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sixes_and_sevens comments on Open Thread March 31 - April 7 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion
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Continuing the use of LW as my source for non-fiction recommendations...
Any suggestions on a decent popular-but-not-too-dumbed-down intro to Economics?
Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan, is a good all-rounder. It's America-centric, but still generally applicable.
The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford is a good popular micro/market/margins introduction.
The Armchair Economist by Steven Landsburg is the granddaddy of popular economics books. It's very much "here's how economists think". Unfortunately it doesn't do the profession many favours, because Steven Landsburg is kind of obnoxious.
I generally recommend one of these three to friends who show an interest. The first is the default. The second is for slightly nerdier clientèle, and the third is for people who won't be put off by kind-of-obnoxious writers. If you can forego the "popular" bit of your requirements, Cowen and Tabarrok's Modern Principles textbooks are highly readable and quite entertaining.
Thanks for those recommendation, I was a bit disappointed by Naked Economics, your alternatives seem to be what I was looking for!
Naked Economics is the most human-friendly pop-econ book I've read. For a reader who isn't familiar with utilitarian frameworks or cost-benefit analysis, it's a more gentle opposition-softener.
It's also less likely to leave a reader thinking "economics says we should do away with all governance". This makes it more palatable to left-leaning readers and less confirmation-bias-y to existing free-marketeers. When you're at a dinner party, it's easy to spot people who've read a single pop-economics book.