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Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life
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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
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Editorial Review:
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: 
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, ... 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 ... Read More
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 ... Read More
Rating:  - 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.
Rating: - Bad economics, bad writing, or both?
Before I review the book, I have to provide a digression (I have to lay down these foundations before I can critique the book): There is nothing wrong with economics, it is a beautiful social science (I am a Ph.D. student in economics myself). What one has to bear in mind is that economics explains certain aspects of human behavior and how society works, it is a science, but not one without bounds. When applied methodically and correctly, it gives powerful insights in the subjects it studies. But one must ... Read More
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