The book will definitely explain very well basic concepts in economics and also what economics as a subject is. That depends on what your objectives are. This being said the book was written in 2000, and while by 2000 standards it would be fair to say its has political slant by 2022 standards when even AP often interjects some political commentary into their reporting its barely noticeable.

Also, I do not think his treatment of minimum wages (in the fifth edition) provides fair overview of a literature (although it takes stance that has slighter majority support among economists, this issue is controversial with profession not reaching proper consensus yet see IGM poll). This can give reader misleading impression about role of government in the economy. For example, the book presents mainly examples of various government interventions that failed due to unintended consequences, but does not always mention more nuanced policies that were successful. On the other hand you can definitely see a libertarian slant in the book.

The book is very good at explaining some basic economic concepts such as scarcity and trade-offs, how markets operate and also has a lot of illustrations of very important concept in policy economics of unintended consequences. I think both of the things you heard about the book are valid. I have also heard some criticisms but they seem to be based on Thomas Sowell's political views. I heard that Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell is a good book for a layperson to get a feel for how the economy works.

The thomas sowell reader review