The Lounge... Choose What Book I Read Next

[kerowo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
DO NOT read Freakanomics. I started and could not finish it. It is poorly written and poorly organized. It is for shock value at best. Reading the intro will give you all you need to read, and then the following chapters reiterates what you just read.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hold the opposite opinion. In fact, yours is the first negative opinion I've encountered. Freakanomics merited the attention and praise that it received. It was thought provoking, well researched, easily read and highly interesting.

The chapter on parenting was very instructive for anyone interested in the the dynamic of raising kids.

Freakanomics got my vote of the list presented.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Colt McCoy]

I fall somewhere in between the lovers and haters of Freakonomics. I think the lovers have got to be the same people who love bad sound-bite news television. The book was clearly written for shock value and is NOT well researched, unless you think things like Dateline, 48 Hours and 60 Minutes are well researched. It is, however, thought provoking and makes some decent points, and I think it's worth a read.

FWIW, I've read almost all the books in this list and voted for "Liar's Poker" and "When Genius Failed".

[daveT]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
DO NOT read Freakanomics. I started and could not finish it. It is poorly written and poorly organized. It is for shock value at best. Reading the intro will give you all you need to read, and then the following chapters reiterates what you just read.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hold the opposite opinion. In fact, yours is the first negative opinion I've encountered. Freakanomics merited the attention and praise that it received. It was thought provoking, well researched, easily read and highly interesting.

The chapter on parenting was very instructive for anyone interested in the the dynamic of raising kids.

Freakanomics got my vote of the list presented.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't make it to the raising kids part. I guess the most disappointing part of the book is that it follows much of my own thinking on the world anyway. So, I think many people that would agree with many of the things in here would find it to be a yawner. For one, I grew up in the ghetto, run amok with cheating/lazy teachers, and yes, many of the them had sex with students for "credit." As for the drug dealer's, if you grew up around it, you would find it common knowledge, and sadly inaccurate.

The sad part of the book, and I fault it most with the shock value, is that the people who would benefit the most from reading this book are not reading it.

If the thinking was thought-provoking, then Chief Bratton would not be sitting in Los Angeles making six-figures while crime is on the rise. Wouldn't he be exposed as a fraud by now?

I didn't understand why the authors felt they needed to state their conclusions in the introduction and then follow up with full essays about there conclusion. OK, fine, aborting low-income fetuses decreases crime. I personally do not find this shocking or particularly revelatory.

I did not read the parenting part, as I couldn't make it through the book. But I bet it says the following: we are all bad parents (I'm not, by default.) We are willing to pick up our kids late from day care if we are charged a late fee. We are more likely to pick them up on time without one. Lest I forget, this study was done in Israel.

If I am accurate in my last sentence, then there is little need to read past the introduction.

[Blarg]

I seem to recall that The Smartest Guys in the Room got pretty well reviewed. Definitely interesting subject.

[pokah5]

I decided to start with Liar's Poker... but I'm going to mix in Freakonomics because of the stir it caused here. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on it in a few days.

[kerowo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
DO NOT read Freakanomics. I started and could not finish it. It is poorly written and poorly organized. It is for shock value at best. Reading the intro will give you all you need to read, and then the following chapters reiterates what you just read.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hold the opposite opinion. In fact, yours is the first negative opinion I've encountered. Freakanomics merited the attention and praise that it received. It was thought provoking, well researched, easily read and highly interesting.

The chapter on parenting was very instructive for anyone interested in the the dynamic of raising kids.

Freakanomics got my vote of the list presented.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't make it to the raising kids part. I guess the most disappointing part of the book is that it follows much of my own thinking on the world anyway. So, I think many people that would agree with many of the things in here would find it to be a yawner. For one, I grew up in the ghetto, run amok with cheating/lazy teachers, and yes, many of the them had sex with students for "credit." As for the drug dealer's, if you grew up around it, you would find it common knowledge, and sadly inaccurate.

The sad part of the book, and I fault it most with the shock value, is that the people who would benefit the most from reading this book are not reading it.

If the thinking was thought-provoking, then Chief Bratton would not be sitting in Los Angeles making six-figures while crime is on the rise. Wouldn't he be exposed as a fraud by now?

I didn't understand why the authors felt they needed to state their conclusions in the introduction and then follow up with full essays about there conclusion. OK, fine, aborting low-income fetuses decreases crime. I personally do not find this shocking or particularly revelatory.

I did not read the parenting part, as I couldn't make it through the book. But I bet it says the following: we are all bad parents (I'm not, by default.) We are willing to pick up our kids late from day care if we are charged a late fee. We are more likely to pick them up on time without one. Lest I forget, this study was done in Israel.

If I am accurate in my last sentence, then there is little need to read past the introduction.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your mistaking the destination for the journey. The book was as much about the methodology that supported his claims as it was the claims themselves.

[btmagnetw]

stumbling on happiness is along the lines of blink and freakonomics but i enjoyed it more than both of them.