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Brief Principles
of Macroeconomics:
a Guided Tour
Introduction
1 Ten Principles of Economics The study of economics is guided by a few big ideas.
2 Thinking Like an Economist Economists view the world as both scientists and policymakers.
3 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade The theory of comparative advantage explains how people
benefit from economic interdependence.
How Markets Work

How does the economy coordinate interdependent economic
4 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand
actors? Through the market forces of supply and demand.
The Data of Macroeconomics
5 Measuring a Nation’s Income The overall quantity of production and the overall price level
6 Measuring the Cost of Living are used to monitor developments in the economy as a whole.
The Real Economy in the Long Run
7 Production and Growth
8 Saving, Investment, and the Financial System These chapters describe the forces that in the long run determine
key real variables, including GDP growth, saving, investment,
9 The Basic Tools of Finance real interest rates, and unemployment.
10 Unemployment
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Money and Prices in the Long Run
11 The Monetary System The monetary system is crucial in determining the long-run
behavior of the price level, the inflation rate, and other
12 Money Growth and Inflation nominal variables.
The Macroeconomics of Open Economies
13 Open-Economy Macroeconomics: A nation’s economic interactions with other nations are described
Basic Concepts by its trade balance, net foreign investment, and exchange rate.
14 A Macroeconomic Theory of the A long-run model of the open economy explains the determinants
Open Economy of the trade balance, the real exchange rate, and other real variables.
Short-Run Economic Fluctuations
15 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply

The model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply explains
16 The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy short-run economic fluctuations, the short-run effects of
on Aggregate Demand monetary and fiscal policy, and the short-run linkage between
17 The Short-Run Trade-Off between real and nominal variables.
Inflation and Unemployment
Final Thoughts
A capstone chapter presents both sides of six major debates
18 Six Debates over Macroeconomic Policy
over economic policy.
Brief Principles of
MACRO
ECONOMICS Ninth Edition
N. Gregory Mankiw
Harvard University
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Printed in the United States of America

Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2019
To Catherine, Nicholas, and Peter,
my other contributions to the next generation
iii
About
the Author
N. Gregory Mankiw is the Robert M. Beren Professor of
Economics at Harvard University. As a student, he stud-
ied economics at Princeton University and MIT. As a
teacher, he has taught macroeconomics, m icroeconomics,
statistics, and principles of e conomics. He even spent
one summer long ago as a sailing instructor on Long
Beach Island.
Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular
participant in academic and policy debates. His work
has been published in scholarly journals, such as the
Jordi Cabré American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy,
and Quarterly Journal of Economics, and in more popu-
lar forums, such as the New York Times and The Wall
Street Journal. He is also author of the best-selling
intermediate-level textbook Macroeconomics (Worth
Publishers).
In addition to his teaching, research, and writing,
Professor Mankiw has been a research associate of the
National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser
to the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal
Reserve Banks of Boston and New York, a trustee of the
Urban Institute, and a member of the ETS test develop-
ment committee for the Advanced Placement exam in
economics. From 2003 to 2005, he served as chairman of
the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
iv
Preface: To
the Instructor
D
uring my 20-year career as a student, the course that excited me most
was the two-semester sequence on the principles of economics that I took
during my freshman year in college. It is no exaggeration to say that it
changed my life.
I had grown up in a family that often discussed politics over the dinner table.
The pros and cons of various solutions to society’s problems generated fervent
debate. But in school, I had been drawn to the sciences. Whereas politics seemed
vague, rambling, and subjective, science was analytic, systematic, and objective.
While political debate continued without end, science made progress.
My freshman course on the principles of economics opened my eyes to a new
way of thinking. Economics combines the virtues of politics and science. It is, truly,
a social science. Its subject matter is society—how people choose to lead their lives
and how they interact with one another—but it approaches the subject with the
dispassion of a science. By bringing the methods of science to the questions of
politics, economics tries to make progress on the challenges that all societies face.
I was drawn to write this book in the hope that I could convey some of the
excitement about economics that I felt as a student in my first economics course.
Economics is a subject in which a little knowledge goes a long way. (The same
cannot be said, for instance, of the study of physics or the Chinese language.)
Economists have a unique way of viewing the world, much of which can be taught
in one or two semesters. My goal in this book is to transmit this way of thinking
to the widest possible audience and to convince readers that it illuminates much
about the world around them.
I believe that everyone should study the fundamental ideas that economics has
to offer. One purpose of general education is to inform people about the world and
thereby make them better citizens. The study of economics, as much as any disci-
pline, serves this goal. Writing an economics textbook is, therefore, a great honor
and a great responsibility. It is one way that economists can help promote better
government and a more prosperous future. As the great economist Paul Samuelson
put it, “I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws, or crafts its advanced treaties,
if I can write its economics textbooks.”
What’s New in the Ninth Edition?

Economics is fundamentally about understanding the world in which we live.
Most chapters of this book include Case Studies illustrating how the principles
of economics can be applied. In addition, In the News boxes offer excerpts from
newspapers, magazines, and online news sources showing how economic ideas
shed light on current issues facing society. After students finish their first course
in economics, they should think about news stories from a new perspective and
vi Preface: To the Instructor
with greater insight. To keep the study of economics fresh and relevant for each
new cohort of students, I update each edition of this text to keep pace with the
ever-changing world.
The new applications in this ninth edition are too numerous to list in their
entirety, but here is a sample of the topics covered (and the chapters in which they
appear):
• Technology companies are increasingly using economists to better run their

businesses. (Chapter 2)
• The theory of economic growth can help explain why so many of the world’s
poorest nations are in sub-Saharan Africa. (Chapter 7)
• Economist Martin Feldstein explains why the United States is so prosperous.
(Chapter 7)
• Cryptocurrencies may be the money of the future, or they may be a passing
fad. (Chapter 11)
• Living during a hyperinflation, such as the recent situation in Venezuela, is a
surreal experience. (Chapter 12)
• Recent discussion of trade deficits has included a lot of misinformation.
(Chapter 14)
• The Federal Reserve has started to reassess what it means to target an
inflation rate of 2 percent. (Chapter 18)
In addition to updating the book, I have refined its coverage and pedagogy with
input from many users of the previous edition. There are numerous changes, large
and small, aimed at making the book clearer and more student-friendly.
All the changes that I made, and the many others that I considered, were
evaluated in light of the benefits of brevity. Like most things that we study in
economics, a student’s time is a scarce resource. I always keep in mind a dictum
from the great novelist Robertson Davies: “One of the most important things about
writing is to boil it down and not bore the hell out of everybody.”
How Is This Book Organized?

The organization of this book was designed to make economics as student-friendly
as possible. What follows is a whirlwind tour of this text. The tour will, I hope, give
instructors some sense of how the pieces fit together.
Introductory Material
Chapter 1, “Ten Principles of Economics,” introduces students to the economist’s
view of the world. It previews some of the big ideas that recur throughout econom-
ics, such as opportunity cost, marginal decision making, the role of incentives, the
gains from trade, and the efficiency of market allocations. Throughout the book,
I refer regularly to the Ten Principles of Economics introduced in Chapter 1 to remind
students that these ideas are the foundation for all economics.
Chapter 2, “Thinking Like an Economist,” examines how economists approach
their field of study. It discusses the role of assumptions in developing a theory and
introduces the concept of an economic model. It also explores the role of economists
in making policy. This chapter’s appendix offers a brief refresher course on how
graphs are used, as well as how they can be abused.
Preface: To the Instructor vii
Chapter 3, “Interdependence and the Gains from Trade,” presents the theory
of comparative advantage. This theory explains why individuals trade with their
neighbors, as well as why nations trade with other nations. Much of economics is
about how market forces coordinate many individual production and consump-
tion decisions. As a starting point for this analysis, students see in this chapter why
specialization, interdependence, and trade can benefit everyone.
I next introduce the basic tools of supply and demand. Chapter 4, “The Market
Forces of Supply and Demand,” develops the supply curve, the demand curve, and
the notion of market equilibrium. This microeconomic model is the starting point
for much of macroeconomic theory.
Macroeconomics
My overall approach to teaching macroeconomics is to examine the economy in
the long run (when prices are flexible) before examining the economy in the short
run (when prices are sticky). I believe that this organization simplifies learning
macroeconomics for several reasons. First, the classical assumption of price
flexibility is more closely linked to the basic lessons of supply and demand, which
students have already mastered. Second, the classical dichotomy allows the study
of the long run to be broken up into several easily digested pieces. Third, because
the business cycle represents a transitory deviation from the economy’s long-run
growth path, studying the transitory deviations is more natural after the long-
run equilibrium is understood. Fourth, the macroeconomic theory of the long run
is less controversial among economists than is the macroeconomic theory of the
short run. For these reasons, most upper-level courses in macroeconomics now
follow this long-run-before-short-run approach; my goal is to offer introductory
students the same advantage.
I start the coverage of macroeconomics with issues of measurement. Chapter 5,
“Measuring a Nation’s Income,” discusses the meaning of gross domestic product
and related statistics from the national income accounts. Chapter 6, “Measuring the
Cost of Living,” examines the measurement and use of the consumer price index.
The next four chapters describe the behavior of the real economy in the long
run. Chapter 7, “Production and Growth,” examines the determinants of the large
variation in living standards over time and across countries. Chapter 8, “Saving,
Investment, and the Financial System,” discusses the types of financial institu-
tions in our economy and examines their role in allocating resources. Chapter 9,
“The Basic Tools of Finance,” introduces present value, risk management, and asset
pricing. Chapter 10, “Unemployment,” considers the long-run determinants of the
unemployment rate, including job search, minimum-wage laws, the market power
of unions, and efficiency wages.
Having described the long-run behavior of the real economy, the book then turns
to the long-run behavior of money and prices. Chapter 11, “The Monetary System,”
introduces the economist’s concept of money and the role of the central bank in
controlling the quantity of money. Chapter 12, “Money Growth and Inflation,”
develops the classical theory of inflation and discusses the costs that inflation
imposes on a society.
The next two chapters present the macroeconomics of open economies,
maintaining the long-run assumptions of price flexibility and full employment.
Chapter 13, “Open-Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts,” explains the rela-
tionship among saving, investment, and the trade balance, the distinction between
viii Preface: To the Instructor
the nominal and real exchange rate, and the theory of purchasing-power parity.
Chapter 14, “A Macroeconomic Theory of the Open Economy,” presents a clas-
sical model of the international flow of goods and capital. The model sheds light
on various issues, including the link between budget deficits and trade deficits
and the macroeconomic effects of trade policies. Because instructors differ in their
emphasis on this material, these chapters are written so they can be used in different
ways. Some may choose to cover Chapter 13 but not Chapter 14; others may skip
both chapters; and still others may choose to defer the analysis of open-economy
macroeconomics until the end of their courses.
After developing the long-run theory of the economy in Chapters 7 through
14, the book turns to explaining short-run fluctuations around the long-run trend.
Chapter 15, “Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply,” begins with some facts
about the business cycle and then introduces the model of aggregate demand and
aggregate supply. Chapter 16, “The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy on
Aggregate Demand,” explains how policymakers can use the tools at their dis-
posal to shift the aggregate-demand curve. Chapter 17, “The Short-Run Trade-Off
between Inflation and Unemployment,” explains why policymakers who control
aggregate demand face a trade-off between inflation and unemployment. It exam-
ines why this trade-off exists in the short run, why it shifts over time, and why it
does not exist in the long run.
The book concludes with Chapter 18, “Six Debates over Macroeconomic
Policy.” This capstone chapter considers six controversial issues facing policy-
makers: the proper degree of policy activism in response to the business cycle, the
relative efficacy of government spending hikes and tax cuts to fight recessions,
the choice between rules and discretion in the conduct of monetary policy, the
desirability of reaching zero inflation, the importance of balancing the govern-
ment’s budget, and the need for tax reform to encourage saving. For each issue,
the chapter presents both sides of the debate and encourages students to make
their own judgments.
Learning Tools
The purpose of this book is to help students learn the fundamental lessons of
economics and to show how they can apply these lessons to their lives and the
world in which they live. Toward that end, I have used various learning tools that
recur throughout the book.
Case Studies
Economic theory is useful and interesting only if it can be applied to understanding
actual events and policies. This book, therefore, contains numerous case studies
that apply the theory that has just been developed.
In the News Boxes

One benefit that students gain from studying economics is a new perspective and
greater understanding about news from around the world. To highlight this ben-
efit, I have included excerpts from many newspaper and magazine articles, some
of which are opinion columns written by prominent economists. These articles,
together with my brief introductions, show how basic economic theory can be
applied. Most of these boxes are new to this edition. And for the first time in this
Preface: To the Instructor ix
edition, each news article ends with “Questions to Discuss,” which can be used to
start a dialogue in the classroom.
FYI Boxes
These boxes provide additional material “for your information.” Some of them
offer a glimpse into the history of economic thought. Others clarify technical issues.
Still others discuss supplementary topics that instructors might choose either to
discuss or skip in their lectures.
Ask the Experts Boxes

This feature summarizes results from the IGM Economics Experts Panel, an
ongoing survey of several dozen prominent economists. Every few weeks, these
experts are offered a statement and then asked whether they agree with it, disagree
with it, or are uncertain about it. The survey results appear in the chapters near
the coverage of the relevant topic. They give students a sense of when econo-
mists are united, when they are divided, and when they just don’t know what
to think.
Definitions of Key Concepts

When key concepts are introduced in the chapter, they are presented in bold
typeface. In addition, their definitions are placed in the margins. This treatment
should aid students in learning and reviewing the material.
Quick Quizzes
After each major section in a chapter, students are offered a brief multiple-choice
Quick Quiz to check their comprehension of what they have just learned. If students
cannot readily answer these quizzes, they should stop and review material before
continuing. The answers to all Quick Quizzes are available at the end of each
chapter.
Chapter in a Nutshell
Each chapter concludes with a brief summary that reminds students of the most
important lessons that they have learned. Later in their study, it offers an efficient
way to review for exams.
List of Key Concepts

A list of key concepts at the end of each chapter offers students a way to test their
understanding of the new terms that have been introduced. Page references are
included so that students can review the terms they do not understand.
Questions for Review

Located at the end of each chapter, questions for review cover the chapter’s p
rimary
lessons. Students can use these questions to check their comprehension and prepare
for exams.
Problems and Applications

Each chapter also contains a variety of problems and applications asking students
to apply the material that they have learned. Some instructors may use these
questions for homework assignments. Others may use them as a starting point for
classroom discussions.
x Preface: To the Instructor
Alternative Versions of the Book

The book you are now holding is one of five versions of this text that are available
for introducing students to economics. Cengage and I offer this menu of books
because instructors differ in how much time they have and what topics they choose
to cover. Here is a brief description of each:
• Principles of Economics. This complete version of the book contains all

36 chapters. It is designed for two-semester introductory courses that cover
both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
• Principles of Microeconomics. This version contains 22 chapters and is designed
for one-semester courses in introductory microeconomics.
• Principles of Macroeconomics. This version contains 23 chapters and is
designed for one-semester courses in introductory macroeconomics.
It contains a full development of the theory of supply and demand.
• Brief Principles of Macroeconomics. This shortened macro version of 18 chapters
contains only one chapter on the basics of supply and demand. It is designed
for instructors who want to jump to the core topics of macroeconomics more
quickly.
• Essentials of Economics. This version of the book contains 24 chapters.
It is designed for one-semester survey courses that cover the basics of
both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
The accompanying table shows precisely which chapters are included in each
book. Instructors who want more information about these alternative versions
should contact their local Cengage representative.
Preface: To the Instructor xi
Table 1
The Five Versions of This Book
Brief
Principles of Principles of Principles of Essentials of
Principles of Economics Microeconomics Macroeconomics Macroeconomics Economics
1 Ten Principles of Economics X X X X
2 hinking Like an Economist
T X X X X
3 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade X X X X
4 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand X X X X
5 Elasticity and Its Application X X X
6 Supply, Demand, and Government Policies X X X
7 Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of X X X
Markets
8 Application: The Costs of Taxation X X X
9 Application: International Trade X X X
10 Externalities X X
11 Public Goods and Common Resources X X
12 The Design of the Tax System X
13 The Costs of Production X X
14 Firms in Competitive Markets X X
15 Monopoly X X
16 Monopolistic Competition X
17 Oligopoly X
18 The Markets for the Factors of Production X
19 Earnings and Discrimination X
20 Income Inequality and Poverty X
21 The Theory of Consumer Choice X
22 Frontiers of Microeconomics X
23 Measuring a Nation’s Income X X X
24 Measuring the Cost of Living X X X
25 Production and Growth X X X
26 Saving, Investment, and the Financial System X X X
27 The Basic Tools of Finance X X X
28 Unemployment X X X
29 The Monetary System X X X
30 Money Growth and Inflation X X X
31 Open-Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts X X
32 A Macroeconomic Theory of the Open Economy X X
33 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply X X X
34 The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy on X X X
Aggregate Demand
35 The Short-Run Trade-Off between Inflation and X X
Unemployment
36 Six Debates over Macroeconomic Policy X X
xii Preface: To the Instructor
Supplements
Cengage offers various supplements for instructors and students who use this
book. These resources make teaching the principles of economics easy for the
instructor and learning them easy for the student. David R. Hakes of the University
of Northern Iowa, a dedicated teacher and economist, supervised the development
of the supplements for this edition. A complete list of available supplements fol-
lows this Preface.
Modules
I have written four modules, or mini-chapters, with optional material that instruc-
tors can include in their courses. For instructors using the digital version of the
book, these modules can be added with a few mouse clicks. As of now, there are
modules on The Economics of Healthcare, The European Union, The Keynesian
Cross, and How Economists Use Data. I expect to add more modules to the library
available to instructors in the years to come.
Translations and Adaptations

I am delighted that versions of this book are (or will soon be) available in many of
the world’s languages. Currently scheduled translations include Azeri, Chinese (in
both standard and simplified characters), Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, Georgian,
German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Montenegrin,
Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, and Spanish. In addition, adaptations of
the book for Australian, Canadian, European, and New Zealand students are also
available. Instructors who would like more information about these books should
contact Cengage.
Acknowledgments
In writing this book, I benefited from the input of many talented people. Indeed, the
list of people who have contributed to this project is so long, and their contributions
so valuable, that it seems an injustice that only a single name appears on the cover.
Let me begin with my colleagues in the economics profession. The many editions
of this text and its supplemental materials have benefited enormously from their
input. In reviews and surveys, they have offered suggestions, identified challenges,
and shared ideas from their own classroom experience. I am indebted to them for
the perspectives they have brought to the text. Unfortunately, the list has become
too long to thank those who contributed to previous editions, even though students
reading the current edition are still benefiting from their insights.
Most important in this process has been David Hakes (University of Northern
Iowa). David has served as a reliable sounding board for ideas and a hardworking
partner with me in putting together the superb package of supplements. I am also
grateful to Stephanie Thomas (Cornell University), who helped in the planning
process for this new edition.
Preface: To the Instructor xiii
The following reviewers of the eighth edition provided suggestions for refining
the content, organization, and approach in the ninth.
Anil Aba, University of Utah Miren Ivankovic, Anderson Scott Niederjohn, Lakeland
Mark Abajian, San Diego Mesa University University
College Justin Jarvis, Truman State Carla Nietfeld, Francis Marion
Dorian Abreu, Hunter College University University
Goncalo Alves Pina, Santa Clara Aaron Johnson, Albany State John Nyhoff, Oakton Community
University University College
Bob Barnes, Loyola University Bonnie Johnson, Wayne State Andrew Paizis, New York
Chicago University University
James Bathgate, Western Nevada Rutherford Johnson, University of Jason Patalinghug,
College Minnesota Crookston Southern Connecticut State
Nicole Bissessar, Southern New Venoo Kakar, San Francisco State University
Hampshire University University Jodi Pelkowski, Wichita State
Joseph Brignone, Brigham Young Jennifer Klein, University of University
University Colorado Boulder Sougata Poddar, Chapman
William Byrd, Troy University Audrey Kline, University of University
Samantha Cakir, Macalester College Louisville Lana Podolak, Community
John Carter, Modesto Junior College Fred Kolb, University of College of Beaver County
Avik Chakrabarti, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Gyan Pradhan, Eastern Kentucky
Wisconsin–Milwaukee Janet Koscianski, Shippensburg University
Yong Chao, University of Louisville University Elena Prado, San Diego State
David Chaplin, Northwest Mikhail Kouliavtsev, University
Nazarene University Stephen F. Austin State John Reardon, Hamline
Mitch Charkiewicz, Central University University
Connecticut State University Nakul Kumar, Bloomsburg Ty Robbins, Manchester
LaPorchia Collins, Tulane University University
University Jim Leggette, Belhaven University Jason Rudbeck, University of
Andrew Crawley, University of David Lewis, Oregon State Georgia
Maine University Anthony Scardino, Felician
Maria DaCosta, University of Hank Lewis, Houston Community University
Wisconsin–Eau Claire College Helen Schneider, University of
Dennis Debrecht, Carroll Yan Li, University of Texas at Austin
University Wisconsin–Eau Claire Alex Shiu, McLennan Community
Amrita Dhar, University of Mary Zhen Li, Albion College College
Washington Dan Marburger, Arizona State Harmeet Singh, Texas A&M
Lynne Elkes, Loyola University University University–Kingsville
Maryland Jim McGibany, Marquette Catherine Skura, Sandhills
Elena Ermolenko, Oakton University Community College
Community College Steven McMullen, Hope College Gordon Smith, Anderson
Sarah Estelle, Hope College Meghan Mihal, St. Thomas University
John Flanders, Central Methodist Aquinas College Nathan Smith, University of
University Martin Milkman, Murray State Hartford
Gary Gray, Umpqua Community University Mario Solis-Garcia, Macalester
College Soonhong Min, University at College
Jessica Hennessey, Furman Albany Arjun Sondhi, Wayne State
University Phillip Mixon, Troy University University
Alexander Hill, Arizona State Chau Nguyen, Mesa Community Derek Stimel, University of
University College California, Davis
xiv Preface: To the Instructor
Paul Stock, University of Mary Phillip Tussing, Houston Jim Wollscheid, University of
Hardin Baylor Community College Arkansas–Fort Smith
Yang Su, University of William Walsh, University of Doyoun Won, University
Washington Alabama of Utah
Anna Terzyan, Loyola Marymount Beth Wheaton, Southern Methodist Kelvin Wong, Arizona State
University University University
Elsy Thomas, Bowling Green State Oxana Wieland, University of Fan Yang, University of
University Minnesota Crookston Washington
Kathryn Thwaites, Sandhills Christopher Wimer, Heidelberg Ying Yang, University of Rhode
Community College University Island
The team of editors who worked on this book improved it tremendously.

Jane Tufts, developmental editor, provided truly spectacular editing—as she
always does. Jason Fremder, economics Product Director, and Christopher Rader,
Product Manager, did a splendid job of overseeing the many people involved
in such a large project. Sarah Keeling, Senior Learning Designer, was crucial in
assembling an extensive and thoughtful group of reviewers to give me feedback
on the previous edition and shape up the new edition. Anita Verma, Senior
Content Manager, was crucial in putting together an excellent team to revise the
supplements and with Beth Asselin and Phil Scott, project managers at SPi Global,
had the patience and dedication necessary to turn my manuscript into this book.
Bethany Bourgeois, Senior Designer, gave this book its clean, friendly look. Irwin
Zucker, copyeditor, refined my prose, and Val Colligo, indexer, prepared a careful
and thorough index. John Carey, Executive Marketing Manager, worked long hours
getting the word out to potential users of this book. The rest of the Cengage team
has, as always, been consistently professional, enthusiastic, and dedicated.
We have a top team of veterans who have worked across multiple editions
producing the supplements that accompany this book. Working with those at
Cengage, the following have been relentless in making sure that the suite of ancillary
materials is unmatched in both quantity and quality. No other text comes close.
PowerPoint: Andreea Chiritescu (Eastern Illinois University)
Test Bank: Shannon Aucoin, Eugenia Belova, Ethan Crist, Kasie Jean, and Brian
Rodriguez (in-house Subject Matter Experts)
Instructor manual: David Hakes (University of Northern Iowa)
I am grateful also to Rohan Shah and Rohit Goyal, two star undergraduates at
Harvard and Yale, respectively, who helped me refine the manuscript and check
the page proofs for this edition.
As always, I must thank my “in-house” editor Deborah Mankiw. As the first
reader of most things I write, she continued to offer just the right mix of criticism
and encouragement.
Finally, I should mention my three children Catherine, Nicholas, and Peter. Their
contribution to this book was putting up with a father spending too many hours
in his study. The four of us have much in common—not least of which is our love
of ice cream (which becomes apparent in Chapter 4).
N. Gregory Mankiw
May 2019
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moment, listening; everything was quiet. I eased it open and stepped
onto the ramp inside the building. In the gloom, polished mahogany
and chrome-work threw back muted highlights. I circled, slipped the
mooring rope, and was about to step into the cockpit when I heard
the bolt of a rifle snick home. I whirled, threw myself flat. The
deafening bam of a 30 calibre fired at close quarters laid a pattern of
fine ripples on the black water. I rolled, hit with a splash that drowned
a second shot, and dove deep. Three strokes took me under the
door, out into the green gloom of open water. I hugged the yellowish
sand of the bottom, angled off to the right, and kept going.
I had to get out of my jacket, and somehow I managed it, almost
without losing a stroke. And there went all the goodies I'd stashed
away in the pockets, down to the bottom of the drink. I still had the
memory-trace in my slacks. I managed thirty strokes before having to
surface. I got half a gulp of fresh air before the shot slapped spray
into my face and echoed off across the water. I sank like a stone,
kicked off, and made another twenty-five yards before I had to come
up. The rifleman was faster this time. The bullet creased my shoulder
like a hot iron, and I was under water again. My kick-work was weak
now; the strength was draining from my arms fast. I had to have air.
My chest was on fire and there was a whirling blackness all around
me. I felt consciousness fading....
As from a distance I observed the clumsy efforts of the swimmer,
watched the flounderings of the poor, untrained creature.... It was
apparent that an override of the autonomic system was required. With
dispatch I activated cortical area omicron, rerouted the blood supply,
drew an emergency oxygen source from stored fats, diverting the
necessary energy to break the molecular bonds.
Now, with the body drawing on internal sources, ample for six
hundred seconds at maximum demand, I stimulated areas upsilon
and mu. I channeled full survival-level energy to the muscle
complexes involved, increased power output to full skeletal tolerance,
eliminated waste motion.
The body drove through the water with the fluid grace of a sea-
denizen....
I floated on my back, breathing in great surges of cool air and blinking

at the crimson sky. I had been under water, a few yards from shore,
drowning. Then there was an awareness, like a voice, telling me what
to do. From out of the mass of Vallonian knowledge I had acquired, I
had drawn what I needed. And now I was here, half a mile from the
beach, winded but intact. I felt beat and hungry, but I had to keep my
mind on the problem of getting to the mainland. It was a fifteen-mile
swim, but if the boys on shore could keep each other occupied, I
ought to be able to make it. The full moon would make steering easy.
And the first thing I would do when I got out of this would be to order
the biggest, rarest steak in South America.
CHAPTER XI
I sat at the kitchen table in Margareta's Lima apartment and gnawed
the last few shreds off the stripped T-bone, while she poured me
another cup of coffee.
"Now tell me about it," she said. "You say they burned your house,
but why? And how did you get here?"
"They got so interested in the fight, they lost their heads," I said.
"That's the only explanation I can think of. I figured they'd go to some
pains to avoid damaging me. I guessed wrong."
"But your own people...."
"Maybe they were right: they couldn't afford to let the Russkis get
me."
"But how did you get covered with mud? And the blood stains on your
back?"
"I had a nice long swim: five hours' worth. Then another hour getting
through a mangrove swamp. Lucky I had a moon. Then a three-hour
hike...."
"You'd better get some sleep," said Margareta. "What do you want me
to do?"
"Get me some clothes," I said. "A grey suit, white shirt, black tie and
shoes. And go to my bank and draw some money, say five thousand.
Oh yeah, see if there's anything in the papers. If you see anybody
hanging around the lobby when you come back, don't come up; give
me a call and I'll meet you."
She stood up. "This is really awful," she said. "Can't your embassy—"
"Didn't I mention it? A Mr. Pruffy, of the embassy, came along to hold
Smale's hand ... not to mention a Colonel Sanchez. I wouldn't be
surprised if the local cops weren't in the act by now...."
"Where will you go?"
"I'll get to the airport and play it by ear. I don't think they've alerted
everybody. It was a hush-hush deal, until it went sour; now they're still
picking up the pieces."
"The bank won't be open for hours yet," said Margareta. "Go to sleep
and don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
I knew I wasn't alone as soon as I opened my eyes. I hadn't heard
anything, but I could feel someone in the room. I sat up slowly, looked
around.
He was sitting in the embroidered chair by the window: an ordinary-
looking fellow in a tan tropical suit, with an unlighted cigarette in his
mouth and no particular expression on his face.
"Go ahead, light up," I said. "Don't mind me."
"Thanks," he said, in a thin voice. He took a lighter from an inner
pocket, flipped it, held it to the cigarette.
I stood up. There was a blur of motion from my visitor, and the lighter
was gone and a short-nosed revolver was in its place.
"You've got the wrong scoop, mister," I said. "I don't bite."
"I'd rather you wouldn't move suddenly, Mr. Legion."
"Which side are you working for?" I asked. "And can I put my shoes
on?"
He rested the pistol on his knee. "Get completely dressed, Mr.
Legion."
"Sorry," I said. "No can do. No clothes."
He frowned slightly. "My jacket will be a little small for you," he said.
"But I think you can manage."
"How come you didn't figure I was dead?" I asked.
"We checked the house," he said. "No body."
"Why, you incompetent asses. You were supposed to think I
drowned."
"That possibility was considered. But we made the routine checks
anyway."
"Nice of you to let me sleep it out. How long have you been here?"
"Only a few minutes," he said. He glanced at his watch. "We'll have to
be going in another fifteen."
"What do you want with me?" I said. "You blew up everything you
were interested in."
"The Department wants to ask you a few questions."
I looked at the pistol. "I wonder if you'd really shoot me," I mused.
"I'll try to make the position clear," he said. "Just to avoid any
unfortunate misunderstanding. My instructions are to bring you in,
alive—if possible. If it appears that you may evade arrest ... or fall into
the wrong hands, I'll be forced to use the gun."
I pulled my shoes on, thinking it over. My best chance to make a

break was now, while there was only one watch dog. But I had a
feeling he was telling the truth about shooting me. I had already seen
the boys in action at the house.
He got up. "Let's step into the living room, Mr. Legion," he said. I
moved past him through the door. In the living room the clock on the
mantle said eleven. I'd been asleep for five or six hours. Margareta
ought to be getting back any minute....
"Put this on," he said. I took the light jacket and wedged myself into it.
The telephone rang.
I looked at my watchdog. He shook his head. We stood and listened
to it ring. After a while it stopped.
"We'd better be going now," he said. "Walk ahead of me, please. We'll
take the elevator to the basement and leave by the service entrance
—"
He stopped talking, eyes on the door. There was the rattle of a key.
The gun came up.
"Hold it," I snapped. "It's the girl who owns the apartment." I moved to
face him, my back to the door.
"That was foolish of you, Legion," he said. "Don't move again."
I watched the door in the big mirror on the opposite wall. The knob
turned, the door swung in ... and a thin brown man in white shirt and
white pants slipped into the room. As he pushed the door back he
transferred a small automatic to his left hand. My keeper threw a
lever on the revolver that was aimed at my belt buckle.
"Stand absolutely still, Legion," he said. "If you have a chance, that's
it." He moved aside slightly, looked past me to the newcomer. I
watched in the mirror as the man in white behind me swiveled to keep
both of us covered.
"This is a fail-safe weapon," said my first owner to the new man. "I
think you know about them. We leaked the information to you. I'm
holding the trigger back; if my hand relaxes, it fires, so I'd be a little
careful about shooting, if I were you."
The thin man swallowed. He didn't say anything. He was having to
make some tough decisions. His instructions would be the same as
my other friend's: to bring me in alive, if possible.
"Who does this bird represent?" I asked my man.
"He's a Soviet agent."
I looked in the mirror at the man again. "Nuts," I said. "He looks like a
waiter in a chile joint. He probably came up to take our order."
"You talk too much," said my keeper between his teeth. He held the
gun on me steadily. I watched his trigger finger to see if it looked like
relaxing.
"I'd say it's a stalemate," I said. "Let's take it once more from the top.
Both of you go—"
"Shut up, Legion." My man licked his lips, glanced at my face. "I'm
sorry. It looks as though—"
"You don't want to shoot me," I blurted out, loudly. In the mirror I had
seen the door, which was standing ajar, ease open an inch, two
inches. "You'll spoil this nice coat...." I kept on talking: "And anyway it
would be a big mistake, because everybody knows Russian agents
are stubby men with wide cheekbones and tight hats—"
Silently Margareta slipped into the room, took two quick steps, and
slammed a heavy handbag down on the slicked-back pompadour that
went with the Adam's apple. The man in white stumbled and fired a
round into the rug. The automatic dropped from his hand, and my pal
in tan stepped to him and hit him hard on the back of the head with
his pistol. He whirled toward me, hissed "Play it smart" just loud
enough for me to hear, then turned to Margareta. He slipped the gun
in his pocket, but I knew he could get it out again in a hurry.
"Very nicely done, Miss," he said. "I'll have this person removed from
your apartment. Mr. Legion and I were just going."
Margareta looked at me. I didn't want to see her get hurt—or
involved.
"It's okay, honey," I said. "This is Mr. Jones ... of our Embassy. We're
old friends." I stepped past her, headed for the door. My hand was on
the knob when I heard a solid thunk behind me. I whirled in time to
clip the FBI on the jaw as he fell forward. Margareta looked at me,
wide-eyed.
"That handbag packs a wallop," I said. "Nice work, Maggie." I knelt,
pulled off the fellow's belt, and cinched his hands behind his back
with it. Margareta got the idea, did the same for the other man, who
was beginning to groan now.
"Who are these men?" she asked.
"I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I have to get to some people I
know, get this story on the wires, out in the open. State'll be a little
shy about gunning me down or locking me up without trial, if I give the
show enough publicity." I reached in my pocket, handed her the
black-&-gold-marked cylinder. "Mail this to—Joe Dugan—at Itzenca,
general delivery."
"All right," Margareta said. "And I have your things." She stepped into
the hall, came back with a shopping bag and a suit carton. She took a
wad of bills from her handbag and handed it to me.
I went to her and put my arms around her. "Listen, honey: as soon as
I leave go to the bank and draw fifty grand. Get out of the country.
They haven't got anything on you except that you beaned a couple of
intruders in your apartment, but it'll be better if you disappear. Leave
an address care of Poste Restante, Basle, Switzerland. I'll get in
touch when I can."
Twenty minutes later I was pushing through the big glass doors onto
the sidewalk, clean-shaven, dressed to the teeth, with five grand on
one hip and a .32 on the other. I'd had a good meal and a fair sleep,
and against me the secret services of two or three countries didn't
have a chance.
I got as far as the corner before they nailed me.
CHAPTER XII
"You have a great deal to lose," General Smale was saying, "and
nothing to gain by your stubbornness. You're a young man, vigorous
and, I'm sure, intelligent. You have a fortune of some million and a
quarter dollars, which I assure you you'll be permitted to keep. As
against that prospect, so long as you refuse to co-operate, we must
regard you as no better than a traitorous criminal—and deal with you
accordingly."
"What have you been feeding me?" I said. "My mouth tastes like
somebody's old gym shoes and my arm's purple to the elbow. Don't
you know it's illegal to administer drugs without a license?"
"The nation's security is at stake," snapped Smale.
"The funny thing is, it must not have worked, or you wouldn't be
begging me to tell all. I thought that scopolamine or whatever you're
using was the real goods."
"We've gotten nothing but gibberish," Smale said, "most of it in an
incomprehensible language. Who the devil are you, Legion? Where
do you come from?"
"You know everything," I said. "You told me so yourself. I'm a guy
named Legion, from Mount Sterling, Illinois, population: one thousand
eight hundred and ninety-two."
Smale had gone white. "I'm in a position to inflict agonies on you, you
insolent rotter," he grated. "I've refrained from doing so. I'm a soldier; I
know my duty. I'm prepared to give my life; if need be, my honor, to
obtain for my government the information you're withholding."
"Turn me loose; then ask me in a nice way. As far as I know, I haven't
got anything of military significance to tell you, but if I were treated as
a free citizen I might be inclined to let you be the judge of that."
"Tell us now; then you'll go free."
"Sure," I said. "I invented a combination rocket ship and time
machine. I travelled around the solar system and made a few short
trips back into history. In my spare time I invented other gadgets. I'm
planning to take out patents, so naturally I don't intend to spill any
secrets. Can I go now?"
Smale got to his feet. "Until we can safely move you, you'll remain in
this room. You're on the sixty-third floor of the Yordano Building. The
windows are of unbreakable glass, in case you contemplate a
particularly untidy suicide. Your person has been stripped of all
potentially dangerous items. The door is of heavy construction and
securely locked. The furniture has been removed so you can't
dismantle it for use as a weapon. It's rather a drab room to spend
your future in, but until you decide to co-operate this will be your
world."
I didn't say anything. I sat on the floor and watched him leave. I
caught a glimpse of two uniformed men outside the door. No doubt
they'd take turns looking through the peephole. I'd have solitude
without privacy.
I stretched out on the floor, which was padded with a nice thick rug,
presumably so that I wouldn't beat my brains out against it just to
spite them. I was way behind on my sleep: being interrogated while
unconscious wasn't a very restful procedure. I wasn't too worried. In
spite of what Smale said, they couldn't keep me here forever. Maybe
Margareta had gotten clear and told the story to some newsmen; this
kind of thing couldn't stay hidden forever. Or could it?
I thought about what Smale had said about my talking gibberish
under the narcotics. That was an odd one....
Quite suddenly I got it. By means of the drugs they must have tapped
a level where the Vallonian background briefing was stored: they'd
been firing questions at a set of memories that didn't speak English. I
grinned, then laughed out loud. Luck was still in the saddle with me.
The glass was in double panels, set in aluminum frames and sealed
with a plastic strip. The space between the two panels of glass was
evacuated of air, creating an insulating barrier against the heat of the
sun. I ran a finger over the aluminum. It was dural: good tough stuff. If
I had something to pry with, I might possibly lever the metal away
from the glass far enough to take a crack at the edge, the weak point
of armor-glass ... if I had something to hit it with.
Smale had done a good job of stripping the room—and me. I had my
shirt and pants and shoes, but no tie or belt. I still had my wallet—
empty, a pack of cigarettes with two wilted weeds in it, and a box of
matches. Smale had missed a bet: I might set fire to my hair and burn
to the ground. I might also stuff a sock down my throat and strangle,
or hang myself with a shoe lace—but I wasn't going to.
I looked at the window some more. The door was too tough to tackle,
and the heavies outside were probably hoping for an excuse to work
me over. They wouldn't expect me to go after the glass; after all, I
was still sixty-three stories up. What would I do if I did make it to the
window sill? But we could worry about that later, after I had smelled
the fresh air.
My forefinger found an irregularity in the smooth metal: a short
groove. I looked closer, saw a screw-head set flush with the
aluminum surface. Maybe if the frame was bolted together—
No such luck; the screw I had found was the only one. What was it
for? Maybe if I removed it I'd find out. But I'd wait until dark to try it.
Smale hadn't left a light fixture in the room. After sundown I'd be able
to work unobserved.
A couple of hours went by and no one came to disturb my solitude,

not even to feed me. I had a short scrap of metal I'd worked loose
from my wallet. It was mild steel, flimsy stuff, only about an inch long,
but I was hoping the screw might not be set too tight. Aluminum
threads strip pretty easily, so it probably wasn't cinched up too hard.
There was no point in theorizing. It was dark now; I'd give it a try. I
went to the window, fitted the edge of metal into the slotted screw-
head, and twisted. It turned, just like that. I backed it off ten turns,
twenty; it was a thick bolt with fine threads. It came free and air
whooshed into the hole. The screw apparently sealed the panel after
the air was evacuated.
I thought it over. If I could fill the space between the panels with water
and let it freeze ... quite a trick in the tropics. I might as well plan to fill
it with gin and set it on fire.
I was going in circles. Every idea I got started with "if". I needed
something I could manage with the materials at hand: cloth, a box of
matches, a few bits of paper.
I got out a cigarette, lit up, and while the match was burning
examined the hole from which I'd removed the plug. It was about
three sixteenths of an inch in diameter and an inch deep, and there
was a hole near the bottom communicating with the air space
between the glass panels. It was an old-fashioned method of
manufacture but it seemed to have worked all right: the air was
pumped out and the hole sealed with the screw. It had at any rate the
advantage of being easy to service if the panel leaked. Now with
some way of pumping air in, I could blow out the panels....
There was no pump on the premises but I did have some chemicals:
the match heads. They were old style too, like a lot of things in Peru:
the strike-once-and-throw-away kind.
I sat on the floor and started to work, chipping the heads off the
matchsticks, collecting the dry, purplish material on a scrap of paper.
Thirty-eight matches gave me a respectable sample. I packed it
together, rolled it in the paper, and crimped the ends. Then I tucked
the makeshift firecracker into the hole the screw had come from.
Using the metal scrap I scraped at the threads of the screw, blurring
them. Then I started it in the hole, half a dozen turns, until it came up
against the match-heads.
The shoes Margareta had bought me had built-up leather heels: hell
on the feet, but just the thing to pound with.
I took the shoe by the toe and hefted it: the flexible sole gave it a
good action, like a well-made sap. There were still a couple of "if's" in
the equation, but a healthy crack on the screw ought to drive it
against the packed match-heads hard enough to detonate them, and
the expanding gasses from the explosion ought to exert enough
pressure against the glass panels to break them. I'd know in a
second.
I flattened myself against the wall, brought the shoe up, and laid it on
the screw-head.
There was a deafening boom, a blast of hot air, and a chemical stink,
then a gust of cool night wind—and I was on the sill, my back to the
street six hundred feet below, my fingers groping for a hold on the
ledge above the window. I found a grip, pulled up, reached higher, got
my feet on the muntin strip, paused to rest for three seconds, reached
again....
I pulled my feet above the window level and heard shouts in the room
below:
"—fool killed himself!"
"Get a light in here!"
I clung, breathing deep, and murmured thanks to the architect who
had stressed a strong horizontal element in his facade and arranged
the strip windows in bays set twelve inches from the face of the
structure. Now, if the boys below would keep their eyes on the street
underneath long enough for me to get to the roof—
I looked up, to get an idea how far I'd have to go—and gripped the
ledge convulsively as the whole building leaned out, tilting me back....
Cold sweat ran into my eyes. I squeezed the stone until my knuckles
creaked, and held on. I laid my cheek against the rough plaster,
listened to my heart thump. Adrenalin and high hopes had gotten me
this far ... and now it had all drained out and left me, a frail ground-
loving animal, flattened against the cruel face of a tower like a fly on a
ceiling, with nothing between me and the unyielding concrete below
but the feeble grip of fingers and toes. I started to yell for help, and
the words stuck in my dry throat. I breathed in shallow gasps, feeling
my muscles tightening, until I hung, rigid as a board, afraid even to
roll my eyeballs for fear of dislodging myself. I closed my eyes, felt
my hands going numb, and tried again to yell: only a thin croak.
A minute earlier I had had only one worry: that they'd look up and see
me. Now my worst fear was that they wouldn't.
This was the end. I'd been close before, but not like this. My fingers
could take the strain for maybe another minute, maybe even two;
then I'd let go, and the wind would whip at me for a few timeless
seconds, before I hit.
Down inside of me a small defiance flickered, found a foot-hold,

burned brighter. I would die ... but Hell, that would solve a lot of
problems. And if I had to die, at least I could die trying.
My mind moved in to take over from my body. It was the body that
was wasting my last strength on a precarious illusion of safety,
numbing my senses, paralyzing me. It was a tyranny I wouldn't
accept. I needed a cool head and a steady hand and an unimpaired
sense of balance; and if the imbecile boy wouldn't co-operate the
mind would damn well force it. First: loosen the grip—Yes! if it killed
me: bend those fingers!
I was standing a little looser now, my hands resting flat, my legs
taking the load. I had a good wide ledge to stand on: nearly a foot,
and in a minute I was going to reach up and get a new hold and lift
one foot at a time ... and if I slipped, at least I'd have done it my way.
I let go, and the building leaned out, and to hell with it....
I felt for the next ledge, gripped it, pulled up, found a toe-hold.
Sure, I was dead. It was a long way to the top, and there was a fancy
cornice I'd never get over, but when the moment came and I started
the long ride down I'd thumb my nose at the old hag, Instinct, who
hadn't been as tough as she thought she was....
I was under the cornice now, hanging on for a breather and listening
to the hooting and hollering from the window far below. A couple of
heads had popped out and taken a look, but it was dark up where I
was and all the attention was centered down where the crowd had
gathered and lights were playing, looking for the mess. Pretty soon
now they'd begin to get the drift—so I'd better be going.
I looked up at the overhang ... and felt the old urge to clutch and hang
on. So I leaned outward a little further, just to show me who was
boss. It was a long reach, and I'd have to risk it all on one lunge
because, if I missed, there wasn't any net, and my fingers knew it; I
heard my nails rasp on the plaster. I grated my teeth together and
unhooked one hand: it was like a claw carved from wood. I took a
half-breath, bent my knees slightly; they were as responsive as a
couple of bumper-jacks bolted on at the hip. Tough; but it was now or
never....
I let go with both hands and stretched, leaning back....
My wooden hands bumped the edge, scrabbled, hooked on, as my
legs swung free, and I was hanging like an old-time sailor strung up
by the thumbs. A wind off the roof whipped at my face and now I was
a tissue-paper doll, fluttering in the breeze.
I had to pull now, pull hard, heave myself up and over the edge, but I
was tired, too tired, and a dark curtain was falling over me....
Then from the darkness a voice was speaking in a strange language:
a confusion of strange thought symbols, but through them an ever
more insistent call:
... dilate the secondary vascular complex, shunt full conductivity to
the upsilon neuro-channel. Now, stripping oxygen ions from fatty cell
masses, pour in electro-chemical energy to the sinews....
With a smooth surge of power I pulled myself up, fell forward, rolled
onto my back, and lay on the flat roof, the beautiful flat roof, still warm
from the day's sun.
I was here, looking at the stars, safe, and later on when I had more
time I'd stop to think about it. But now I had to move, before they'd
had time to organize themselves, cordon off the building, and start a
door-to-door search.
Staggering a bit from the exertion of the long climb I got to my feet,
went to the shed housing the entry to the service stair. A short flight of
steps led down to a storeroom. There were dusty boards, dried-up
paint cans, odd tools. I picked up a five-foot length of two-by-four and
a hammer with one claw missing, and stepped out into the hall. The
street was a long way down and I didn't feel like wasting time with
stairs. I found the elevator, got in and pushed the button for the foyer.
In a few seconds it stopped and the doors opened. I glanced out,

tightened my grip on the hammer, and stepped out. I could see the
lights in the street out front and in the distance there was the wail of a
siren, but nobody in the lobby looked my way. I headed across toward
the side exit, dumped the board at the door, tucked the hammer in the
waist band of my pants, and stepped out onto the pavement. There
were a lot of people hurrying past but this was Lima: they didn't waste
a glance on a bare-footed carpenter.
I moved off, not hurrying. There was a lot of rough country between
me and Itzenca, the little town near which the life boat was hidden in
a cañon, but I aimed to cover it in a week. Some time between now
and tomorrow I'd have to figure out a way to equip myself with a few
necessities, but I wasn't worried. A man who had successfully taken
up human-fly work in middle life wouldn't have any trouble stealing a
pair of boots.
Foster had shoved off for home three years ago, local time, although
to him, aboard the ship, only a few weeks might have passed. My
lifeboat was a midge compared to the mother ship he rode, but it had
plenty of speed. Once aboard the lugger ... and maybe I could put a
little space between me and the big boys.
I had used the best camouflage I knew of on the boat. The near-
savage native bearers who had done my unloading and carried my
Vallonian treasures across the desert to the nearest railhead were not
the gossipy type. If General Smale's boys had heard about the boat,
they hadn't mentioned it. And if they had: well, I'd solve that one when
I got to it. There were still quite a few 'if's' in the equation, but my
arithmetic was getting better all the time.
CHAPTER XIII
I took the precaution of sneaking up on the lifeboat in the dead of
night, but I could have saved myself a crawl. Except for the fact that
the camouflage nets had rotted away to shreds, the ship was just as I
had left it, doors sealed. Why Smale's team hadn't found it, I didn't
know; I'd think that one over when I was well away from Earth.
I went into the post office at Itzenca to pick up the parcel Margareta
had mailed me with Foster's memory-trace in it. While I was checking
to see whether Uncle Sam's minions had intercepted the package
and substituted a carrot, I felt something rubbing against my shin. I
glanced down and saw a grey and white cat, reasonably clean and
obviously hungry. I don't know whether I'd ploughed through a field of
wild catnip the night before or if it was my way with a finger behind
the furry ears, but kitty followed me out of Itzenca and right into the
bush. She kept pace with me, leading most of the time, as far as the
space boat, and was the first one aboard.
I didn't waste time with formalities. I had once audited a briefing rod
on the boat's operation—not that I had ever expected to use the
information for a take-off. Once aboard, I hit the controls and cut a
swathe through the atmosphere that must have sent fingers jumping
for panic buttons from Washington to Moscow.
I didn't know how many weeks or months of unsullied leisure
stretched ahead of me now. There would be time to spare for
exploring the boat, working out a daily routine, chewing over the
details of both my memories, and laying plans for my arrival on
Foster's world, Vallon. But first I wanted to catch a show that was
making a one-night stand for me only: the awe-inspiring spectacle of
the retreating Earth.
I dropped into a seat opposite the screen and flipped into a view of
the big luminous ball of wool that was my home planet. I'd been
hoping to get a last look at my island, but I couldn't see it. The whole
sphere was blanketed in cloud: a thin worn blanket in places but still
intact. But the moon was a sight! An undipped Edam cheese with the
markings of Roquefort. For a quarter of an hour I watched it grow until
it filled my screen. It was too close for comfort. I dumped the tabby
out of my lap and adjusted a dial. The dead world swept past, and I
had a brief glimpse of blue burst bubbles of craters that became the
eyes and mouth and pock marks of a face on a head that swung
away from me in disdain and then the sibling planets dwindled and
were gone forever.
The life boat was completely equipped, and I found comfortable
quarters. An ample food supply was available by the touch of a panel
on the table in the screen-room. That was a trick my predecessor with
the dental jewellery hadn't discovered, I guessed. During the course
of my first journey earthward and on my visits to the boat for saleable
playthings while she lay in dry-dock, I had discovered most of the
available amenities aboard. Now I luxuriated in a steaming bath of
recycled water, sponged down with disposable towels packed in
scented alcohol, fed the cat and myself, and lay down to sleep for
about two weeks.
By the third week I was reasonably refreshed and rested. The cat
was a godsend, I began to realize. I named her Itzenca, after the
village where she adopted me, and I talked to her by the hour.
"Say, Itz," said I, "where would you like your sand-box situated? Right
there in front of the TV screen?"
No, said Itzenca by a flirt of her tail. And she walked over behind a
crate that had never been unloaded on earth.
I pulled out a box of junk and slid the sand-box in its place. Itzenca
promptly lost interest and instead jumped up on the junk box which
fell off the bench and scattered small objects of khaff and metal in all
directions.
"Come back here, blast you," I said, "and help me pick up this stuff."
Itz bounded after a dull-gleaming silver object that was still rolling. I
was there almost as quick as she was and grabbed up the cylinder.
Suddenly horsing around was over. This thing was somebody's
memory.
I dropped onto a bench to examine it, my Vallonian-inspired pulse

pounding. Itz jumped up into my lap and nosed the cylinder. I was
trying to hark back to those days three years before when I had
loaded the lifeboat with all the loot it would carry, for the trip back to
Earth.
"Listen, Itz, we've got to do some tall remembering. Let's see: there
was a whole rack of blanks in the memory-recharging section of the
room where we found the three skeletons. Yeah, now I remember: I
pulled this one out of the recorder set. I showed it to Foster when he
was hunting his own trace. He didn't realize I'd pulled it out of the
machine and he thought it was an empty. But I'll bet you somebody
had his mind taped, and then left in a hurry, before the trace could be
color-coded and filed.
"On the other hand, maybe it's a blank that had just been inserted
when somebody broke up the play-house.... But wasn't there
something Foster said ... about when he woke up, way back when,
with a pile of fresh corpses around him? He gave somebody
emergency treatment and to a Vallonian that would include a
complete memory-transcription.... Do you realize what I've got here in
my hand, Itz?"
She looked up at me inquiringly.
"This is what's left of the guy that Foster buried: his pal, Ammaerln, I
think he called him. What's inside his cylinder used to be tucked away
in the skull of the Ancient Sinner. The guy's not so dead after all. I'll
bet his family will pay plenty for this trace, and be grateful besides.
That'll be an ace in the hole in case I get too hungry on Vallon."
I got up, crossed the apartment and dropped the trace in a drawer
beside Foster's own memory.
"Wonder how Foster's making out without his past, Itz? He claimed
the one I've got here could only be a copy of the original stored at
Okk-Hamiloth, but my briefing didn't say anything about copying
memories. He must be somebody pretty important to rate that
service."
Suddenly my eyes were rivetted to the markings on Foster's trace
lying in the drawer. "Zblood! The royal colors!" I sat down on the bed
with a lurch. "Itzenca, old gal, it looks like we'll be entering Vallonian

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Brief principles of macroeconomics -

How Markets Work

The Data of Macroeconomics

The Real Economy in the Long Run

7 Production and Growth

The Macroeconomics of Open Economies

Short-Run Economic Fluctuations

15 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply

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I floated on my back, breathing in great surges of cool air and blinking

I pulled my shoes on, thinking it over. My best chance to make a

A couple of hours went by and no one came to disturb my solitude,

Down inside of me a small defiance flickered, found a foot-hold,

In a few seconds it stopped and the doors opened. I glanced out,

I dropped onto a bench to examine it, my Vallonian-inspired pulse

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