Food for thought ...

books:


	• Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life Steven E. Landsburg Free Press, 1995 - 251 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great Read!

This is an accessable, fun read. I also read Fair Play and More Sex is Safe Sex by Landsburg. He is the best author in this area.

The Economic Mindset

This is the rare book that will have you thinking about it months after reading it. The author presents some of the most basic principles of economics in an accessible format. For anyone who missed out on taking econ in college, this book is a useful read.

However, a few things keep this book from getting 5 stars. The author's hyperbole often borders on distracting, and a few of his conclusions seem unsupported by the evidence presented. Also, the author did not always distinguish between his opinions and economic analysis. In a book like this, the line between theory and opinion should be clear.

If you liked Freakonomics and you are looking for more economic reading material then you will probably like this book.

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Food for thought ...

If you want answers ... look elsewhere. The author addresses many questions from "everyday life", but seldom provides credible answers.
Of course, he seldom claims to; what he does is point out the flaws in conventional wisdom, e.g. regarding why popcorn is expensive in movie theaters. Sometimes he provides multiple theories, sometimes none at all.

I'd advise taking the harsher reviews with a grain of salt: the author doesn't claim to reveal any profound new economic theories, and the wise reader will recognize that that sort of thing is to be found in peer reviewed academic journals, not pop-econ books.

The author points out the flaws in some generally held truths, provides some solid, fundamental tools of economic thought with which to address them, and leaves the reader to his own devices.
What he accomplishes is to provide the reader with interesting puzzles to ponder, and some guidance on how to begin.

The end result is less like an economics textbook, and more like one of those "philosophy puzzles" books (e.g. http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0312314523).

If you want to learn economics proper, start with the Schaum's outlines on Micro/Macro/International economics, or a good econ text. If you just want some extremely enjoyable, light reading that will make you really think, Landsburg delivers.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Witty economists are about as easy to find as anorexic mezzo-sopranos, natty mujahedeen, and cheerful Philadelphians. But Steven E. Landsburg...is one economist who fits the bill. In a wide-ranging, easily digested, unbelievably contrarian survey of everything from why popcorn at movie houses costs so much to why recycling may actually reduce the number of trees on the planet, the University of Rochester professor valiantly turns the discussion of vexing economic questions into an activity that ordinary people might enjoy.

-- Joe Queenan, The Wall Street Journal

The Armchair Economist is a wonderful little book, written by someone for whom English is a first (and beloved) language, and it contains not a single graph or equation...Landsburg presents fascinating concepts in a form easily accessible to noneconomists.

-- Erik M. Jensen, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

...enormous fun from its opening page...Landsburg has done something extraordinary: He has expounded basic economic principles with wit and verve.

-- Dan Seligman, Fortune

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