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The Logic of Life by Tim Harford
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The Logic of Life

The Rational Economics of an Irrational World

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Narrator John Lee

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Length 8 hours 56 minutes
Language English
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Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany altar? Thorny questionsā€“and you might be surprised to learn the answers from an economist.

But Tim Harford, award-winning journalist and author, likes to spring surprises. In this deftly reasoned audiobook, Harford argues that life is logical after all. Under the surface of everyday insanity, hidden incentives are at work, and Harford shows these incentives emerging in the most unlikely places. THE LOGIC OF LIFE is the first book to map out the astonishing insights and frustrating blind spots of a new economics in a way that anyone can enjoy.

THE LOGIC OF LIFE presents an X-ray image of human life, stripping away the surface to show us a picture that is revealing, enthralling, and sometimes disturbing. The stories that emerge are not about data or equations but about people. Once youā€™ve listened to this addictive audiobook, life will never look the same again.

Tim HarfordĀ is an award-winning journalist, economist, and broadcaster. He's the author of the bestsellingĀ The Undercover Economist,Ā The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, Messy, Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy, Adapt, andĀ The Logic of Life. Harford is currently a senior columnist at theĀ Financial TimesĀ and host of the BBC Radio 4 programĀ More or Less. He has been named Economics Commentator of the Year (2014), won the Rybczynski Prize (2014ā€“2015) for the best business-relevant economics writing, and won the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism (2006). He's a visiting fellow of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford and lives in Oxford with his family.

JOHN LEE's highly innovative work in the fields of emotional intelligence, anger management, and emotional regression has made him an in-demand consultant, teacher, trainer, coach, and speaker. His contributions in the fields of recovery, relationships, menā€™s issues, spirituality, parenting, and creativity have put him in the national spotlight for over 20 years. Lee has been featured on Oprah, 20/20, Barbara Waltersā€™ The View, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He has been interviewed byĀ Newsweek, theĀ New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other national magazines and radio talk shows.For over 25 years, Lee has conducted private and group sessions on a variety of issues working with men, women, couples, and families. He lectures, gives workshops and trainings in cities all over the world, delivering sensitive, yet sophisticated material to audiences in a humorous and simple way everyone can understand. His lectures have been branded as ā€œhilariously entertaining, deeply compassionate, yet filled with ā€˜tell it like it is!ā€™ā€Lee served as a professor at the University of Texas and at the University of Alabama before becoming a writer, bestselling author, life coach, and personal consultant. He currently resides on breathtaking Lookout Mountain in Mentone, Alabama with his three happy dogs.

Tim HarfordĀ is an award-winning journalist, economist, and broadcaster. He's the author of the bestsellingĀ The Undercover Economist,Ā The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, Messy, Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy, Adapt, andĀ The Logic of Life. Harford is currently a senior columnist at theĀ Financial TimesĀ and host of the BBC Radio 4 programĀ More or Less. He has been named Economics Commentator of the Year (2014), won the Rybczynski Prize (2014ā€“2015) for the best business-relevant economics writing, and won the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism (2006). He's a visiting fellow of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford and lives in Oxford with his family.

JOHN LEE's highly innovative work in the fields of emotional intelligence, anger management, and emotional regression has made him an in-demand consultant, teacher, trainer, coach, and speaker. His contributions in the fields of recovery, relationships, menā€™s issues, spirituality, parenting, and creativity have put him in the national spotlight for over 20 years. Lee has been featured on Oprah, 20/20, Barbara Waltersā€™ The View, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He has been interviewed byĀ Newsweek, theĀ New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other national magazines and radio talk shows.For over 25 years, Lee has conducted private and group sessions on a variety of issues working with men, women, couples, and families. He lectures, gives workshops and trainings in cities all over the world, delivering sensitive, yet sophisticated material to audiences in a humorous and simple way everyone can understand. His lectures have been branded as ā€œhilariously entertaining, deeply compassionate, yet filled with ā€˜tell it like it is!ā€™ā€Lee served as a professor at the University of Texas and at the University of Alabama before becoming a writer, bestselling author, life coach, and personal consultant. He currently resides on breathtaking Lookout Mountain in Mentone, Alabama with his three happy dogs.

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Shop the sale

In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Donā€™t miss outā€”purchases support your local bookstore!

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Reviews

“Highly readable, funny and daringly contentious . . . a whopping good time.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“[Tim] Harford sets off on an enormously entertaining yarn backed by the findings of expert economists. He spins playfully, but smartly, across matters of sex, crime, gambling, addiction, marriage, racism, ghettos and politics, and he makes it all, well, titillating at times. Really.”
–USA Today

“Harford has a knack for explaining economic principles and problems in plain language and, even better, for making them fun.”
–The New York Times

“[Harford] is an amiable guide for the non-specialist reader . . . but his command of the subject is such that even a well-schooled economist will discover much that is new.”
–The Economist

“Highly engaging . . . entertaining and provocative.”
–Publishers Weekly

“A fascinating work with many ‘aha’ moments.”
–Booklist

“Smart, charming, penetrating, and wise.”
–Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics

“Chock-full of numbers and money talk, but oddly entertaining.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Charming and informative.”
–Newsday

“Like Harford’s earlier book, The Undercover Economist–if you haven’t got it, get it–this book uses the basic theory of rational choice to make transparent the logic behind common but important puzzling phenomena. Even a trained economist can enjoy discovering what he didn’t realize he already knew. I did.”
–Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics

“This witty, intelligent book will help you see the entire world in a new light.”
–Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist
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Celebrate indie bookstores with our limited-time sale! Shop the sale