Social Sciences Books

From the other reviews I've seen, this seems to be a love it or hate it book. Everything I wanted to happen did. It may have not been in the way I would have expected, but I like to be surprised sometimes. Reading a book where you already expect everything is boring. There should always be some surprises along the way to keep the reader interested. I liked how we were able to see Bella return to being less dependent on Edward. Her character finally grows up some. Other reviewers have mentioned that it seemed like she went from 18 to 30 in one chapter. But isn't that what is supposed to happen when you have a baby? When another life is dependent on you, you have to put your feelings, needs, and desires aside. This is exactly what she did. I felt like it made her character stronger instead of weaker as some have suggested. Others have also suggested that Jacob imprinting on Nessie is a cop-out. It may be, but it worked out. Some think it's creepy, and I have to admit at first thought it's a little weird. She'll be fully grown at age 7 and, one would assume, married to Jacob shortly thereafter. It's strange for sure, but you can't really think of her, or any of the characters, in terms of human years. She might be 7 human years old, but she's not human. Just like Edward is over a hundred human years old. You have to stretch your mind some, your imagination, and stop measuring inhuman characters against human measurements.

The main thing I missed in this novel is Bella's interpretation of how Edward is feeling, usually based on his facial expressions or body language. It seemed like he was missing from alot of the story though he was physically there. The story is from Bella's point of view though. I'm hoping Stephanie will decide to write it from Edward's point of view so we can see what he is feeling as well (or at least post a couple of extras on her website). I'm greatly looking forward to Midnight Sun. I've read the first chapter on her website and from the looks of it, I may like it more than Twilight. I look forward to any other novels published by Stephanie and will always be an avid fan.

I was wondering how Meyer was going to top her previous books. Of course she did. How did she even think of that? I am 30 years old with kids and all of my "same age" friends loved this book the most. I think we could relate more to Bella as she got older and experienced more....stuff.

I would do anything for her to keep this series going. She does leave some loose ends.

Great book. Highly recommended!

"Stephenie Meyer, please do a part two to breaking dawn."

Like everybody else, I'm thinking what was Stephenie Meyer doing when she was writing this. Did she break and mash up her muse cds and smoke it? I would be careful to say that muse was my inspiration to this loathesome book; she wouldn't want them to sue.

Oh well, she already got my money. But I still tell my friends to ONLY read twilight; they still don't listen.

It is a little too neat like many other reviews are saying. But it was the last book. Were we really thinking it would end with a giant sacrafice? Would that have made a good end? If more books were to follow I could see ending the story with some of choice and sacrafice of the others. Overall a good book. Too bad their aren't more to follow. She definately left some material on the table.

There were several things I was looking forward to in this book. I wanted to find out who Bella choose, how she got changed by Edward, What happened with Jacob, How she separated herself from Charlie and Renee and What it was like to be a Vampire.

Stephanie Meyer totally took the choice away from Bella with the creation of Renesmee. BTW is that a stupid name or what? So many readers wanted to know how she choose between Jacob and Edward and were disappointed. I was team Edward but I didn't want Jacob's love for Bella to be completely dismissed either.

Ok... how she got changed left me very disappointed. It wasn't romantic or personal it was lame...Edward pulls out a syringe and plunges it into her barely beating heart? Carlise could have done that! What was the point in waiting? She was barely conscious! As far as being a newborn? That was a joke. One chapter and then the author fast forwards three months ahead. She could have done much more with that.

Bella as I have come to see had potential to be more than one dimensional but the opportunity to do so was never taken. She was all about Edward which was endearing at first but got to be pathetic in the second book. As far as the message it sends to teen girls? I am a teacher and I know that junior high girls understand their needs to be a balance in life. The message of being all about your guy isn't wrong it is the way that first love is.

I will admit that I liked the first part of the book before she got pregnant. After that it was all down hill as far as character development and her love for Edward, not to mention Jacob. All she could think about was the baby and she instantly became a mom. She went from being 17 to 30 in about two chapters. I felt kinda like Stephanie Meyers wishes she were Bella and she wanted to speed Bella up to the same place She is in her own life...a mom with three children.

If you are frustrated with the current state of world affairs, particularly America's role in them, read this wonderful book. Greg Mortensen is not a Superman, just a guy willing to take personal risks to bring education to children (especially girls) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, he is doing Super work, and asking for nothing more than donations to build even more schools. His work shows how we need to be in a war of ideas, not one of weapons. But this is not a preachy book - it is actually pretty exciting and very moving.

I bought this book for my grown daughter because we are both tea lovers. I thought the storyline would incorporate tea drinking ceremonies with a worthwhile project in a remote part of the world. I never imagined what was in store for us. I became completely engrossed in Greg's mission, humbled by what I was reading, embarrassed that I had not heard of or read about this mission before, and became very emotional. When 9/11 hit, I was angry that our world was changing, that there was so much hate and ignorance, and that my future grandchildren would be growing up in a world of terror. Education has always been emphasized in my family as I am sure it is in many families. But Greg took this giant leap. We ALL need to take this giant leap. This is the best book I have ever read. It touched my soul. Read it and do something, anything, to make a difference in this world.

Terrific, inspiring, insightful, exciting, book. We need more Greg Mortensons, or we have to become more like him.

I read the book, then my wife read it, and then all of our friends finished the book in record time. One evening, my boys (ages 8 and 6) asked me about Three Cups of Tea (after overhearing many conversations about it). I tried to explain, however, I finally gave up and simply sat down and started reading it to them. After a few weeks we finished and we are all better for the experience. They have started raising money already, and plan to talk to their school's teachers and administrators as soon as school starts again in a few weeks to try to develop a fundraising program for the entire school.

Well done Greg and David!

Sometimes the only way to find what you are looking for is by getting lost. Often, the only way to achieve victory is first to fail. If Greg Mortenson had not yet learned these two lessons when attempting to reach the summit of K2 in 1993--the second highest mountain in the world but, it is said, the toughest to climb--then he learned these lessons on the way down. He would never forget.

Greg Mortenson is a three-cup tea drinker. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the tradition is that with the first cup, one is a stranger; with the second cup, one is a friend; but with the third cup, one has become family. For family, one is prepared to do anything, even to sacrifice one's life.

As a young man, Mortenson was a mountain climber and a military man, so he understood hard work and discipline. He had learned how to set a goal, keep his eyes on the summit, and go for it--with everything in him. Climbing K2 was a special challenge he had set for himself, a kind of tribute to his sister who had died young. He failed the climb, however, and when he turned around, short of the summit, and headed back down, Mortenson realized that he had gotten lost. He had intended to meet his guide in a town in the foothills, but instead had kept going down the road and ended up in a village in the Karakoram mountains. Exhausted, hungry, filthy, he was greeted with three cups of wretched tasting tea and the warm embrace of family.

Three Cups of Tea is the story of Greg Mortenson's decade of building 55 schools across Pakistan and Afghanistan in gratitude for that moment of welcome for a lost man. Many of them are schools for girls, the often forgotten ones who find a new chance at life through education. While for much of his first years in this role, Mortenson himself toes the edge of poverty, working on a bare bone salary, funding much of the school building through the kindness of a rich mentor and various other donations, he is finally recognized for the work that he does after the events of 9/11. No, not right away. Initially, he receives bags of hate mail for "helping the enemy." But there comes a fascinating turning point in the story when wiser minds begin to realize that the answer to terrorism, perpetrated, after all, by a few, is not the violence of war against many, but through the expression of human kindness--and education.

This is truly a remarkable story. If anyone deserves the Nobel Peace Prize (and there is such talk), then it is Greg Mortenson. This story is about the world-altering change one man can create. Let no one ever again say that one person cannot make a difference.

Written by David Oliver Relin, who travels all of Mortenson's paths to record this story, it is far more fascinating than any novel. Mortenson climbed his mountain. Not K2, but a mountain that no one believed he could climb, and he took 55 schools full of eager children, and the villages that surrounded them, to the highest summit.

Not only highly recommended. This book is a must, must, must read, and no less so with the elections of leaders now looming.

This contains SPOILERS.
I found this book to be a mix of good and bad, mostly an okay book but I will start out with some of the bad.
Many friends had told me that this book was great. So, I picked it up with much trepidation and found many of my worries to be well founded. The lack of forward motion in the plot was the first thing that grabbed me. How can an author spend so many pages writing about the two main characters asking each other questions without anything happening? Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people having conversations in books, but things also need to happen! Towards the end the plot does pick up, but after Bella makes an interesting plan to confuse a tracking vampire that wants to get her, she just runs off to do her part by hiding in a hotel. Then when Edward the vampire is coming to save the day, she has to go save her mother. However, she doesn't have any idea what she is doing: She is just walking to her death. This could have been played in an interesting way, I probably wouldn't have been able to think of a plan either, but she doesn't even try to think!
I found the characters to not be well developed, there was much too much emphasis on how everybody looked and not enough on their personality. Edward was always there to save the day, so there wasn't enough tension in this book. Sure, there was some tension sprinkled throughout the book, but not enough to make the reader very worried about the characters well being.
The other thing that bothered me was how Bella was supposed to be extraordinarily clumsy. It was very over - played, no normal human who doesn't have some medical problem can be quite that clumsy to not be able to run ten feet without falling. Edwards over protectiveness was fine for the most part, but I started to get a bit tired of it when he began to carry her into his car on a regular basis.
Now I will try to move on from the negative and say something good about Twilight. It may not have been superbly written, but Meyer's writing style kept me engaged from cover to cover. I read it in a day spent not doing much else. Her ideas about how the "myths" about vampires evolved were interesting. Most of the time, though I haven't read many vampire books, I hear about the same sorts of vampires, her's were different and intriguing. I would call this a good book to read if you are not feeling too picky and want to read an entertaining, though not inspiring book.

Best new series of books written in a while.Makes you believe the characters are real

have to say I don't usually get involved in books that have romances and I thought it would be a negative point for this book but I did really enjoy it. The romance between Edward and Bella is delicate and ravenous at the same time. I loved the fact that they didn't always agree on things. The fact that they are both stubborn is humorous. Then you are teased just little with bits of fantasy and myth. I am hooked to the series after reading this book and the first couple chapters of the next book, New Moon. I also see why after the release of Twilight the publishers re-released the L.J. Smith book the Vampire Diaries. I remember reading them in my teen and this did remind me a little bit like them but Twilight was also different.

TWILIGHT has given me a story unlike anything I could have possibly imagined it to be. I was weary before I began to read it, but immediately I was drawn in after giving it a try. It turned into a book that I couldn't put down even if i ever wanted to (which I didn't). It is the epitome of the perfect, unconditional love story that rivals ROMEO AND JULIET. Meyer's ability to elicit emotions from the reader is amazing. Bella is so relatable and the reader feels like they are seeing through her eyes.
Overall, this is one of the best books that I have ever read. HIGHLY recommended and everyone should also read the books that follow in the series. NEW MOON, ECLIPSE, and BREAKING DAWN are all amazing!
READ THEM!

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I found it very disappointing. Written for tweens and lacking in depth, I don't understand why this book is so popular with intelligent adults. Too bad - maybe the movie will actually be BETTER than the book in this case, especially if they re-write it.

The best thing that I ever did was to purchase the APA Manuel.
It has helped me with formating and the proper way to cite in text and referance in APA format. This book is much better than the Diane Hacker book on APA.

This is one of the most cumbersome and difficult to navigate reference books out there, and it is notorious for being so. I highly suggest getting an APA formatting program for writing your papers using this style. I use APA PERRLA myself, and love it. You will still need to refer to the publication manual for your more rarely used reference types, etc. Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil.

This book is required for all college students pursing a degree in any major. It may not see like the most interesting book to have on your shelf, but is crucial when writing college papers.

It is an essential tool you will be glad you have for reference.

Merna

Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!

I bought this book because most of the internet guides are not comprehensive enough to cover specifics addressed in this book. I agree with other users that say this book lists material on the same topic in multiple places, requiring you to waste time checking around for something you think you remember seeing before. The index needs to be re-done, something I hope they fix for the next edition. Electronic resources are very generally addressed.

good resource, but consider also getting a more user-friendly book to help with APA, too....you will waste a lot of time looking for information in this one.

Mr. Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" is easily one of the best books I've read this year. He approaches the subject of the food we eat, where it comes from and who grows it in a thoughtful and thought provoking manner. He follows the food chain backwards from the fast food joint, the grocery store and restaurant to our food sources. This a cautionary tale about what the American consumer eats and the industrialization of the US food industry. The book is full of interesting characters that inhabit different elements of the food chain. Mr. Pollan's writing is excellent. He has a point of view but rather than beating you over the head with it, he invites you on a journey to discovery. Be prepared to change the way you look at food. AN OUTSTANDING BOOK!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

This book was very well written. Before starting, I was worried that it would be a rather dry read (after all, how much can you say about food?). Well, apparently there is an awful lot to say about food, and Pollan does a great job at making it interesting. He brings to light some of the problems with industrial agriculture that I just never knew existed. He doesn't just present problems is this book however. He also talks about some ways to help make things better. The one thing I did not like was when he had wine while hunting. However, this has nothing to do with the book's readability.

I reccomend this book because I'm not a food fanatic and I found this book interesting.

The well written, most interesting read on the state of agriculture in the United States is definately "food for thought." The book's author, Michael Pollan visited three different kinds of farms: first a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO); second, three big business organic farms: Cal Organic, Earthbound Farms and Cascadian Farms; third, a farm committed to locally grown, free range food called Polyface. The last part of Pollan's journey involved foraging for own food. Pollan even killed a wild pig to serve at the meal he cooked his friends. Each phase of his jouney concluded with a meal derived from the type of farming operations Michael had just visited. For example, Pollan and his family ate at McDonalds for the CAFO meal.

It took them a full ten minutes speeding down the highway to finish their McDonald's meal. I liked his comment about fast food eating. He says, "Perhaps the reason you eat this food quickly is because it doesn't bear savoring." He goes on to say about fast food, "The more you concentrate on how it tastes, the less like anything it tastes. I've said before that McDonalds serves as kind of comfort food, but they are selling something more schematic than that-something more like a signifier of comfort food. So you eat more and eat more quickly, hoping somehow to catch up to the original idea of a cheeseburger or French fry as it it retreats over the horizon. And so it goes, bite after biite, until you feel not satisfied exactly, but simply, regretably, full."

For all of their good qualities, the big business organic farms have driven many smaller organic famers out of business. Places like Walmart and Target do not want to buy organic food from various small suppliers, but from one large organic supplier that can supply them with all the vegetables, etc. they need. Big organic farms do much harm to soil by continually running the weeding machines over it. Since they don't use herbicides, they have to have a way to control the weeds.

Polyface Farm raises a variety of animals (chickens, pigs and cows) that are pastured and eat the food they were created to eat. Polyface farm doesn't raise more animals than it can care for in a humane manner and refuses to ship it's prcuduct out, but only sells it locally.

I personally buy organic or free range meat. After looking at how our farm facory animals are raised on unnatural feed, in overcrowded conditions, dosed with antibiotics and growth hormones, I will pay the extra money for healthy meat. How far you can go in eating local depends on what part of country you live in (I live in Wisconsin, with its short growing season). It also depends on whether you live close to a source of local food or can grow your own, and also your budget restrainsts.

Now on to the reasons I could not give the book a five star review. Contrary to what Pollan says at the beginning of the book, bread and pasta are not two of the most wholesome foods known to man. Try telling that to a carbohyddrate addict or someone with celiac disease and see what they say. Also, saturated isn't bad for you. It's a traditional fat that's been used by healthy cutures for thousands of years. The trans fats, as well as, fats from CAFO animals are the real killer fats. When you feed animals unnatural diets, their ratios of saturated to unsaturated fat changes in a very unhealthy manner. Free range meat has a healthy balnce of various kinds of fats. Also, how could a person who has seen how a CAFO is run say he would ever again eat at a McDonalds. If I were starving and had no other food choices, then and only then would I eat there.

An amazing tour de force of food in the US! Pollan writes with wonderful wisdom and honesty. The book has a wonderful bibliography.

Industrial food is at the heart of all the major health problems in this country. Pollan will open your eyes to the fact and make you wnat to learn about the alternatives.

Highly recommended!

The author has four hypotheses about how we Americans may have become such dysfunctional eaters, and about how our food supplies and our diets came to be the way they are.

Although interesting, this book was not exactly what I was expecting. I was hoping Pollan would get deeper into how the collusion between the US Food and Drug Administration and Agribusiness have conspired to product the "sugar and fat laden" diets that have become the staple of our nation for ordinary Americans and how we cannot easily get around Coke Cola, McDonald's Hamburgers and French fries etc. to a more healthy diet - at least without being better educated and without it being very inconvenient and expensive to these life-shortening and health-killing alternatives. As an almost 70-year old Southerner who grew up on red meats, fried foods, coke, cigarettes and hard liquor, and now have the ABCs and D's of American health (Asthma, Arthritis, hardening arteries, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes, I can attest to the fact that there is little time to wax eloquent and romantic about the niceties of the American diet.

Although the history of the life cycle of corn, and how it effects our lives is interesting, and goes part of the way down the path to better understanding, it does not go nearly far enough. Given that it is no accident that 65% of us are overweight, and experience serious health problems similar to my own, and at an increasingly earlier age, and that we have no secure health system, American health is indeed no casual or laughing matter.

In light of all of this, this piece seems a bit gratuitous - just short of being flippant and in a larger sense a bit negligent. I believe a much needed golden opportunity to educate the American public about the forces that conspire to shape and "lock us into" our poor diets and health, was lost.

At another time and another place (perhaps in Europe, where the older people are healthier than the young in the U.S.), this would have been a book to celebrate. But today, with our health as well as our healthcare crisis, this book is a luxury that the ordinary American public can ill-afford. For a missed opportunity, and for making only a timid and glancing blow at the nation's number one health problem, three stars. Otherwise, it would have easily been a five star effort.

This book was excellent, just like the previous ones. I am a junior high teacher and wanted to read these books to talk to my students about them, but I got hooked on them myself. Excellent books!!

What can I say. Stephanie Meyers rocks. Even though this series is slightly different from the usual Shock and Horror books that I enjoy,I have to say I loved them. Adding to that, any book that has my teenagers fighting over them and yelling "aren't you finished yet?", gets my vote any day of the week.

The book came quickly, within a week, and was in great condition- no nicks or bent pages, etc. I would definitely buy from this merchant again.

Okay. The main lure of this whole series for me is its pure addictive quality. Just for that, it gets four stars. But Bella is beginning to get on my nerves...she doesn't DO anything! She's only the one everyone else is trying to protect. She does have a redeeming capacity to love and forgive, but she's not the Tamora Pierce or J. K. Rowling hero I love to root for.
This book was my favorite so far, I think, but the whole thing about Bella having to shatter all of Jacob's hopes and dreams makes me sad. I wish she'd make up her mind already!

First off, I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the newborn vampire wars, the werewolves' history and pack life, and the vampires' pasts were fascinating. I also liked how the vampires each have their own powers. However, I do have some criticisms.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Edward's character didn't seem all that wonderful. In fact, he seemed more or less psychotic in parts. He disabled Bella's car so she couldn't see Jacob. He had Alice hold her hostage. He dictated who she could and couldn't be friends with. I know he did it for her "protection," but it seemed extremely controlling. Edward's behavior often was excused by his looks. And then at the end, he suddenly became spineless and docile--to the point where he didn't even object to Bella cheating on him.

I thought Bella's sudden revelation about Jacob was out of place. She hadn't seemed to be in love with him before, at all. It was also unsettling to me that she only realized it when he coerced her into a kiss. How is that supposed to sound--a borderline sexual assault made her finally see the light?

I also couldn't help but wonder, is Bella supposed to be average or extraordinary? I know the story is meant to be about an ordinary girl who finds herself in remarkable circumstances, but everyone is always telling her how "different" and "special" she is. So which is it? Is she average or is she special? If she's meant to be unusual or unique, she doesn't come across that way.

That aside, I did enjoy the story. I liked the background information, the wolf coven, and Alice's sense of humor. The return of the Volturi was very engaging, and I loved the final battle. It was worth the read.

"The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell gave me insight into trends as seen through his eyes. I loved it!

Gladwell caught me off-guard when he discussed the racial tipping point that affects the real estate market of a neighborhood. But that was not the most surprising. What surprised me the most was how low a percentage of new property owners could influence the change from a sellers market to a buyers market.

There were many times when he seemed to veer off his subject and I started wondering where he was going with the point of the story. Then he would pull it all together and I could see exactly why he said something the way he said it.

Gladwell points out common traits in typical public interest/popularity and how that relates to sales and marketing.

In each example, he explains the patterns that show the slow beginnings, the steeper climb, to the sharp growth in popularity to the hesitation at the top, then the crash and (except for a few examples) a sudden end of all growth.

His intention is to provide enough information to duplicate or create a path towards a tipping point in your business. And, with the proper actions, manipulate how long your business is able to remain at the top of the sales chart.

I was surprised that Gladwell used stories about the popular children's show Sesame Street in his examples. But, once I read his in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories, I realized how complex and how much innovative thought went into producing that very successful television show.

Now, I find myself paying closer attention to eye, face, and body position and movement when I discuss business (and personal) matters. And, I am noticing the signals I (un-intentionality) send to others.

Gladwell is able to describe and chart the same patterns of tipping points in every example he gave. He investigates the how, why, where, and when of his research. Then he presents it to his readers in easy to digest pieces.

His description of Connectors, Mavens, and Salespeople is clear and fascinating. It is easy to visualize how the traits of connectors, mavens, and salespeople live in each of us.

One of the most interesting viewpoints Gladwell shared, was that there are only three elements that create change. The first element is "The Law of the Few." You'll have to read his book to find out Gladwell's other two agents of change.

By the way: It was fun taking Gladwell's Manhattan Phone Book Test. I scored eighty-seven points the first time around. After thinking about it, I believe I could add another ten to thirty surnames to my known contacts list.

I strongly recommend you read and then use Gladwell's information to create your own (series) of tipping points for your business' growth.

And while you're at it, get involved in replacing broken windows, painting walls and cleaning up areas in need. (Read the book and you'll understand.)

Little things can make a huge difference when properly executed/initiated.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The concept behind this book is what makes it such a phenomenon. It was not only great concept-wise, but it was an engaging read. I wouldn't call it pure entertainment (some portions could be dry) but it was definitely easy to get through the whole thing and actually enjoy it. I recommend this book to anyone looking for more info on the idea of how things that seem obscure, go on to gain enormous popularity and spark trends or fads.

This audio book offered lots of great information and connected the ideas to the real world of business. I found the first CD quite boring and repetitive but once that was over it offered great listening and learning.

Very interesting and inspiring book. Easy to read, filled with interesting ideas and concepts, everything presented on good examples.

For a non-fiction book, it is written well, and content is thought provoking. However, there still seems to be little annoyances sprinkled here and there.

There are superficial back-references in almost every chapter that do not seem to add anything to context of that particular chapter. Also, some statements do not have scientific backing and reader is expected to take it as is.

I bought this book for my Kindle. I read most of it while on the DC metro and I was pleased to find a gal sitting next to me reading the actual book. It is a good one. It will have you questioning most facts and figures you see on a daily basis. I already do not trust the media and this book only made it worse. But, it was lots of fun to read and it really helped me understand how what you think is true on the surface may not really be. I recommend this book in conjuction with "Sway; The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior" They really compliment each other.

-Off to my reading spot!

Crazyman's Economics

I think it's interesting book and one that people should read to give them a new perspective of economics that doesn't put them to sleep. While one can certainly question some of the conclusions they draw, it starts a debate that isn't limited to academic snobs trying to "out-intellectualize" each other.

Clearly this is the best biography yet written about ex-Mass governor Mitt Romney. Dubner and Levitt somehow got access to the scientists who designed Romney and the laboratory where he was built. Equally fascinating was the process of their deciding what "family" to build for Romney--for instance, beyond constructing the no-brainer wooden, statuesque wife, whether to build him sons, or daughters. In the end, the scientists confidentially concede their surprise and disappointment that Romney, once launched, proved to be even more robotic than he was programmed to be.

Easy read, informative and interesting. Well worth the money as the author puts a spin on many interesting common day occurrences. A fine addition to my library.

Ever wonder if sumo wrestling is rigged? Or maybe pondered the likelihood that the slim wealthy single you met on a dating site is overweight and unemployed? In Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner take on these questions and more in their fascinating and hilariously funny exploration of the most bizarre phenomena our world has to offer. Using solid research and piercing wit, Levitt and Dubner delve into the inner economic workings of those enterprises that are ignored by stock traders and analysts, and tackle the social issues that are too touchy, or just too weird, to be covered by more traditional writers.

Using the theories of economics, Levitt and Dubner challenge so-called "experts" or talking heads by asking intriguing questions. For instance, in the chapter titled, "Where Have All the Criminals Gone?" various experts are quoted claiming that the reduction of crime in the 1990's was due to several factors: a larger police presence on the streets, an aging population, and/or longer prison sentences. Levin and Dubner dispute these theories and set out to show us that Roe vs. Wade, the legalization of abortion, affected the crime rate more than any other factor. Levitt and Dubner offer the reader compelling statistics to demonstrate that a reduction in unwanted children directly influenced the reduction in crime. In another chapter Levitt and Dubner draw correlations between sumo wrestlers and teachers, showing that they both resort to cheating under pressure, while in yet another chapter we learn why street gang members could run McDonald's.

Some readers may argue with Levitt and Dubner's conclusions, and question the difference between correlation and causation; despite those objections, this is a worthwhile read that encourages the reader to question foregone conclusions. Levitt and Dubner also have a weekly column in the New York Times.

Quill says: Freakonomics will change your view of economics, and the role it plays in everyday life.

This book was paradigm-shifting and worldview-changing. And I considered myself generally "with it" as far as technology and globalization is concerned.

Friedman is fantastic at showing the world the way it is but revealing all types of processes and events happening in the background that very few people are aware of. He made me realize how ignorant I was without making me feel stupid.

He shares a few words on the future and what we as a country should do, as well as what each of us as individuals should do in order to keep up with global competition and supply-chaining, but the majority of his treatise is on what's happening now and how it's already affecting our world. From outsourcing typical jobs that Americans have relied on for so long, to the revolution of "uploading" and every Tom, Dick and Harry providing their own content that is more easily accessed and more up-to-date than the big content providers, this new flat world is already here, as Friedman points out. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking; and I look forward to more of it while still dreading it a little.

I thought this would be a good book. No new ideas are even presented. Save your money. Let me see if I can sum it up.

China and India are taking wealth from the US due to the fiber optic channels. No kidding.

Everyone has access to information due to the Internet.
OUtsourcing is great for both sides.

America better learn or we're doomed. (I summed it up)

Anyhow, he failed to mention AL GOre invented the internet and we'll all die by global warming soon enough.

Tom Friedman ' s , The World Is Flat , is the consumate synopsis on the "world" we live in today . We live in a world economy , and all nations must adhere to this fact if they are to survive and compete . Anyone living today should read this book---or listen to it on Audio CD which I have done 4 times---so he/she is cognizant of the ever-changing world and the challenges ahead . If you have not read Friedman ' s book you are ( somewhat ) ignorant of the 21st century world .

Very interesting review of the developments of the cybernet revolution and its implications for human development.The remaining question is "What's next"? From "flat" to "point"?!

This book is anything but a broad and well-considered critique of where the author sees us heading. I suppose it can best be viewed as a survival kit for our current century. "Survival" does not inherently make life more interesting, beautiful or purposeful. For the fortunate few who find the projected future particularly adaptive, the life ahead of us might be bright and rosy. But for the many, it could simply spell out a higher level of consumerism and considerable ennui.

On the plus side Mr. Friedman manages to provoke the reader into a speculative frame of mind and a critique of our evolving world -- should "it" manage to survive! In the pursuit of an affordable future for most of us and a frantic pursuit for wealth-maintenance by the few, will traditional quality of life issues continue to even get addressed, let alone preserved? Can we afford to treat global war(n)ing as somewhat of a side issue while its growing impact creeps down the coastline of the Americas and threatens more havoc. If the world economy is becoming so robust, why can't we solve the energy and environmental crises and possibly save future humanity? What does the current failing in this regard reflect about contemporary human values and real quality of life issues?

Overall, I found the book to be a vivid and accurate depiction of where we are and where we are heading - certainly worth reading. But there is a paucity of philosophical underpinnings that weakens the foundation for projecting a vastly brighter future ahead of us.

I spend hours behind the wheel each day and never gave much thought to science of it. But I saw the author on the Today show and immediately bought the book. I now know more about driving than I ever thought possible. They should make this book required reading for anyone who wants a driver's license.

- If you're interested in traffic, Tom Vanderbilt's book is for you. No other book on this subject is so readable and so accessible, and so recurrently interesting. Indeed, few nonspecialist writers even recognize "traffic" as a category--an extraordinary thing, considering how much time we spend in it. If you think you don't like traffic, Vanderbilt's book is for you. Chances are you don't like traffic because you think you know what it is already. But it turns out that traffic is a universe we inhabit but never really see, at least not from a perspective that reveals very much. Vanderbilt will help you see traffic like you've never seen it before. It's like you're in a halftime marching band show. You know how to move, but you never see what the band is spelling. Vanderbilt shows you. Finally, if you STILL don't like traffic, but you're a human being, Vanderbilt's book is for you. I can think of no better window into human psychology than traffic, and Vanderbilt presents his book in this spirit. Traffic captures all human foibles in a manageable form, and manifests them in surprising ways. You'll learn as much about human beings as you will about traffic patterns. - Vanderbilt's interest is chiefly in the present. By chance, a historical perspective, showing how we set off on the path to the destination Vanderbilt describes, appeared this summer as well. I will regard it as a great success if some readers view it as a companion and a complement to Vanderbilt's "Traffic." I refer to my own Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City (Inside Technology) It shows that the miles of single-occupancy vehicles clogging the ample roads of America's cities were not the simple product of American's "love affair" with the car, but the outcome of a fiercely fought battle for the future of the American city.
- Peter Norton
-PS The reader who objects to the documentation format has no justifiable grounds for the objection. The documentation format used has a long history and frees readers from the distraction of note numbers while still supplying documentation to those who want it. There is also no reason to object to the inclusion of the documentation in the publicized page length of the book; this is a common practice and the documentation is part of the book.

While reading this book, I often proclaimed aloud (things like "wow" or "aha") and had moments of traffic clarity. The book, without preaching at all, opened up lanes of awareness in my mind regarding my own driving behaviors and how my own perceptions of myself as a driver are skewed by my limitations of vision and ego. It kind of reads like a combination social commentary/help manual/psychology book written in a witty, lively style. I was rarely bored and often enlightened.

There are many sparkling gems in this book that other reviewers have done so well at describing. I do want to point out a glaring error. Note that there are 288 pages of text in this 400-plus page book. The rest is footnotes. The footnotes are very interesting pieces of information either expanding on areas of text or buttressing it. However, there are no footnote numbers in the text of the book to alert you that what you are reading is being footnoted! (you know, those little raised numbers that inform you that there is additional information in the last pages of the book?) This made it kind of laborious and jarring to absorb. It is tedious to read hundreds of footnotes after finishing the entire text of the book.

This was a big error by the editor that compelled me to deduct a star because it diminished my reading experience. You finish after 288 pages and are thrust into 100 pages of info with no context! If I had known this before reading, it would have helped me to enjoy the book more thoroughly.

I wrote this review partly as a heads up to other readers who may purchase this book. Your reading experience will improve if you know in advance that every page of text has footnotes starting on page 289.

I hope that the editors will correct this problem when they publish the paperback edition.

Along with How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business and Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness and perhaps Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Traffic is one of my favorite book about what really moves us and explains us. In this case, the issue of human motivation and behavioral science is applied to the important topic of getting humans from A to B.

Traffic doesn't make a single claim that isn't backed up by relevant research. I know I'll never look at an intersection, an airport, a trainstation, or the expressway the same again.

I am writing this review as EXACTLY the type of review I wish I had available to read BEFORE I purchased this book. There are a number of intellectually brilliant observations, regarding not only driving, but the psychological internal calculations and formulas, that the human brain automatically solves... that the body surrounding the brain has no idea is being done... but is governed by the result. There are also periodic humorous examples to summarize a lesson you've just been taught by the author. BUT... the road between the amazing revelations... and between the humorous anecdotes... are more often than not... like reading the most laborious, lengthy, manuals, printed by the DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES. (DMV)

That being said; each time I was almost ready to give up on reading the tedious descriptions by psychiatrists, psychologists, professors, and government officials... an absolute gem of information would be presented to the reader, akin to a carrot hung in front of a horse... that would make me "soldier-on" through the next DMV dissertation. Before I list some personal favorites, I just want to advise potential readers that this is definitely not a light, whimsical, beach read... where people will say... "I couldn't put it down; I stayed up all night reading it"... unless you're a professor or on a government task force. As I always told my son when he was a youngster: "NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE!" To get to the next bit of treasure... the reader will have to do some heavy lifting on a number of pages.

"So much time is spent in cars in the United States; studies show that drivers (particularly men) have higher rates of skin cancer on their left sides - look for the opposite effect in countries where people drive on the left."

"In America a pedestrian is someone who has just parked their car."

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves." - Albert Einstein -

"The problem with visual illusions-and it has been argued that all human vision is an illusion - is that we fall for them, even when we know they are illusions."

The last two paragraphs I am listing below, is the sole reason I am giving this book four stars instead of three. When I read these paragraphs I literally dropped what I was doing and called my son... because this phenomena had bugged the both of us for at least fifteen years. For me this knowledge paid for the book!

****************************************************************

"You may have noticed how in movies or on television, the spokes on a car's wheels sometimes seem to be moving "backward". This so-called wagon-wheel effect happens in movies because they are composed of a flickering set of images (generally twenty-four frames per second), even though we perceive them to be smooth and uninterrupted. Like the dancers in a disco captured briefly by a strobe light, each frame of that movie captures an image of the spokes. If the frequency of the wheel's rotation perfectly matched the flicker rate of the film, the wheel would appear "not" to be moving. As the wheel moves faster, though, each spoke is "captured" at a different place with each frame (e.g. we may see a spoke at the twelve o' clock position on one sweep, but at eleven-forty-five on the next) so it seemingly begins to move backward."

"As the cognitive psychologists Dale Purves and Tim Andrews note, however, the wagon-wheel effect can happen in real life as well, under full sunlight, when the "stroboscopic" effect of movies does not apply. The reason we still see the effect, they suggest, is that, as with movies, we perceive the world, not as a continuous flow, but in a series of discrete and sequential "frames". At a certain point the rotation of the wheel begins to EXCEED THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO PROCESS IT, AND WE STRUGGLE TO CATCH UP, we begin to confuse the current stimulus (i.e., the spoke) in real time with the stimulus in a previous frame. The car wheel is not spinning backward, any more than disco dancers are moving in slow motion. But this effect should provide an early, and cautionary, clue to some of the visual curiosities of the road."