A Conversation with Alan Beattie

There is a reason they call economics "the dismal science." It's not much fun to realize there isn't enough of anything to go around...

But for me, economics is dismal because I can't wrap my head around it. I tried! I took undergraduate course in both macro- and micro-economics, and I can't blame my professors, either: One of them is such an entertaining and dynamic expert in his field that his books on baseball and economics have become famous. I am just not an "econ head."

Fortunately, Alan Beattie, like my former prof, is both an "econ head" and an entertaining and dynamic expert in his field, which is why it was such fun to read his new book "False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World." When you're untangling deep ties between asparagus and diamonds, economics takes on the kind of life that it can't in textbooks. 

If you love Malcolm Gladwell's books, I can almost guarantee you'll also love "False Economy" -- and you'll have a treat watching my interview with the very smart and funny Beattie, too.