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Freakonomics by: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner List Price: CDN$ 35.99 City Travel Guides Price: CDN$ 22.67 You Save: CDN$13.32 (37%)Prices subject to change. |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 330 EAN: 9780061234002 ISBN: 0061234001 Label: William Morrow Manufacturer: William Morrow Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: October 05, 2006 Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: October 17, 2006 Studio: William Morrow Sales Rank: 146 Related Items:
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Editorial Review: Amazon.com: 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 innercity 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
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner Answer The Amazon.com Significant Seven Customer Reviews
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 Rating:  - This book gets me thrown out of partiesFreakonomics gets me thrown out of a lot of parties. Now that I know what really makes the world turn I cannot resist butting in on folk's conversations and putting them right. `Zero tolerance', someone will say, `that's what cut crime in New York'. `No it didn't', says I, `it was the 1973 legalisation of abortion that cut crime. Fewer young men means fewer young criminals.' A few dirty looks and off I go to another group. `My estate agent is marvellous; she sold my house in no time. A little under my asking price but she got me the best deal she could'. `No she didn't', I interrupt. `She sold your house below your asking price for a quick sale. She makes more money selling lots of houses cheaply than fewer houses for ... Read More: Rating: - Not meant to be an introduction to economic fundamentalsI think the title says it all. Freakonomics is not intended to be an economics textbook, a peer-reviewed journal article or thesis dissertation for a PhD candidate. It is a book that fuses economics with journalisms to make the work of economists more appealing to the masses. When I initially studied economics, I heard the same things over and over again - moaning and groaning from fellow freshman and sophomore students who had to take introductory micro and macro economics as a requirement of their professional college or applied arts & science program (e.g. environmental studies). A few of us would decide that we found economics interesting enough, and applicable enough, to choose it as a major. I chose the discipline because it helped ... Read More: Rating: - Laughing Points.'Freakonomics' is a witty, irreverent book for individuals who have never been and will never be Economics theorists. It's at once hilarious and serious about applying principles of Economics to real life scenarios, and it's just so much fun to read! Let's start by saying, don't let the title scare you. I know most people pretty much despise anything to do with Economics, and anyone with a "respectable" connection to Economics would turn a nose up at this book. But with chapters like: The Ku Klux Klan and Real Estate Agents; Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers; and Drug Dealers Living with Their Moms- I mean how awful can it be? Steven D. Levitt teaches Economics at the University of Chicago, so he is absolutely qualified to make the relational ... Read More: Rating: - Should have bought the book six months agoI heard Levitt on Bloomberg ten months ago and wanted to buy this book immediately. Unfortunately, I was on highway 287 in New Jersey, stuck in traffic during rush hour. Then every time I saw the book on a bookstand in an airport, I avoided it and chose a latest bestseller instead. Then, last week, it just happened that I finally bought the book for my west- coast six-hour flight and was pretty much expecting a "Tipping Point" kind of read. I'll tell you hands down. This book is amazing. No offence to Gladwell, Steve Levitt has definitely produced a better read than "Blink" and "Tipping Point". This book, as we already know, has introduced a new "cult" in economics. Just like how blogosphere is changing the rules of journalism, "Freakonomics" has already changed ... Read More: Rating:  - At grade 9 levelHi: I found the book interesting and easy to read. However, it was a bit condescending. It was written at a grade 8 or 9 level. I guess that helps a books popularity. The book had some interesting stories and facts but nothing I could use to help me work more effectively. Cheers! |
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Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, author and co-author of this season's bestselling quirky hit, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, graciously answered the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions that we like to run by every author.