A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960

"Monetary History of the United States" by Milton Friedman. It's tough sledding, but worth it. And by giving the history, one comes to understand how we got to where we are. "Capitalism" by Reisman gives a solid theoretical foundation on topics like rent control, inflation, etc. I especially found illuminating its coverage of the 1970's oil crisis and how the root cause of it was price controls. I'd avoid economics books written by journalists and politicians, as all I've run across are dominated by ignorance, bias, and agendas. Ones by economists often have agendas, too, but they aren't nearly as ignorant. Just imagine a technical book about electronics written by a journalist, and you'll know what I mean.