Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 21, 2007

Anne rated it:

Ugh! The author comes off so cold and calculating I found it difficult to even finish the book. His arguments are based on economic analysis and pretty much nothing else. I get the impression that if he saw somebody drowning he'd pull out his notebook and calculate whether or not it'd economically worthy his time/effort to save the person.

As many others have said before me, read Freakonomics instead.

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2008

Mark rated it:

A not-so-subtle libertarian conservative manifesto masquerading as a "freakanomics" style book to cash in on the trend.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2008

Hope rated it:

Finally, I get to write the review I've been pondering since about page 165. I didn't care for this book AT ALL (so let's just establish that fact). I think the title should've been my first tip-off--a book that so clearly needs sex to sell can't have much going on between the covers. I would be terribly upset if I'd paid money for this book. As it happens it was thrust upon me by Judy (thanks.)
I'd just read Freakonomics and thought this might be similar. Let me assure you it is not. I kn More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2012

Visakan rated it:

I'm distraught by the amount of negative reviews I saw here, but I'm not entirely surprised. I just re-read the book for about the 4th or 5th time over the years, and each time I find myself discovering that my previous frustrations with the author were, in fact, manifestations of my own logical inconsistencies. Landsburg is, in fact, a compassionate man of the highest order- we're just too clouded with our caveman minds to see it. Adam Smith became an economist because he was a moralist who wan More...

0 comments like

Jun 11, 2010

Melanie rated it:

This book is so, so awful. The only thing worse than the author's flawed logic is his insistence on being purely vitriolic towards anyone who dares to offer a counterpoint. Arrogant a**hole economist thinks he's better at understanding HIV prevention than an M.D. That's only one example of the many times that he chooses to PERSONALLY ATTACK critics of his ideas instead of engaging in intelligent debate/discourse. A lot of the time I just felt uncomfortable reading this. So far, he's spent 2 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 29, 2011

Mycroft rated it:

Landsburg uses abbreviated information to draw unsupportable conclusions. For example, the title of the book is taken from the notion that AIDS and other STDs are spread largely by high-risk individuals like prostitutes and others with large numbers of sexual partners. Landsburg contends, then that if more people had a few sexual partners, but not so many as the outright promiscuous (2 to 3 per person), the spread of these diseases would slow as fewer people would be visiting the promiscuous. Th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 20, 2010

Kaylee rated it:

Let me be clear: I chose to give this book one star not because I thought the writing was horrible or the topic unpalatable; I merely disagreed with most of what he said. If I were to rate this book based on emotional reactions while reading it, it would have had five solid stars.

While I appreciate Landsburg's attempts to "shock and awe" the reader into a new way of thinking about economics, I would like to take him to task for two very major issues:

1) Landsbur More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 06, 2011

Renee rated it:

Three words are very important to keep in mind while reading this book: all else equal. This is a very common caveat added to economic arguments that allows one to set a scenario without having to worry about an infinite number of what-ifs/but-waits. Landsburg suggests the "rational" (read: purely economic) answer to many hard questions, but I think it's a given that these aren't actually solutions-- of course there are many other non-economic factors to consider. Because I read the bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 09, 2011

Derek rated it:

Landsburg's crafty way of illustrating the basic nature of trade offs and the application of cost/benefit analysis was not only refreshing but entertaining.

I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to look at the world throught the wacky eyes of an economist.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2009

Larry rated it:

For better or worse, not really about what the title says. This book is often being compared to Freakonomics, which I do not think is quite right. Similar to Freakonomics, but not as effectively, the book gives some examples of why people behave as they do. But as you get deeper into the book it becomes apparent the author is actually putting together an ethical framework for decision making. This could just as easily be classified as a political science or philosophy book.

I don' More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2009

Tommy rated it:

Steven Landsburg at first came off as witty and amusing but he increasingly wore on me during this book as he became overly arrogant and bull headed.

It is obvious that he is a micro-economics guy and he seems to think economics is the be all-end all of the world. I appreciate his fervor but I feel he is dishonest in his means and blindly ignores answers that may disagree with his particular taste.

His seeming disdain for the ideas of macro economics or the thought that any More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 05, 2009

Robert rated it:

A lot of interesting theories. The sub title is The Unconventional Wisdom, and the theories really are unconventional. I had an issue with the theories as they were just presented and did not provide much data to back the them. In the index the author provides the articles and books in which he got the data from, but to find the articles and books and then read them would take much more time. The author must have thought that people would accept the theories without questioning them. More of the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 11, 2010

D. rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Jessica rated it:

I liked this book but I didn't love it. I bought it to read since the back cover caught my attention like "Freakonomics" did. It wasn't as good in my opinion. This author confused me a lot and I am not 100% sure why. It wasn't as easy to follow as "Freakonomics" was. It really seemed to me like a lot of what he was arguing was purely from a methodical and calculating viewpoint. Basically the world wants only boys for children and we shouldn't give our money to more than one More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 23, 2010

Dmpower rated it:

This book is in the same vein as "Freakonomics" and in fact actually references the book a few times. Be warned, this book is mostly theory. For example, the author's suggestion for reforming the electoral system includes having all congressional reps run nationwide races with their constituencies divided by the alphabet, not state and county lines. If you accept that most of the author's ideas are not going to be packaged in any politician's list of new reforms, you can have fun with More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 19, 2009

Annie rated it:

It's a general principle of economics that things tend to work out best when people have to live with the consequences of their own behavior, or to put it another way, things tend to work out poorly when the consequences of our actions spill over onto other people. 4
the person who drops the banana peel and the person who slips on it are not usually the same person. 5
your actions have costs and benefits. As long as you feel all the costs and benefits, you'll tend to get the quantity r More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 29, 2007

Brad rated it:

With all the good pop economics book coming out, I really beginning to choosing to study political science rather than the Dismal Science.
More Sex is Safer Sex treads the same path as Freakonomics, The Wisdom of Crowds, and The Undercover Economist, all of which do a better or more entertaining job of tying economic principles into everyday life. Steven E. Landsburg revels in coming up with unorthodox solutions to problems—truly charitable people should only give to ONE charity, racial pro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 27, 2009

Rob rated it:

About 2/3 interesting insights, about 1/3 clearly misguided musings. The writing is Freakonomics-style with less research supporting the conclusions, but the armchair reasoning style makes this type of reasoning seem more applicable to everyday situations than Freakonomics (after all, who really has time to spend years researching a question before coming to a snap judgment anyway?)

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Andrew rated it:

Really like these kinds of books. Landsburg is a professor at my school and I'd love to take one of his classes after reading this book. The title sums it up: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics. Economics can surprisingly be applied to so many situations in our lives (with results that you might not expect!). Quick and easy to read, very entertaining.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2010

Guy rated it:

This book offers an insight into how economic principles affect everyday life. How an action may be smart for the individual but dumb for the group, and how taxes and subsidies are needed to change human behaviour. It is written in an interesting way that motivates you to keep reading on, however at times the theory can be a little confusing and difficult to swallow. I would recommend reading this book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 31, 2010

Ryan rated it:

Landsburg. Truly a brilliant guy. His tone here is a little argumentative, not unlike his blog sometimes. I can see why if you're used to people constantly disagreeing, you feel like you have to hit people over the head with things. Still, this is rare and it's otherwise a very thought-provoking book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 27, 2011

Graham rated it:

As many other readers have made note - the author, and in turn the book, are cold and hard to dive in to.

While his logic may be strong Landsburg does little to engage the reader. Unfortunately chapter after chapter the first three paragraphs were all that challenged and enthralled. After each chapter's introduction you were left to reiteration and narrative that did little to excite, challenge, or to make you think.

Pass.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Mary rated it:

Pop economics books like this, combined with our imploding economy, make me wish for a technocracy of smart, frank, incentive-conscious economists like Landsburg. At the very least, they'd throw us for a loop. (He claims cutting in line should be the name of the game--when you join a queue, you go to the front, not the back. Then demand would match supply. Or something. Still can't get my head around that one). I'd be interested to read his other one, The Armchair Economist, too.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Kate rated it:

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I suppose I've found myself agreeing with the title after reading half this book: statistically speaking, more sex is safer sex. The idea being that by having more people in the "pool", your risk of contracting disease is reduced. Steven Landsburg does a much better job of explaining than I do, I should add.
There is much about this book with which I disagree, but it has been thought-provoking nonetheless. I recommend this book if only to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 23, 2008

cibeles marked it as to-read

Through "Freakonomics" I found this book in Amazon and the review there make it look a very good book to add to my "To Read" list.

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2009

Gavin rated it:

Fun Book. The main premise is that when people do not receive the costs of a behavior they do too much—When people do not receive all the benefit of a behavior they due too little.

As for the title, there was only about 10 pages on the subject which is summed up below:
Having slightly more casual sex benefits others (if you don't have an STD) because you make the communal stream safer from STDs. Therefore there is too little casual sex.

This is the 3rd book that I ha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 20, 2009

Anne rated it:

Catchy title, but does not really deliver on the content. If you are looking for a good informational book about economics type stuff, go with Freakonomics instead.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 02, 2009

Brandon rated it:

Economic theory so counter-intuitive and unconventional, it should be dismissed, but explained clearly so it makes logical sense.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Sarah rated it:

A social economist's perspective on some of the simplest phenomena. Interesting and thought provoking.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 15, 2009

Jeremiah added it

That things aren't always as they appear to be, costs are very important, people are silly.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)