The day after posting the review by Philip Thorton of What You Need to Know About Economics, by George Buckley and Sumeet Desai, another introductory guide to economics turned up in the post. It's The Economist's Economics: Making Sense of the Modern Economy, edited by Saugato Datta with articles written by Economist journalists.

This is a third and 'radically revised' edition. It starts out with basic economic ideas, turns next to aspects of the global economy and the financial crisis and recession, and finally puts the spotlight on economics itself. This section looks at the post-crisis critique of the subject and then dips into some of the ways economics has been changing, such as behavioural economics and experimental methods. The third section is less comprehensive a survey of the most recent trends in economics than my own book The Soulful Science, but makes the same underlying point about modern economics being in reality rather different from the stereotype that is so often criticised.

From the essays I've read so far, this is a thoroughly clear and accessible book, as one would expect from The Economist stable. I think it serves a useful purpose, too, in discussing economics in the context of the global crisis for the general audience. It consists of a series of articles so on the one hand (as we economists say) it can seem disjointed but on the other hand is therefore ideal for picking up at odd moments to read an essay or two. It would be particularly useful for A level and beginning undergraduate students, although equally handy for the general newspaper reader who needs greater enlightenment in the face of the cacophony of daily reporting.