More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics | Steven E. Landsburg

More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics | Steven E. Landsburg | It's Never too Late to "Get It"

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More Sex Is Safer ...

	More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics Steven E. Landsburg Free Press, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
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Better than Freakonomics

I have long been a fan of Landsburg having read two of his other books. This is his best work yet, and a better read than the popular Freakonomics. This is a great book to introduce the reader to economic ways of thinking about everyday problems and issues in a fun and engaging way.

Here is what I liked about it:

1) Landsburg hits a range of areas, even if sometimes only for a page or two, and many of these topics have important implications for policy or to our own lives. Some examples include his thoughts on pollution, free trade, free markets for organs, child labor, choosing charities and more. This contrasts with Freakonomics, which delves for the most part into interesting topics that are less important(eg, sumo wrestling cheating)
I will say, however, that some of my favorite chapters had little practical value, notably, the chapter on how and why couples with girls are more likely to divorce than couples with boys. Fascinating stuff!

2) As the title states, his logic is often quite unconventional. Are there times when he seems to smart for his own good, with some ideas that are a bit too far out? Yes, like his ridiculous suggestion for making lines shorter (in brief, each new person goes the front, not the back of the line... don't ask) HOWEVER, by and large, I found him to be quite convincing with pragmatic solutions to problems, and interesting insights.

3) As always, I enjoy his writing style, particularly his wit. The book also reads in a way that has you guessing, "What are potential flaws in his reasoning" which he then mentions, and then dispels satisfactorily.

All in all, a great read. I do have to warn readers though, that the first chapter, the one discussing the Safer Sex issue, was, in my opinion, oversimplified and weak. The book does get much better, however.

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It's Never too Late to "Get It"

I mean that in the sense that, at any age, this engaging book will lead you to many "aha!" moments about common dilemmas, and I also mean that it is never too late to purchase "More Sex Is Safer Sex." If you enjoyed Freakonomics and you are ready for more depth, or perhaps you would just like an airtight logical analysis of why your income tax rate should be determined by your congressional district or why the Rules of Evidence are basically useless in criminal trials (I'm a lawyer, so that was my favorite part), then this book will keep you riveted.

Dr. Landsburg uses economic analysis to callously crush some of the notions you thought were just common sense, but he also reinforces some ideas that you always thought rang true but were afraid to admit in public. Sweatshops are a good thing? Yep. People should be able to sell their kidneys to the highest bidder? Absolutely. The great thing about this book is that, while you may want to cringe at some of Dr. Landsburg's theories, you will be hard-pressed to find any weaknesses in his logic.

Regardless of your politics, or your religion, or your sexual proclivities (yes, there's a chapter about sex), "More Sex Is Safer Sex" will leave you feeling smarter than when you began and might just convince you to become an economist - apparently they are the only people who know what the heck is going on in the world!

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An economist viewpoint on a variety of topics

This book is a thought-provoking exercise in the application of economic principles to resolve, what are sometimes considered, moral dilemmas. Some of the examples, I felt, make you rethink current positions, such as charitable contributions, and the use of child labor in developing countries. There are other chapters, such as the one dealing with the justice system, where I didn't feel his arguments were as persuasive. Overall it is an interesting, witty book that is worth reading..

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7

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