Foundations of Economics: A Beginner's Companion

I have been considering going back to school to study economics. Economics has been either the central theme of or at least played a supporting role in of most of the books I have read in the past year.I could not put this book down. At its heart it is a plea for people to keep faith in the discipline despite its many problems, and for those already deeply involvedin economics to open their minds to some of the things that may be preventing them from seeing the forest through the trees.Yanis' honesty is what drew me in the most as I find it hard not to take seriously a person who is just as quick to criticize his own thoughts and arguments as those of people with a different idealogical point of view.I have already opened a second book of his (Modern Political Economics), and will credit this book as being the final straw in my decision to formally study economics.

Amazing book...well thought out arguments. I took about 4 courses in economics throughout my Business undergrad degree yet they were never taught like this. I might've switched over to Econ if they were...

Purchased the paperback version to read along with the assigned economics textbook. I find Varoufakis' discussion lively and interesting, the book makes an excellent companion read and raises interesting questions that don't surface in the standard textbook.However...the print quality in the paperback is truly awful. The edition notice says "Transferred to Digital Printing 2005" which apparently means my 1990-era Epson dot matrix printer found a good retirement home at Routledge. The print is blurry and the background of every page is a light dot pattern. Really not acceptable in a $70 book. The content is great, and even though I like printed textbooks, in this case I suggest getting the kindle edition over paper. 5 stars for the ideas minus a star for the print quality.

I am not finished with this book yet...to this moment I am half of the way. This book reads like a good novel, it is so well written that you can not put it down!!!All issues are fairly addressed and explained. When you can learn and have a little bit of fun reading a book...It can not get any better...If you are not an economist ( good for you!!!) but like me , are interested in the subjet..this book is for you.

I like reading books on subjects I know little about.When interested in economics, I was referred to the this book several times.I hesitated at first due to the price, but decided to go with it due to recommendations (something I rarely gamble on)I was very pleased. Well written, and easy to read. Just what I was looking for. I really want to see how Varoufakis would tackle companions for other subjects beyond economics.

A lot of common sense

Very easy to follow and accessible writing. As a business student trying to grasp various concepts, this was a fantastic supplement to my assigned materials.

This is a wonderful book that offers the essentials of the economics profession then them using substantial evidence. I would recommend this to anyone studying economics.

Despite the subtitle – A beginner's companion – this book is best read by students who have taken or are taking second year microeconomics. It deftly summarizes the content of the standard text, gives an account of how those ideas developed, and provides an incisive critique, written in Varoufakis's superb style. The book is a bit pricey, but worth every cent.

Foundations of Economics is based on an introductory lecture on microeconomics. Hence, it is sort of chaotic but also very entertaining. Varoufakis vividly explains the basic concepts of standard economic theory (utility, preferences, etc.). What is great about this textbook is the focus on the history of economic ideas and the philosophical critique of the numerous assumptions behind them. I really enjoyed reading this book. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t recommend it to other readers. The quality of the paperback is really poor. Besides, the book remains at the surface of the issues it discusses. I would rather suggest (as does the author in this book) to read Heilbroner’s "Worldly Philosophers" if you're interested in the history of economic thought. In case you're studying economics, you'll need a more extensive textbook anyway. And there are plenty of introductions into the philosophy of economics that are more clearly arranged and less polemical than this one.

Great book, horrific print quality by Amazon fulfillment. It looks like it was just photo copied at extremely low DPI, with all of the blank space between lines filled with a grid of black dots, many artifacts. This is blurry and completely unacceptable for something that a human would supposedly spend hours looking directly at.

Good way to put neoclassical economic models in perspective while still providing a thorough overview. Emphasizes how an economic theory that doesn't take into account the richness and diversity of human social interactions will be impoverished (functionally, mathematically, predictively, and otherwise).

il libro mi e' piaciuto perche scritto in modo chiaro ed esauriente. A mio parere e' in grado di offrire una ottima conoscenza di base della materia economica