This is a textbook most suitable for graduate students in economics taking an international trade theory course. It represents a collection of lectures that originally were the class notes for international trade courses taught by Bhagwati and Srinivasan. The latest edition includes additions by the new co-author, Arvind Panagariya. Based on my reading of the first edition, the text has both strong and weak points. The text is most useful for those who already have a reasonable grasp of international trade theory, because the explanations are often rather terse.
Brevity is especially useful when one merely needs a refresher.
However, brevity may make the text less useful for students who are learning trade theory for the first time. Nevertheless, the book should be in the collection of anyone who considers themselves, or hopes to become, an international trade specialist. In this book Russell Roberts creates a fable about the US economy that is informed by the results of international trade theory. Roberts invokes the spirit of David Ricardo to show readers how different the US economy would look after decades of protectionist policies compared to decades of free trade. My students have said that this easy to read story helps bring economic concepts to life.