Has anyone else here read this book by Friedman? I'm sure some of you have.
I thought it was a pretty brilliant book- very interesting and a little bit frightening. It seemed to me that most of his conclusions were just logical extrapolations from the stats and anecdotes he wrote about.
What do you guys feel about this book?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I've read it, and even had it as a class textbook.
I found it a disappointingly bad book -- bad style and bad exposition and bad argument. He cites questionable facts, states things about history that aren't true, misunderstands economics, and mixes metaphors, among other offenses.
However, it does contain some kernels of useful thought that seem to have sparked the interest of many readers, and which I consider it important people think about. For that I am glad he wrote the book.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
If you want to experience a significantly more important (if somewhat less populized) work by a significantly more importan Friedman (the recently deceased Milton, in this case; not related), I highly recommend watching this series (Free to Choose): http://www.ideachannel.tv/ Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I don't think I've read that book. I did read and enjoy Flatland, however.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I had to read this book for a class.
quote:It seemed to me that most of his conclusions were just logical extrapolations from the stats and anecdotes he wrote about.
I agree.
Although I found the information interesting, I found most of what he was suggesting blatantly obvious. However, I got the impression that the professor thought it was quite groundbreaking.
I think that one possibility concerning this is that there is a generational gap in which slightly older people percieve this kind of 'flatness' as hugely bizarre, whereas to internet savvy and mostly younger people, 'flatness' is commonplace. Although I didn't know about much of the specifics provided in the book, the basic premise seemed fairly blatant.