Seidman (economics, U. of Delaware) uses dialogic "parables" to introduce undergraduates to neoclassical economics. Fictional characters such as "Senator Myopia," "Autarkus," and "Naivus" are used to demonstrate the basic ideas of micro-and macro-economics and apply them to a number of policy questions in the United States, including social security, health insurance, education, and poverty. Seidman aims his work at undergraduates who only plan to take one economics course in their college career, hoping the novel format will spice up the "dismal science." Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR