The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do (Your Coach in a Box)

Porter, Eduardo

ISBN 10: 1596596260 ISBN 13: 9781596596269

Publisher: Gildan Audio, 2011

Synopsis

"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

-Oscar Wilde

The Price of Everything starts with a pretty simple premise. There is a price behind each choice-individual, collective, or national-that we make. Whether we're deciding whether or not to buy a cheeseburger, go to the doctor, go to college, or go to war, everything has its price. And Porter sets out to explore them all, seeking a broad understanding of how we set prices and how prices change our lives.

But the strange connections and hidden motivations he uncovers are anything but simple. They are unexpected, sometimes shocking, always interesting, and ultimately highly enlightening. Porter has a gift for uncovering the hidden logic of price that drives all our actions. His stated goal takes him in some interesting and rather counterintuitive directions, such as:

· Assigning an actual price tag to women and tracking their rising value as a function of economic growth

· Comparing the cost-per-vote in corrupt São Tomé to the supposedly less-corrupt (and less efficient) campaign spending of U.S. politicians

· Explaining why McDonald's burger menu pricing encourages irrational behavior

The Price of Everything will show listeners how prices, both explicit and unspoken, move people and societies. A cosmopolitan journalist with a taste for empirical observation and an appreciation for the social sciences, Porter's wide-eyed approach brings new life to his subject. His broad perspective leads him to draw unexpected connections bridging disparate disciplines and cultures. In this fascinating and elegant narrative, Porter proves just how prices have enormous influence on people, in fact shepherding the flow of our lives.

About this title

Review

"At a time of seemingly proliferating risks, though, Porter's searching book is a welcome reminder of the necessity of prudent decision making."
-"The New York Times Book Review"
"Porter offers us a shiny new lens for understanding the relationships around us that we too often fail to see"
-"Harvard Business Review"
"Thoughtful, detailed, and fascinating..."
-"BookPage"
"While an elegant and enjoyable read, "The Price of Everything" is also timely: Porter makes a strong case in the wake of the recession that it's silly for economists and policy makers to assume people act according to rational assessments or even in their own best interest."
-"The Associated Press"
..".energetic tour of the daily cost-benefit analysis called life."
-Bloomberg News
..".both entertaining and enlightening."
-"The Financial Times"
"a lively guide through the morass of economic theory... Everything has its price, and here we

About the Author

StartFragment--> Eduardo Porter has been on the staff of The New York Times since January 2004, covering economics, and joined the paper's editorial board in July 2007. He began his journalism career in 1990 as a financial reporter for Notimex, the Mexican news agency, in Mexico City. He was a correspondent in Tokyo (1991-1992) and in London (1992-1996). In 1996, Porter was appointed editor of the Brazilian edition of América Economía, a business and economics magazine based in Sao Paulo. In 2000 he became senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal, based in Los Angeles, covering the Hispanic population in the United States. He is a graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He has an MSc in quantum fields and fundamental forces from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London.

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Edition details

• Publisher: Gildan Audio
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1596596260
• ISBN 13: 9781596596269
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English