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Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life
by: Steven E. Landsburg

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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.3
EAN: 9780029177761
ISBN: 0029177766
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 251
Publication Date: March 01, 1995
Publisher: Free Press
Studio: Free Press
Sales Rank: 11087

Accessories:

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
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

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- I've read better
Not a very good book. The author is overly opinionated and not very open to conflicting ideas. He also does not do a very good job in educating the reader on economic concepts he uses to support his views. Overall, I would say it's not worth the time or money.

Rating:

- Puzzle solved
I am a firm believer that even the most complicated topics can be conveyed in plain language-- and enjoyed from the comfort of an armchair. This book does an incredible job of presenting the essential tenets of economics in a memorable, witty, and easily understood manner. Equally as important, Dr. Landsberg explicitly defines the realm of pure economics vs. policy. An incredible, thought-provoking read. I would gladly trade three undergraduate economics courses for a detailed review of this book.

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More

Rating:

- 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.

Rating:

- I don't even know where to start.
This book isn't even something I would typically refer to as a book. It is more a cobbling together of blog-like material, short articles, rants against things and people in the popular media that the author doesn't like, bad examples of economic thought-processes that simply collapse at the first poke of logical analysis, and contradictory arguments.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love economics, one of the most beautiful and fascinating sciences we have. I am not an economist, but am a successful business owner, fairly smart, well educated, and no slouch when it comes to analytical thought.

This book falls flat, not because of the subject matter, but because of the way it is presented. It seems more an attack on everything that ever annoyed the author. Ideas ... Read More

Books : Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life