As one advances in economics, it may prove beneficial from time to time to go back to the basics, which is what this text is - an introduction to eocnomic reasoning utilizing an unbiased treatment of differing and competing economic theories. There is simply no way any professional economist would call this text advanced! While Colander may address a broad scope of subjects within the field of economics, he does so in a manner consistent with an introductory treatment. One does not even have to use math if preferred.
His conversational style may not be for everyone, but it worked well for me. It's not often that I have laughed out loud reading an Econ text, but I did with this book. I found it to be a refreshing and entertaining treatment of an otherwise dry subject. By the way, I have no affiliation to the publisher or author, which was a concern of the previous negative reviewer. For anyone considering the purchase, or even classroom use of this text, I'd be happy to provide more detail as to why I appreciate Colander's text - just e-mail me at timbuktu66@yahoo.com. In the end, the highest praise I can give any textbook author is to say that it fostered a desire to learn more about that subject. I am a graduate student in Econ today thanks to Colander's text and the professor who steered my toward reading it.