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| Author: Barry Schwartz
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $15.87
You Save: $8.08 (34%)
New (9) Used (9) from $11.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  99 reviews
Sales Rank: 272137
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
ASIN: B000HWY5MK
Publication Date: January 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new! Beautiful! May have a small remainder mark (ink mark) along the edge. gift quality, crisp, clean, multiple copies available, prompt shipping, excellent service.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Choices: how to think about it and avoid the pitfalls of too many options June 18, 2008
Schwartz has a compelling argument: the more options we have for each choice, the higher our expectation and the longer the decision process. For a number of people (especially those that like to 'maximize' every decision) this can be a very frustrating and potentially debilitating. He reports on studies that show how people are actually better off (more satisfied with outcomes) when given fewer choices. Clearly, this concept has been understood for a while, especially in marketing circles where the goal has been to 'take advantage' of customer behavior. However, Schwartz takes the perspective of the individual or consumer and shows how we can be manipulated and perhaps 'left hanging' when the array of choice is bewildering. This book has a very practical approach to the issue, ending with suggestions on how to address the challenges presented with having too much choice.
I bought a copy for myself, then ended up buying two more copies because I kept loaning it out to others who reported that a third party ended up taking it, instead of giving it back.
Not a paradox anymore, now things are clear! May 29, 2008
Very good book. Highly recommended. Especially for those out there who have a tough time making decisions.
 Disappointing April 20, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
The first third of this book consists of a boatload of statistics and observations about how many choices we have in modern life. A series of self-evident facts, signifying nothing.
The next third of the book suggests that choice is sometimes counterproductive and stressful. I have often observed myself that there are eight varieties of Cap'n Crunch in the store and the original is the only good one. Choice is not always good. Kinda knew that.
The Third Act, which is what I had hoped would be insightful, reads like a Wayne Dyer greeting card - chill out, breathe, choose what's important, connect with your source, hang in there baby!
In response to the stresses of life, one can only chill out so much before starting to ask harder questions about the nature of capitalism and whether our materialist culture is a disgrace to human history. These are the real issues that books like this are supposed to sort out for us through wise, critical, historical analysis. There is something wrong with *America* - not *me*. I just work here. Sure I can take a bath and eat whole wheat bread and drink more water, but as a citizen of the world, I wanna know why it's all screwed up and what I can do about it.
Great book April 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Barry Schwartz explores interesting paradox. If we as consumer have a lot of choices, it does not mean that we would be able to make a better decision or be happier. In fact it is often quite opposite. The book is based on strong scientific foundation: psychology of judgment and decision-making behavioral economics. He includes references to Nobel award winning work by Kahneman and Tversky, as well as few other researchers. At the same time The Paradox or Choice is not a dry academic-like book: is it full of amusing real-life examples. What influence our choice? What factors would lead us to make irrational choice? How to measure happiness and satisfaction? How to make trade-off? You will find answers on these and other questions.
Essentially Barry Schwartz uncovers from different points view what we already intuitively know: in order to be happy we don't need to buy more things or more expensive things. We just need to make choices, which will increase our satisfaction. What I took away after reading this book are a few simple ideas, that I can use in my every day life. For example, I will try to base my choices on detailed research rather than the memory of one vivid event. This is not as easy as it sounds as we do not always follow our own rules of decision-making. Barry Schwartz's book helps us to reinforce our intent to make more rational choices.
I highly recommend this book.
Lev Virine, author of Project Decisions: The Art and Science
 Explains my life March 20, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
As I write this review, I am pondering what I should do next: read, watch tv, do homework, look info up on google, or play euchre.
I'll probably read. What book? I have a stack of fifty that I will probably never get through. What is worse, it takes me more time to choose the book I would like to read than it does to read it!
This is what the Paradox of Choice is all about. We think our lives are great. We have more stuff, more options, more channels, and more choice than ever. Yet, people do not seem to be any happier than they were in the days of barbarism, i.e., before TV had 200 channels and the internet was a necessity.
If anything, we are more stressed, anxious, uncertain, and depressed than ever.
Hence the paradox.
Shwartz marshals hundreds of studies to explain this paradox. The main conclusion is that humans are usually maximizers. This means we try to get the absolute best deal we can (whether it be in the mating market or the supermarket). However, this attitude also leads to guilt and stress. You begin to think: Did I chose the right mate? The right book? The right car? The grass looks greener, and there is more of it than there ever has been before.
This book explained my everyday life in a way that few books have. I wish that it would have focused on existential issues in more detail, rather than catering to marketers and economists. Whatever. It is still an excellent, non-technical account of the paradox of choice.
For those who love the book, I would recommend reading more technical works by Kahneman and Tversky. Their work is essential for understanding the heuristics of human decision making.
Of course, there are a million other things you could do, so why would you choose to do that!
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