This is my first book, published in 1986 with a colleague Michael Keane. I was a young lecturer in Galway at the time. There may be a few copies left. It is long overdue a reprint! So why not contact the publishers and have look at the book on their web page www.ipa.ie and use their ‘WebCat’ to check out the book. The book was an attempt to introduce economics as an aid in our understanding of every day issues. As a short and easily readable book it provided the concepts and the explanations to enliven discussion of everyday issues. It is suitable for the student of economics and for the layperson. It covers demand and supply, consumer behaviour, costs, prices and competition. The case studies in the book are newspaper articles from the time period.