Thoroughly classroom tested, this concise text takes a fresh look at all the key topics in intermediate-level macroeconomic theory with carefully chosen linear versions of the standard models of both the closed and the open economy. The author leaves open the possibility that the standard macroeconomic models are incomplete, and challenges students to form their own opinions. The text's key chapter on inflation replaces the standard assumption of monetary targeting with a central bank reaction function, making the treatment of monetary policy both more realistic and modern. The book also features chapters on the open economy under fixed and floating exchange rates, the classical growth model, and the Solow-Swan growth model.