The Literary Book of Economics
by Michael Watts, ed.
Hardcover: Intercollegiate Studies Inst. (2003); 450 pages

About This Book
This book is an amalgam of 78 excerpts from both classic and modern literature that touch on 21 important economic topics. Those topics include supply and demand, unemployment, income inequality, cost-benefit analysis, and scarcity, to name a few. The spectrum of authors cited is well-chosen and broad: choices range from the likes of Shakespeare and Milton to Arthur Miller and Amy Tan; from Fitzgerald and Hugo to Jon Krakauer and Kurt Vonnegut.

Most selections illustrate a certain economic principle in operation, though some show how the said principle drives the characters or plot. Each section and selection is its own whole and can be read independently, so the book is, in function and usability, a practical reference book. The book is, essentially, an innovative and palatable introduction to the infamous science of economics.

How It Will Help
This book is a gold mine of interesting quotations about money from outside the Bible. For those hearers who are not yet convinced about the value of the Bible, this may be a source for ideas that will cause them to perk up their ears and listen. These examples are taken from a vast array of noteworthy authors, and from some of their best works.

About the Author
Michael W. Watts is professor of economics, director of the Purdue Center for Economic Education, and an associate editor of the Journal of Economic Education at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.

He has served as president of the National Association of Economic Educators and the Society of Economics Educators, as Vice President of the Midwest Economic Association, and as a member of the American Economic Association's Committee on Economic Education.

Dr. Watt's articles have appeared in the Journal of Economic Education, Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Review, Southern Economic Journal, Economic Inquiry, Eastern Economic Journal, and other professional journals. He has served as a consultant for such organizations as the National Council on Economic Education, Educational Testing Services, Internal Revenue Service, Microsoft, U.S. Information Agency, and the Christian Theological Seminary.

Watts received his BA, MA, and his PhD—all in economics—from Louisiana State University.

Other books by Watts:

Reforming Economics and Economics Teaching in the Transition Economies (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002)
Teaching Economics to Undergraduates: Alternatives to Chalk and Talk (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2000)