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Books : Freakonomics A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of EverythingIn association with Amazon.com Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN: 9780739462560 ISBN: 0739462563 Label: William Morrow Manufacturer: William Morrow Number Of Pages: 242 Publication Date: 2005 Publisher: William Morrow Studio: William Morrow Sales Rank: 54658 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: "In an age of too much wishful, faith-based conventional wisdom on the right and left, and too much intellectual endeavor squeezed into prefab ideological containers, Freakonomics is politically incorrect in the best, most essential way. Levitt and Dubner suss out all kinds fo surprising truths --sometimes important ones, sometimes merely fascinating ones --by means of a smart, deep, rigorous, open-minded consideration of facts, with a fearless disregard for whom they might be upsetting. This is bracing fun of the highest order" -Kurt Andersen Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Entertaining and Interesting, But Not Necessarily CorrectThis best selling book is interesting and entertaining. Of course, it is neither a book (really, a collection of observations), not especially "freaky" (every topic is pretty much common), and nothing really to do with economics (especially the extremely long story about the KKK). It does rely a lot on data and reductionistic causality that, generally speaking, is spot on, and for many people, this new perspective will be eye opening. The lack of a central theme is bothersome, and the ... Read More Rating:  - A Must ReadFreakonomics challenges our presumptions and beliefs about things. The book covers incentives - the incentives to pick your child up from daycare to a teacher's incentive to cheat or a criminals incentive to commit crime. Various truths that we hold dear are challenged. Media and so called "experts" are examined and their theories are studied. Here are some of the questions answered and facts from the book: - Children are more likely to drown in a swimming pool then be killed by a gun ... Read More Rating: - Great reading front to backIs your child safer in a home where there are guns, or in a home with a swimming pool in the back yard? Is the decrease in crime over the past two decades due to tougher laws, increased money for law enforcement, or something else...something that no one ever considered when Roe v. Wade was handed down? Is it true that the average drug dealer on the street corner actually makes less than minimum wage? And if so, why would anyone want to engage in such a 'career' when they have a 1-in-4 chance of ... Read More Rating: - Interesting - A Must Read if You Want a Different View of Economic ScienceOne thing you will certainly find in this book: A lot of interesting facts and controversial points of view about many things and aspects of the actual world that the most of us consider important. The book is written in a conversational way, and treats everything using a language that is understandable by anyone. If you don't understand the first thing about economics this book is for you, and if you consider yourself an expert on economic theory this book is still for you. Written ... Read More Rating:  - Good short story; boring bookThis is the most over-hyped book I can remember reading. If you've read a magazine or newspaper article about some of the book's insights, then you already know all you need to, as the book jams 30 pages of interesting info into 200 pages. The last 20 pages or so is mainly lists of names to try to make some point that is beaten to death...snore. Browse for similar items by category: 
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