Economics

I've recently become more interested in politics and economics, but I've come to realize that I know about nothing about economics (which is a shame and an embarrassment ).
Could someone recommend a book for learning something about this subject? I think I might be most interested in macro-economics, if thats the kind thats about exchange of goods between countries etc

thanks!

I'd suggest Peddling Prosperity and The Return of Depression Economics And The Crisis Of 2008 by Paul Krugman, and Globalization And Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz. These are as much commentaries on current events as they are primers on macroeconomics, and much, much more interesting to read than textbooks.

Then, I'd suggest you start tracking at least the following blogs:

Economist's View by Mark Thoma
Grasping Reality With Both Hands by Brad deLong
Conscience Of A Liberal by Paul Krugman

Yeah, these tilt left. So sue me.

...

Okay, if you insist:

Greg Mankiw's Blog, by... Greg Mankiw, the 23. best economist in the USA, and a staunch right-winger.

John Mauldin's newsletter is aimed at investor's, but you almost always see economics being discussed.

thanks guys. I really appreciate it, although I'm a liberal center person (which would probably be at the far left in the US ). If I had to read ONE book, which should it be?

I'd start with Peddling Prosperity. It describes the basic concepts of macroeconomics -- supply and demand curves, comparative advantage, the basics of monetary policy, what's meant by growth, recessions, and the business cycle, that sort of thing. It's relatively compact and very well written.

The only downside is that it has a bit of a political agenda -- for example, it omits concepts like "adjustment costs" which have very important policy implications. But you can always study up on that sort of thing later.

Thanks! I'll have a look at it