The best books that are "almost" economics

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm addicted to discovering what lies within the unknown. The biggest mystery, I believe, that baffles us today is not necessarily what lies at the edge of the universe but what lives within this one here. I enjoy attempting to solve large problems and if I can’t compute a result at least understand what the problem suggests. In the realm of the unknown, I'm an expert of nothing. In hours of research and reading and writing, one comes to a point in their process of learning with the realization that it does not matter how much one learns, there will always be that much more, logarithmically multiplied exponentially by the rate of acceleration, to learn.


I wrote...

Hourglass Socioeconomics: Vol. 1, Principles & Fundamentals

By Blaine Stewart,

Book cover of Hourglass Socioeconomics: Vol. 1, Principles & Fundamentals

What is my book about?

The Hourglass Socioeconomic series is a true scientific approach to how money governs the world and what can be done within an applicable socioeconomic system to find an equilibrium factoring all variables. The slow build up from Volume 1 meets a head in Volume 3 when theoretical physics is added both mathematically as well as allegorically to define static moments from the history of the world melting into the status quo in today’s timeline. From introduction in Volume 1 to the what, to the how in Volume 2, to the because in Volume 3, and ending with the why in Volume 4, readers can expect their interpretation of the mechanics of society to evolve one word at a time.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Milton Friedman on Economics: Selected Papers

Blaine Stewart Why did I love this book?

Ultimately, I am recommending this book to you because Milton Friedman is one of the founders of Capitalism and winner of the Nobel. I enjoyed reading this book in college for the significant impact it holds. Truly, in a free market society based on survival of the fittest, one is forced to outlive the other. However, a great author will combine the two polar dynamic ideologies into one. While Milton Friedman’s work has historical implications on modern society, it is out of date. 

By Milton Friedman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Milton Friedman on Economics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Upon his death in the autumn of 2006, Milton Friedman was lauded as "the grandmaster of free-market economic theory in the postwar era" by the "New York Times" and "the most influential economist of the second half of the twentieth century" by the "Economist". Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976, Friedman was both a highly respected economist and a prominent public intellectual, the leader of a revolution in economic and political thought that argued robustly in favor of the virtues of free markets and laissez-faire policies. "Milton Friedman on Economics" collects a variety of Friedman's papers on…


Book cover of The Communist Manifesto

Blaine Stewart Why did I love this book?

In a divergence from authoritarianism, The Communist Manifesto explains the ideologies and methods of mobilizing individuals around a common cause. Historically, the gravitational pull toward complete control by the ruling party separates cause from the common individual. Theoretically, the works of Marx and Engels should work, as described, if indeed humanity was naturally of goodwill and intent. I recommend reading The Communist Manifesto for informative purposes but not for application. It is important to understand both sides of a coin if you are to flip it into the air.

By Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Communist Manifesto as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.'

Marx and Engels's revolutionary summons to the working classes - one of the most important and influential political theories ever formulated.

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate;…


Book cover of Moneyless Society: The Next Economic Evolution

Blaine Stewart Why did I love this book?

Moneyless Society, conceptually, is a curious read. Tracking how money affects us all and its presence as a centralized decay against society is another curious concept. I enjoyed reading Moneyless Society for the context of why change needs to be made. Surrounded by the author’s intent in publication is a group of individuals committed to making change. I may quote in my own volumes that money is necessary as a tool but that does not mean you can’t argue otherwise. Moneyless Society is a great feel-good economic story through history into potential change.

By Matthew Holten,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Moneyless Society as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

IT'S TIME FOR AN ECONOMIC EVOLUTION.The evidence is all around us: Humans are squandering natural resources and destroying the environment. There is no real debate about climate change. And with an ever-widening wealth gap, inequality is destabilizing many regions and worsening famine, disease, and civil unrest.

We must change, fast - and yet we hesitate.

Moneyless Society: The Next Economic Evolution explores how capitalism throttles Earth's capacity to sustain life and undermines our deep longing to live in peace and prosperity. Fortunately, it also provides a blueprint to innovative thinking and new structures to replace our outmoded monetary system. In…


Book cover of The Trickle-Up Economy: How We Take from the Poor and Middle Class and Give to the Rich

Blaine Stewart Why did I love this book?

Since the days of Ronald Regan, trickle-down economic theory has been a pipe dream of the uneducated and I don’t even have a degree. Mark Mattern does a great job inverting the theory of trickle-down in explaining that indeed wealth piles from the bottom up not drip down from the top. I recommend reading this book before you read mine for the simple fact that instead of inverted trickle-down theory, I describe how water moves like a stream through an ecosystem. If it is not properly pitched from the mountaintop to the valley, with proper displacement of creatures below, and flow rate through the foothills, we are inevitably left dependent on drinking from a wasteland.

By Mark Mattern,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Trickle-Up Economy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most durable myths of US political economy is that we take from the rich and give to the poor - penalising the rich for their hard work and rewarding the undeserving. Mark Mattern turns that story on its head. Documenting the everyday, institutionalised ways that income and wealth are transferred upward in the United States, Mattern shows how in fact the bottom subsidises the top.

His provocative analysis, describing in detail the processes and policy choices that systematically favour the rich, is both a tale of "Robin Hood in reverse" and a call for a more equitable,…


Book cover of ABCs of Economics: Simple Explanations of Complex Concepts Like Supply, Demand, Capital, and More for Toddlers and Kids

Blaine Stewart Why did I love this book?

This is a serious recommendation if you are to read my volumes. Why? Shapes and illustrations. I read this book as a kid and, as you might imagine, it was my favorite book. There is no better investment into our future than investing into the basic understanding of society and commerce. But, back to shapes. My own series includes a vast array of shapes and imagery to tell the story, from what to how to because to why. 

By Chris Ferrie, Veronica Goodman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked ABCs of Economics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Chris Ferrie's bestselling scientific series is expanding!
It only takes a small spark to ignite a child's mind! The ABCs of Economics introduces babies (and grownups!) to a new economic concept for each letter of the alphabet. From asymmetric, business cycle, and capital, all the way to zero sum. It's never too early to become an economist!
With scientific and mathematical information from an expert, this is the perfect book for enlightening the next generation of geniuses.


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Wealth Odyssey: The Essential Road Map for Your Financial Journey Where Is It You Are Really Trying to Go with Money?

By Larry R. Frank Sr., Maxwell Limanowski (editor), Peter Sander (editor)

Book cover of Wealth Odyssey: The Essential Road Map for Your Financial Journey Where Is It You Are Really Trying to Go with Money?

Larry R. Frank Sr. Author Of Wealth Odyssey: The Essential Road Map for Your Financial Journey Where Is It You Are Really Trying to Go with Money?

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Father Grandfather Business founder Planner and thinker Income and longevity researcher

Larry's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

What are you trying to do with your money?

Few of us take the time to analyze our financial needs and goals to answer that pressing question. In Wealth Odyssey, author Larry R. Frank Sr. uses his extensive financial background to provide a universal road map that will help you determine the wealth you need to support your chosen lifestyle.

Frank discusses such topics as the wealth rule, the earning-spending-saving formula, using debt wisely, and 
risk management. 

Wealth Odyssey is authored to be timeless; it does not matter what the market has done, or will do. This is a practical, no-nonsense guide that will help you develop a personal definition of wealth and create an effective strategy for long-term financial success.

Wealth Odyssey: The Essential Road Map for Your Financial Journey Where Is It You Are Really Trying to Go with Money?

By Larry R. Frank Sr., Maxwell Limanowski (editor), Peter Sander (editor)

What is this book about?

"Frank, a Certified Financial Planner in California, offers a concise, precise guide to "prudent thinking" about personal finances, along with simple tools to estimate how much is required for a comfortable retirement." "A sound guide designed to help people make sensible plans for a successful retirement" - Kirkus book review "First let me tell you Larry Frank knows his stuff. He has a procedure that many will find worth taking the time to implement.” " The book is full of good advice." - Armchair interviews "Larry Frank Sr, gives you a guidebook or "road map" for your financial goals or…


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