[econophile]

i think some of these topics are too broad to really be covered by one book in more than a cursory fashion.

take chess for instance. one book can teach you the rules and basic strategy; another book can teach you about great chessmasters; another book can teach you about openings; but there is no complete chess book. to recommend a chess book, we would need to know what you want to learn about chess.

i think economics is similarly broad. hazlitt's book is certainly useful, but it is also 50 years old and therefor doesn't cover recent advances such as the economics of information. the point of the book - understanding why markets work - is very fundamental, but i think it is equally important to learn how and why markets can fail (this is a more recent theme of economics). still, i have trouble thinking of a good book. something like "lives of the laureates" should explain the most important economic ideas of the last five decades, but i've never read it so i can't vouch for it.