Practical Economics

Unlock the secrets of the economy with Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, the essential guide for understanding how the world truly works, without the jargon or complex equations. Sowell dismantles economic myths and empowers you to analyze policies based on real-world incentives, not just proclaimed goals.

From rent control to international trade, explore the fundamentals governing capitalist, socialist, and every other type of economy with crystal-clear explanations and captivating examples drawn from across the globe and throughout history. Discover why some nations prosper while others struggle, and gain the economic literacy you need to form your own informed opinions. Whether you're a student, a concerned citizen, or simply curious, Basic Economics offers a uniquely accessible and enjoyable path to economic understanding.

Is scarcity the defining characteristic of our time? Plagued by unaffordable housing, worker shortages, and a sluggish transition to clean energy, America faces a crisis of underbuilding. In Abundance, bestselling authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson challenge this paradigm of scarcity, delivering a compelling call to revitalize a politics of plenty. They dissect the political, economic, and cultural barriers that stifle progress, revealing how well-intentioned solutions of the past have become the obstacles of today. Abundance offers a path forward, urging us to move beyond mere preservation to a future where government effectively builds and delivers, creating a society defined not by fear, but by abundance.

From New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Evan Osnos comes a timely and provocative collection of essays exploring American oligarchy and the culture of excess, providing a wry, unfiltered look at how the ultrarich shape—and sometimes warp—our social and political landscape. The ultrarich hold more of America’s wealth than they did in the heyday of the Carnegies and Rockefellers. Here, Evan Osnos’s incisive reportage yields an unforgettable portrait of the tactics and obsessions driving this new Gilded Age, in which superyachts, luxury bunkers, elite tax dodges, and a torrent of political donations bespeak staggering disparities of wealth and power. With deft storytelling and meticulous reporting, this is a book about the indulgences, incentives, and psychological distortions that define our economic age. In each essay, Osnos delves into a world that is rarely visible, from the outrageous to the fabulous to the ridiculous: a private wealth manager who broke with members of an American dynasty and spilled their secrets; the pop stars who perform at lavish parties for thirteen-year-olds; the status anxieties that spill out of marinas in Monaco and Palm Beach like real-world episodes of Succession and The White Lotus ; the ethos behind the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history; the confessions of disgraced titans in a “white-collar support group.” A celebrated political reporter, Osnos delves into the unprecedented Washington influence of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, drawing on in-depth interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires, about their power and the explosive backlash it stirs. Originally published in The New Yorker , these essays have been revised and expanded to deliver an unflinching portrait of raw ambition, unimaginable fortune, and the rise of America’s modern oligarchy. Osnos’s essays are a wake-up call—a case against complacency in the face of unchecked excess, as the choices of the ultrarich ripple through our lives. Entertaining, unsettling, and eye-opening, The Haves and the Have-Yachts couldn’t be more relevant to today’s world.

Is artificial intelligence poised to dominate the world, rendering human skills obsolete? Linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna expose these fears as symptoms of "AI hype"—a phenomenon that enriches the powerful while devaluing human creativity and masking exploitative data practices.

In The AI Con, Bender and Hanna dissect the deceptive claims surrounding AI, revealing its true impact on jobs, society, and the environment. With sharp wit and incisive analysis, they equip you with the tools to recognize and dismantle AI hype, empowering you to challenge its influence in the workplace, marketplace, media, and policy. Unmasking Big Tech's relentless pursuit of profit, The AI Con is your essential guide to navigating the age of artificial intelligence with critical awareness and informed action.