|
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) |  | Authors: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Publisher: Harper Perennial
List Price: $15.99
Buy New: $8.74
as of 11/19/2009 22:21 CST details
You Save: $7.25 (45%)
New (63) Used (14) Collectible (2) from $8.74
Seller: Smartest Choice
Rating:  1696 reviews
Sales Rank: 67
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060731338
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780060731335
ASIN: 0060731338
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
Product Description
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? How much do parents really matter? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to parenting and sports—and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, they show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1696
 Ok at best November 17, 2009
Some Guy (US)
Decent but the cool title probably has as much or more to do with this books popularity than anything.
 Awesonomics November 17, 2009
D. Wacker (Los Angeles, CA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a great book for anyone interested in economics. It takes you on a journey of unexpected correlations and defies conventional wisdom. The book shows you truths you never would of expected or thought of with bamboozling statistics and data. It is an easy, enjoyable book for ages 18-168. Also the book is not very long and keeps you entertained. Levitt and Dubner team up to be an awesome duo and they are by far some awesome economists. I high recommend it. Enough Said.
Must Own November 15, 2009
Smokey E
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Everyone and anyone should own this book. Humorous insight to the world from an economic point of view without using the wordy terminology.
A cool brain teaser November 13, 2009
Gustavas Jankauskas (Lithuania)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Want to look smart at a party? Need a perfect ice-breaker? Want to be witty and charming by "spontaneously" sharing few interesting and/but weird facts with your colleagues? This is a book for you.
It offers totally new insight to the facts that might seem to have nothing in common from the first glance, is witty and captivating - great book to relax on your free time, but still, with getting some intelectual stimulation.
My personal favourite chapter is about how names "determine" kid's future. Want to know more? You'll have to read it.
 Shaky Theory, Boring and Poorly Written November 12, 2009
Bosco
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am completely disappointed by this book. It does not fullfil what it promises on its cover. [An exploration in] the hidden side of everything?? I think it's more like A speculation into a handful of unrelated topics.
The book is very thin in its content. Even with only 200 pages in the version that I have, it feels stretched. The last chapter is particularly bemusing with a bunch of names listed. I would have gotten 99% of what the book has to say by just reading the introduction. While I do not doubt Prof. Levitt scientific approach to his work, this book seems more like a bunch of speculation. The rigorous analysis was just not apparent in the book. This is acceptable for a popular writer from whom I would be expecting something fun to read. But for an author, who hold himself out as a Chicago economist, I expect more.
There are few useful take-away from the book. The authors presented their "great" findings of real estate agents working to maximize their benefits instead of the home owner. This is hardly suprising. They are agents and I think it is well-documented that the interest of the agent does not always coincide with that of the principal. Home owner still engage them not because they are ignorant of this fact but the benefits of having these agents in the process is probably higher than the costs (the agency fee plus not selling at the maximum price). An home owner do not have the knowledge, time or may be more importantly, access to the pool of clients. Teachers cheating. Is this a news? Afterall, they are human and they respond to incentive...we often watch in the news that even highly religious people will commit crime too. How surprising is that a teacher will cheat?
I said the book is poorly written because it's not even entertaining. there are people out there, who are better story-teller. The narrative of the book is too plain, the lead to the main story is too long (& sometimes not entirely relevant).
The only up side of the book is probably the way how Prof. Levitt uses ingenious way to measure things that are very hard to measure. But, the robustness and limitations of those meausres were not discussed. so, overall, it's very hard to judge whether the "observed" patterns are real or are they just results of data mining.
A hugely disappointing book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1696
|
|
|
|
Return to Math.com | |
