Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? A Fast, Clear, and Fun Explanation of the Economics You Need For Success in Your Career, Business, and Investments

Uncle Eric #2

by Richard J. Maybury

In "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" Richard Maybury uses historical events from Ancient Rome to explain economic principles. This clearly written book about economics is a remarkably easy and fun explanation of investment cycles, velocity, business cycles, recessions, inflation, the demand for money and more. Essential for every student, businessperson and investor. Recommended by former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon. It is also on many recommended reading lists.
Can be used for courses in Economics, Business, Finance, Government and Ancient Rome. To improve the student's learning experience, also purchase the student study guide for "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" titled "A Bluestocking Guide: Economics" also available through Amazon.com.

Table of Contents for Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

Acknowledgements
Study Guide Available
Preface
Note to Reader
A Note About Economics

Smart
1. Money: Coins and Paper
2. Tanstaafl, The Romans, and Us
3. Inflation
4. Dollars, Money, and Legal Tender
5. Revolutions, Elections, and Printing Presses
6. Wages, Prices, Spirals, and Controls
7. Wallpaper, Wheelbarrows, and Recessions
Boom and Bust Cycle Since the Civil War
8. Fast Money
History Repeats
9. Getting Rich Quick
10. The Boom and Bust Cycle
11. How Much is a Trillion?
The Roaring 90s
Federal Debt Chart
12. What's So Bad About the Federal Debt?
An Interesting Exercise
One Reason Governments Spend So Much
13. Summary
14. Where Do We Go From Here?
15. Natural Law and Economic Prosperity
Nations and Legal Systems

Appendix (not a complete listing)
Supply of Dollars Chart
Real Wages Chart
Quotes
Median Income Chart
The Oil Myth
How to Invest in Gold and Silver
Measures of Money Supply
The Truth About Inflation
Real Investment Value
Resources
Internet Addresses
Book Suppliers
Distilled Wisdom
Bibliography
Glossary
Answers to Exercises for Real Investment Value
Index

For Further Study (also available through Amazon.com)
Economics: A Free Market Reader
Contains articles by noted economists that expand on the concepts presented in Penny Candy. Study questions/answers included.

Capitalism for Kids
Explains the philosophy of entrepreneurship. Excellent information for both kids and adults. Includes a test to help kids determine if they have the personality to become an entrepreneur

Common Sense Business for Kids
Explains common sense strategies behind basic business principles. Gems of wisdom for the businessperson (young or experienced) conveyed through real-life stories and anecdotes. Though written with young people in mind, this book is engaging and beneficial for adults as well.

Whatever Happened to Justice? rev. ed.
Explains the common law model. Maybury says, "In my opinion, you and your family and friends will avoid a lot of trouble, and find success of every kind easier to achieve, if you adopt these two models, Austrian economics and common law. 'Penny Candy' explains the Economic model. Now, read 'Justice' for the Legal model. Underlying common law are two basic rules: 1) do all that you agreed to do and 2) do not encroach on other persons or their property."

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, School, History, Education, Politics, Read For School

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Richard Maybury, also known as Uncle Eric, is the publisher of U.S. & World Early Warning Report for Investors. He has written several entry level books on United States economics, law, and history from a libertarian perspective. He writes the books in epistolary form, usually as an uncle writing to his nephew, answering questions.

Maybury was a high school economics teacher. After failing to find a book which would give a clear explanation on his view of economics he wrote one himself. Some of his books include Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career & Financial Security, Higher Law, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and Whatever Happened to Justice? .

Reviews

[Celeste Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand economics. I was very impressed with how the topics are explained and with how pertinent this information is to our day and time. I wish I had known this information when I was a young adult, I know I would have made different decisions based on that knowledge.

For homeschool curriculum, we were able to do several exercises to help bring the knowledge into "real world" use. There are a few exercises in the back that pinpoint how investing really works that were very eye opening! I was completely shocked that as an adult I had such a poor understanding of money. I am sheepishly ashamed that my public school education so inadequately prepared me for life. Or course, I think that is the point...the government doesn't want us to understand all the shady, underhanded things they are doing. If we did, we would want to fire the whole lot!

[Jodi Z]

This is a great help for understanding the basics of economics. My children have been reading it to me as we drive places and it is explained clearly enough that they are understanding it but also in-depth enough that my understanding is being positively impacted.

Most importantly, it teaches a principle we Americans must come to understand and accept if we ever hope to stop the downward spiral of our economy: there is no such thing as a free lunch! The government can't give us anything that he doesn't first take away--and when we get it back, it has decreased in quantity and quality.

The author's assertion is worthy of our consideration: "[F:]ew voters will face the fact that the real meaning of the cry, 'I want! I want!' is 'Tax me! Tax me!'

"In an election, it is important to be aware of The Lie. The Lie is, I will give you what you want, and I will make someone else pay for it. The candidate who can tell The Lie most convincingly wins the election.

"In other words, at bottom, inflation is an ethics problem. The only way to stop the spread of inflation is to start the spread of ethics." (p. 41)

[Emily, Shadow's Girlie ୨୧ (semi hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be required by Law to read. I understand economics and politics, inflations, recessions, depressions, boom-and-bust, and much more so much better now! This book gave me so many feels (which is concerning because it's a nonfiction political book) and made me so angry!

[Channon Pedersen · Rating 1 out of 5]

My kids have to read this book for their homeschool economic class so I read through it to better teach it. I've decided that this book will be used for kindling and I'm now on the look-out for a new text.

This is a terrible book. I'm not a socialist or a communist. I am pro education and this book is flagrantly biased to the point of out-right misinformation. His definition of socialism isn't even remotely accurate, he claims that all inflation is the result of printing too much money, and that only two laws should govern an economy: private ownership (which I'm all for), and doing what you say you'll do (which he calls contract law, but doesn't talk about how to enforce it). He completely ignores supply and demand, perceived value, behavioral economics, the difference between cost and price, monopolies, price-fixing, and different economic systems used by other economic monster countries. All of these things are covered in much better detail - without the ideological propaganda - in other texts.

So far I'm leaning to The Economics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains economics in a way that just about anyone could understand! Absolutely marvelous and clearly explained! The book is structured as a set of letters from "Uncle Eric" to his nephew "Chris". The book says that it's intended for grades 9 and up. However, this is part of my 5th grade daughter's homeschool curriculum and she had no trouble grasping the concepts. I think that this book should be required reading for every student before graduating from high school and a lot of adults could benefit from it as well:) Common sense throughout! There are other books in this series and I think that we're going to read some of them as well.

[Carina Shephard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wanted to read this book when I was younger because based on the title I thought it was a mystery. Like, "Whatever happened to penny candy? *cue ominous music*"

Spoilers: Despite the fact that it talks about economics, which, admittedly, can seem a bit mysterious at times, it's not in the mystery genre. It's a great intro to inflation and how the market works, and although it's far from comprehensive, it's a great starting point, especially for younger students.

[John Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my capacity as a father, I have found the Uncle Eric series, including first and foremost, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, to be of superb value to me as I work to help my children understand honest economic and legal principles. As an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, I wish I could use the series to teach the doctors I train how to understand the strange medical economy, and how to help overcome its flaws, but as has been long suspected, I find that the academic system actively pushes aside the founding fathers' principles. We are more immersed in 1984 than most realize. Mr. Maybury has created a series of books that helps strengthen the innocent minds against the statist mentality of the nation, and does so with simple truths, by pointing out what become eminently obvious failings in the statist systems. Don't expect anything to change the views of the committed statists. But you can help your children to defend against the overwhelming statist viewpoints of the schools and the media by providing them this very easy-to-read series. It will empower their ability to question authority by arming them with facts that others will not provide.

I think all private schools that have a desire to teach true principles should review the series and see if it can become part of their curriculum. Sadly, the forces at work within the government schools are not likely to be convincible, but, bit by bit, truth will win. Uncle Eric's books present a wonderful opportunity to help the truth win sooner rather than later.

[Danniel Acosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made economics very simple. And it helped me enjoy it. If only school textbooks were simple like this. It would make school more engaging and exciting.

Richard Maybury helped me understand how the economy works in simple terms. He helped me learn what is inflation, why it happens, and gave examples from history of other civilizations that experienced it.

It is my humble and honest opinion that the citizens of this nation should require their senators, and congressmen to read this book, and promise to stop increasing the national debt. They impact the lives of future generations of the American people when they do. Our economy cannot thrive with a debt of $31 trillion.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book grossly over simplifies economics, and with tremendous bias at that. I had to stop reading to my children multiple times to tell them that it isn't quite that simple, and that multiple other factors come into the picture. Additionally, we have no objections to caring for our neighbors, as the author seems to, even if that comes through some taxation. Furthermore, the author doesn't actually seem to know the definition of socialism.

There has to be something better out there for late elementary and middle school aged children. Perhaps the author actually believes that economics are this simple and black and white. However, if he's trying to dumb it down for children, children are able to understand things in much greater complexity than adults generally give them credit for.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager and appreciated the principles. Reading it again now, as a "grown-up" with a career, a house, a vote, a share of taxation and facing the repercussions of our insane national debt and this scary economy made the book even more riveting. I only wish we could more easily implement the principles Maybury advocates; that is, surely we can do so in our own lives, but translating that to the greater economy and government will take some doing!

[Kellyn Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for school.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Uncle Eric” does well explaining economic concepts with simple illustrations. It is not exhaustive by any means, but there are other books in the series, digging further into various concepts. Easily understandable for kids and teens, but also a great refresher (or introduction) for adults.

I read the third edition, printed in 1992, so it was significantly dated. I nearly knocked a star off for that. However, the concepts are timeless and it has been continued to be revised. It appears that the most recent edition is 2015 (seventh), so I recommend reading that rather than an older one.

[Brittany Lindvall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did this as a Term 1 civics read aloud with a 5th & 7th grader and we all really enjoyed it. I am very glad we read it aloud together as we often had to talk through and discuss some definitions or contexts that the kids didn’t grasp at first but it was one of our favorite books of the term (if not THE favorite). TANSTAAFL is a new frequent saying in our household and in our current economy the book fit right in… plenty of real life current event examples for inflation, the job market, supply chain and etc. Highly recommend and it makes me want to read more economics.

[Amy de Raaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book read purely on economics! My son loved it more than me, but a topic that can be quite dry was really down-to-earth and actually interesting. I now truly understand terms like “depression”, “recession”, “inflation” and “TANSTAAFL” (“there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”) and more. We both enjoyed the history of the “coin”! Great educational read.

[Marie Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to help you understand economics in very easy language.

[EllenS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve used this book to homeschool two kids for economics class. It is fabulous!!!! A must read for anyone to understand how economics works! Highly recommended ☑️

[LoriSchmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my kids for school and everyone should be required to read it. We all need to learn more about economics

[A. Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Economics are generally confusing but this book explained it really well.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best explanations of economics, especially macroeconomics, ever written for a general audience from late grade school/middle school to adults. He makes it real, shows how it affects your life, uses real life examples. There is an outstanding review of this book on the May 15th 2004 edition that I'm going to crib for sake of time, because Jodi Z did such a great job of reviewing that she summarized pretty much everything else I was going to say.
Thanks for reading! Andy
>> begin copy n paste
Most importantly, it teaches a principle we Americans must come to understand and accept if we ever hope to stop the downward spiral of our economy: there is no such thing as a free lunch! The government can't give us anything that he doesn't first take away--and when we get it back, it has decreased in quantity and quality.

The author's assertion is worthy of our consideration: "[F:]ew voters will face the fact that the real meaning of the cry, 'I want! I want!' is 'Tax me! Tax me!'

"In an election, it is important to be aware of The Lie. The Lie is, I will give you what you want, and I will make someone else pay for it. The candidate who can tell The Lie most convincingly wins the election.

"In other words, at bottom, inflation is an ethics problem. The only way to stop the spread of inflation is to start the spread of ethics." (p. 41)

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good intro to economics, personal finance, economic history. First book for an exploration of www.economics4kids.com with my 11 yr. old son and several other homeschool kids.

2025-06-05 With the official demise of the US penny coming very soon, this book is a perfect explanation of why it is happening and what should be done about it.

I also recommend the article in today's Wall St. Journal: "As We Get Older and Stop Making Cents
The penny’s demise is a sign of ill health for America’s monetary and fiscal policies." by Max Raskin

[Paiten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for school and really enjoyed the short chapters, which provided easy to understand explanations of economics. This book focused a lot on inflation, and it started at a beginner's level, giving you a nice overview of inflation and the causes/effects of it. It was very helpful, considering I didn't know much about inflation/economics before reading this book.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previously read: June 18 - June 26, 2011

[Joel Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introductory book to Economics based on the Austrian Economic viewpoint; in a letter format.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenge B book. I love all the Uncle Eric books. I've read this one twice.

I just reread this book again to my younger daughter for her Economics class. Great book

[james · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very educational and digestible. However, it does require care when reading because the author's political perspective bleeds into the language. For example when describing relationships between unions and businesses, the author says "unfortunately, most businesses... pay so many taxes that they don't have enough money left over to buy better tools... so the only way for workers to earn money faster... is to work harder." This was in regard to unions negotiating for higher wages and, in my opinion, unfairly ignores that a company has more money available than just what it owes in overhead and taxes. When wages are negotiated, eating into profits is an option. To act as though businesses are the victims of cruel, stupid workers is ridiculous. Regardless, the greater points underneath the sometimes-disagreeable opinions are worth learning about and this book does a good job of making them digestible. But again, go into this with an understanding of the author's political leaning so you can divide his opinions from the facts. Overall: worth a read.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explained inflation, recessions, and depressions from an economist's standpoint. It was written clearly and with fascinating, sometimes shocking examples. I tend to read interesting passages from my books out loud to my lucky husband, so he probably heard at least a fourth of this book, which indicates a pretty good junior high textbook!

I had no idea inflation was caused by more money in the system. And how the periods where the politicians realize they need to pull back from this crazy cycle of pumping more money into the system (because no one wants to elect you if you raise taxes to get more money to spend) -- are recessions (months) and depressions (years).

And a quote from the book:
In an election, it is important to be aware of The Lie. The Lie is, I will give you what you want, and I will make someone else pay for it. The candidate that can tell the lie most convincingly is the one who wins the election.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preread for AO Y7. And spot on for that age. It's a very helpful introduction to economics for a junior high aged kid. Certainly not a complete textbook by itself, but a very helpful introductory text to get kids comfortable with financial ideas outside their own allowance or birthday money.

I'm not really sure about the complaints about this being biased or over simplified. The author clearly explains where he's writing from and that this is just the tip of the econ iceberg.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter read this for school and told me how wonderful it was. So I jumped right in! (OK... it took me almost a year to get started.) Maybury does an excellent job of explaining economic principles (a lot of it is about inflation) in ways that non-economic-minded people can understand.

Glad my kids have this in their curriculum.

[Drmkk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Uncle Eric's view of the world.

[Margo Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was amazing! it’s all about government and economics. i read it for school for really i think everyone needs to read it. it’s so easy to understand and it’s so key in understanding the world we live in these days!