lemon" vs. a "peach" at the used car lot, when you know nothing and the dealer knows everything
3. externalities - pollution or traffic -- things that cannot be negotiated between two or more parties without some top-level planning
4. game theory - Von Neumann's desire to understand the game of poker, which ultimately lead to his and Oskar Morgenstern's work, "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior," which essentially created game theory!

The book does a good job of highlighting both the successes and failures of economic theory when in practice. Proving that understanding economic theory is no silver bullet, and that you still need common sense to craft good policies. And often, suggestions are made which require top-down policy making, such as taxing traffic to eliminate conjestion with no clear method how to get there. Perhaps, this is an exercise left to the reader. :)

Harford's skill throughout the book is at diving deep into familiar issues and exposing the larger economic forces which drive them using simple yet effective English, no formulas or esoterica. Harford's ability at continually weaving the perfect metaphor or example with the thread of economic theory is seamless. To this end, this book is a great success. However, when the book, coming to its end, attempts to uncover globalization, the theme quickly falls apart and exposes the author's own biases. To be fair, Harford admits both that the topic of globalization demands its own book, and that he is heavily biased in favor of free trade. However, he grapples with the difficult topic anyway and has mixed results.

Referred by a friend, I read this book. It immidiately attracted my attention. Through practical stories and examples, it brings the dry classic economic theory in life, yet profoundly. After I read this book, my view point get sharp to see how the business work and how to deal with the daily life. Why we struggle to make comparative advantage, how to reward the employees? This book opened my mind in my practice business world, and immediately we feel the inovative change. This is the single book mostly affected my life. A philosophy with Math principle.