"The great majority of people are more rational and make fewer mistakes in promoting their own interests than even well-intentioned government officials," writes this impressive couple (Gary won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Economics). The short, column-length essays that make up this volume first appeared in Business Week magazine and show for a popular audience how market incentives influence human behavior in countless ways. The Beckers criticize centralized planning, racial quotas and trade tariffs, and endorse drug legalization, privatized social security and school vouchers. They also veer into unexpected terrain, addressing religion, sports and marriage with keen insight.

From economics Nobel Laureate Gary Becker and historian Guity Nashat Becker comes this collection of the economist's popular BusinessWeek columns. These 138 essays have fueled numerous debates, touching on hot-button issues from crime to organization of sports. The Beckers' surprising--and uncompromising--positions on drugs ("legalize them"), immigration ("auction off immigration slots"), welfare ("curtail it sharply"), and other topics provide a provocative commentary on our times.

The Economics of Life is a good anthology of Becker's short policy papers over the years. As such, it is useful as a supplemental text for introductory microeconomics. Some might find this book dry reading, but it is quite entertaining compared to standard textbooks.

This book should reach a wider audience too. Now that Milton Friedman is gone, Becker is THE leading proponent of Chicago Rational Choice microeconomics. Those who want to understand policy issues should read this book because it is about the easiest way to get a feel for Chicago microeconomics. See also Hidden Order by David Friedman.

Given the controversial nature of this book it has drawn fire, and will continue to do so. While I freely admit that Chicago price theory has limits, it also has useful applications and relevance. Read The Economics of Life first, judge its merits later.

Gary Becker certainly has the credentials to bring economics to the masses, with a Nobel Prize in the field and positions at the economics powerhouse of the University of Chicago as well as the Hoover Institution, one of the world's most influential think tanks. Along with his wife Guity Nashat, Becker applies the concepts and principles of economics to a diverse range of issues in this volume, which is a collection of previously released columns.

The result is an informative look at how economics applies to a wider range of issues in our lives, above and beyond the strictly monetary. Becker was a forerunner in this area, applying economic theory to discrimination back when other economists were looking at nothing more than financial figures and projections. Becker's scope is expanded here and the issues range, as the subtitle puts it, from baseball to affirmative action and more.

Unlike some other reviewers, I do not think these essays are dated. Even if some of the specific issues have changed, the concepts remain the same and can be applied to present situations with little editing. Anyone who cannot do so has read only the words of the essays themselves without recognizing the deeper analysis involved.

The biggest problem with THE ECONOMICS OF LIFE is not that it is dated, but rather that it is truly, truly dull. I was attracted to the book because one of my favorite authors, Thomas Sowell, is also an economist who writes columns for a wider, non-academic audience. Certainly I did not expect a clone of Sowell. Yet Sowell has demonstrated that he can make the dismal science a bit less dismal to read. The same cannot be said of Becker, whose brilliance in the field is matched by the dryness with which he articulates it.

Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker published this collection of articles in the mid1990s. Even if dated, the book is a high-quality and straightforward way to understand basic economics and apply economic theory and principles to daily life. Most of the articles are interesting, it is easy to read both in content and length, the writing is consistently fine and the analysis insightful. It also sparked the vast amount of more recent books of the same fashion like Harford's Undercover economist, Landsburg's Armchair economist, Friedman's Hidden order or Leavitt's Freakonomics. Recommended.

This book brings economic theories down to earth. The Beckers are excellent writers and the book is easy to read because it is broken down into short segments. The book would be great as supplementary reading for a principles of economics class.

This is a great read. Although outdated, it still carries lots of potent articles from the man who mastered bringing economics to the masses. Being a collection of short articles, it sometimes leaves you wishing that Becker had gone into more detail with his arguments, though.