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Freakonomics (Revised Edition) (Hardcover)

by Steven D Levitt (Author), Stephen J. Dubner (Author) "Anyone living in the United States in the early 1990s and paying even a whisper of attention to the nightly news or a daily paper..." (more)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
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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

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.

Levitt and Dubner answer the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Though the idea of listening to an economics text may bring to mind nightmarish visions of incomprehensible facts, figures and graphs, this audiobook is refreshingly accessible and engrossing. Journalist Dubner reads with just the right mix of enthusiasm and awe, revealing juicy morsels of wisdom on everything from what sumo wrestlers and teachers have in common (a propensity to cheat) to whether parents can really push their kids to greatness by buying them Baby Einstein toys and enlisting them in numerous before- and after-school activities (not really). The only section that doesn't translate well to the format is the final one on naming conventions. The lists of "White Girl Names" and "Black Girl Names," and "Low-End" names and "High-End" names can be mind-numbing, though the text that breaks up these lists will intrigue. Overall, however, these unusual investigations by Levitt, the "rogue" of the subtitle, make for meaty—and entertaining—listening.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Anyone living in the United States in the early 1990s and paying even a whisper of attention to the nightly news or a daily paper could be forgiven for having been scared out of his skin. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews
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4.1 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at things through the eyes of an economist., Oct 17 2006
This review is from: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Hardcover)
This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.
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43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Luke Warm: Easy to read but to superficial to be very interesting., Feb 7 2007
By E. Haensel (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I approciated Freakonomics with a mixture of excitment and trepidation: the idea of an economist using their skills and thinking outside the box was enticing, yet, I was worried about how someone trained inside the reductive box of economics would deal with the complexity of social life.

Levitt and Dubner ask great questions in this book, and do some unique work digging up new possibilities to social problems, and quirky situations.

Unfortunately they either lack the ability to weigh their evidence against traditional explanaitons in a way that shows the true mixed causality of most situations, or, they suffer from a typical economists arrogance which supposes that mathematical reasoning can dig up enough parralel statistics as to show a causal analysis.

In a sense this book, while expanding upon the questions economists can tackle, fails to integrate economic statistics into a comprehensive whole by adaquately investigating other forms of inquiry. Thus, while this book is well written, mildly thought provoking, and somewhat entertaining, it does very little to bridge the quantitative and qualitative gap that exists in the social sciences.

For its part, Freakonomics serves to remind us that numerical tools are a powerful form of social analysis. Unfortunately it leaves us with the (false) impression that quantitative analysis can solve questions of social causes without recourse to qualitative information.

*note: I did not read the expanded edition. I am not sure how different it is.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book gets me thrown out of parties, May 12 2008
Freakonomics 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 a fair price.' More unfriendly stares. Next group.
`Drug dealers are all rich, living off the backs of their victims'.
`Oh yeah? Says I, `Then why do most of them live with their moms?'
And so on until they show me the door.
Freakonomics has turned me into a know-all. It explains the real reasons things happen as opposed to the conventional thinking. Written in a style that tells you that you are among friends, Freakonomics leads you gently from a world of easy assumptions to a world of questioning. You will never be quite the same again.
My only bicker is that it is too short. Are they writing a Freakonomics II? I do hope so. Maybe they can explain why know-alls get thrown out of parties.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read
A rather quick read. The other brings up good examples and analogies in explaining economic concepts. A good book if you've never taken an econ course.
Published 1 month ago by S. Ghavami

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Entertainment, Questionable Motives!?
To me, the purpose of this book was mere SALES!!! The "research" seems very off and lacks thourough observation under DIFFERENT controlled situations. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Wesley Tucker

1.0 out of 5 stars Let Down
After reading the Undercover Economist, I thought that this would be just as good. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Y. Chen

3.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read, but Cause and Effect May be a Little Misleading
I thought this book was fairly interesting and would actually give it a 3.5 to 4, but not over a 4. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rocky Mountain Entrepreneur

5.0 out of 5 stars Freaking Excellent!
What an excellent book. Crammed with interesting insights, overflowing with surprising twists. I loved it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by LP

4.0 out of 5 stars Out of the ordinary
What a refreshing take on the application of statistics and economics in the so-called "real world". Read more
Published 10 months ago by Dyski

5.0 out of 5 stars Not meant to be an introduction to economic fundamentals
I 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. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Tupone

4.0 out of 5 stars Laughing Points.
'Freakonomics' is a witty, irreverent book for individuals who have never been and will never be Economics theorists. Read more
Published on July 31 2007 by maya j

5.0 out of 5 stars Should have bought the book six months ago
I 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. Read more
Published on May 31 2007 by Sivakumar Nadarajah

2.0 out of 5 stars At grade 9 level
Hi: 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. Read more
Published on Mar 26 2007 by William O. Haflidson

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