You will learn much more about mainstream economics from about.com for example.

Well, except for the fact that an Austrian economist would change almost everything about how most Western governments handle economic policy. That's a cute sentence though.

You will see a lot of the subchapter type arguments mentioned in the news and the like and at least now you have one perspective on the issues which even if you don't agree with it forces you to articulate your own side better.

It's a really good book for a layperson to start thinking about the economics section of the news. It's written well, too.

I have given away ~20 copies of this book so far and have gotten nothing but praise even from Marxists.

I don't know why I even bother to make this long post since Austrians in general are very,very far removed from being status quo-ists so your comment doesn't even make sense. The book is also not overly Austrian apart from the recommended reading.

Feel free to recommend a better "basics of economics" book.

When banks get bailed-out by government, they're unhappy. When trade agreements and refusal to enforce labor laws pushes down wages and lengthens hours, that's "the free market".