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highlanderajax's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
EH. That sums this up. EH.
The main schtick of this book is that it connects concepts about foodstuffs to concepts about economics. For instance, limes are discussed, then it's described how they were used in the Royal Navy to combat scurvy. The RN mandated, as an entity, that citrus fruits must be included in every sailor's diet, which dropped scurvy levels massively compared to rival powers. This is used to explain why legislative measures & state actions can be required to force particular change in economic systems. Pretty neat. It's a cool schitck. The author does also have legit economic creds, and appears to be knowledgeable about the majority of the subjects. The stars that this book does earn, it earns due to the awareness and knowledge the author clearly has, and for being something that is at least different to the majority of economic-based works currently floating around.
Things come undone in a few major ways.
The main schtick of this book is that it connects concepts about foodstuffs to concepts about economics. For instance, limes are discussed, then it's described how they were used in the Royal Navy to combat scurvy. The RN mandated, as an entity, that citrus fruits must be included in every sailor's diet, which dropped scurvy levels massively compared to rival powers. This is used to explain why legislative measures & state actions can be required to force particular change in economic systems. Pretty neat. It's a cool schitck. The author does also have legit economic creds, and appears to be knowledgeable about the majority of the subjects. The stars that this book does earn, it earns due to the awareness and knowledge the author clearly has, and for being something that is at least different to the majority of economic-based works currently floating around.
Things come undone in a few major ways.
- This does not have much actual detail about the economics. I have what I consider a basic level of economic understanding, and this provided almost no new detail. I was underwhelmed.
- The premises and principles relied on are sound. The connections drawn are...fine. The conclusions are the blandest, most lukewarm revelations imaginable. Like, did you know that profit-before-all mentalities might not be great? And childcare is underpaid?
- It advocates for change, which is absolutely laudable. I don't actually disagree with most of the ideas presented. However, it stops short of actually providing information about how such change might reasonably be achieved, and the practical ramifications. My notes in this book have, at the end of half the chapters, a line saying "here's where the pointers for next steps should go."
There are also some points where the author has clearly stepped outside of his zone of knowledge. In one instance, he steps INTO mine - and he does not do a very good job there. This unfortunately compels me to wonder how many other places he has done this in that I can't see. Moreover, he fails to flex his economic knowledge fully, and settles for milquetoast musings to finish each chapter.
I think I can sum this book up by indulging in one of its beloved food metaphors. This book would be a series of starter dishes or appetizers, served one after another in a manner that promises a main course, but never delivers one. The dishes would be passable, but lack substance. They would taste acceptable, but never truly delicious. I would beg the chef to stop serving teasers, and instead bring me actual food.
This book is very light fare indeed. It's fine if you want a collection of semi-interesting, semi-insightful, part-education part-polemic pieces. If you have almost no understanding of economics & would like something that's easily read & does at least make good points about neoclassical & free market economics, this is fine. If you want more, you should go somewhere else, and get a proper meal.
I think I can sum this book up by indulging in one of its beloved food metaphors. This book would be a series of starter dishes or appetizers, served one after another in a manner that promises a main course, but never delivers one. The dishes would be passable, but lack substance. They would taste acceptable, but never truly delicious. I would beg the chef to stop serving teasers, and instead bring me actual food.
This book is very light fare indeed. It's fine if you want a collection of semi-interesting, semi-insightful, part-education part-polemic pieces. If you have almost no understanding of economics & would like something that's easily read & does at least make good points about neoclassical & free market economics, this is fine. If you want more, you should go somewhere else, and get a proper meal.
beetree's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
I thought I was getting a book about the economics of food and though I was disappointed this was not the case, I actually really did like it. I thought it was well-balanced and interesting and the food framing was effective in getting me through my first book about economics.
teokajlibroj's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a big fan of Ha-Joon Chang, but I'm not really sure what the point of this book is. The structure is very disjointed and feels like a collection of ramblings. The food parts don't really connect with the economics parts, so there is no overall narrative.