| 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
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Seller: BRILANTI BOOKS
Rating:  1786 reviews
Sales Rank: 131
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1 Original
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0060731338
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780060731335
ASIN: 0060731338
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780060731335 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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| 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1786
 Excellent service July 29, 2010
sissie
Have enjoyed the book and totally pleased about the rapid delivery from the time it was ordered. Who could ask for anything more?
Love at first read July 26, 2010
Janet Zablocki
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love this book with a passion. It is everything I've wanted in a book and more.
 Brisk first half degenerates in second July 23, 2010
Loren Woirhaye (Easthampton, Massachusetts - Los Angeles, California)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I know it's hard to write a whole book and make it interesting from start to finish so it isn't surprising that "Freakonomics", like many non-fiction books in the sort of niche it occupies, sort of degenerates and becomes less interesting as it goes along.
The best stuff is in the first half of the book. From Levitt's point-of-view this would make sense, because a small portion of people who purchase and begin to read a book even get past the first few chapters before losing interest. It is not always that a book doesn't get read because it is boring - it is because not too many people are genuinely interested in reading these days.
Thus, to put the best stuff first in such a book makes sense and that's what the authors have done. If I was the editor I might have lopped off the back of the book and told them to come up with some better material.
My opinion notwithstanding "Freakonomics" was a hit among people who like to think of themselves as up on their reading, hence the huge number of reviews here.
Nevertheless, the book is a lightweight. I paid $2 for it at a tag sale long after it was a hot topic. I read it pretty quick. It's breezy and lightweight reading - gives you some "ohh - that's interesting" moments without too much deep thought required... or none at all, really.
All in all a fun read and worth my time and two dollars, but not revelatory or particularly thought provoking.
Deep July 22, 2010
Jeffrey Louis (Chicago)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Read this if you have the time, and energy, to spend exploring the deeper side of how an economist looks at trends around us.
Great entertainment & food for thought July 17, 2010
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Simply put, Freakamomics is a great read for the masses due to the following.
1. It's an easy-to-read book that doesn't claim to give all the answers. Rather, the authors provide explanations for common occurances with a specific point of view.
2. You may have an "aha" moment by reading through the ideas presented in the book.
That said, readers should always take the information presented to them with a grain of salt, as the authors take a data-centric approach to explaining the issues within, which may not necessarily provide one with a holistic explanation.
Fun note: I had been stuck in traffic on the 405 freeway and was tired of the radio, so I enabled my Kindle's speech-to-text feature and had it read me a chapter as I slowly progressed to my destination. It made the time pass much easier and was easy to follow along with, except when it got to a list of names.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1786
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