Buy used:

$25.65

& FREE Shipping. Details

FREE delivery: Wednesday, May 5 Details

Fastest delivery: Monday, May 3
Order within 7 hrs and 25 mins Details

Used: Good | Details

Sold by The Colorado Page Exchange

Fulfilled by Amazon

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Donald J. Boudreaux

Hypocrites & Half-Wits: A Daily Dose of Sanity from Cafe Hayek Hardcover – July 1, 2012

by Donald J. Boudreaux (Author)

26 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$29.97

$29.96

$30.09

Hardcover, July 1, 2012

$25.65

$53.03

$25.65

Hardcover
$25.65

8 Used from $25.65 4 New from $53.03

Each day, Donald Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University, writes a letter to the editor of a major American publication. Often, he writes in response to an absurdity offered up by a columnist or politician, or an eye-catching factoid misleadingly taken out of context. This collection, comprised of one hundred of Boudreaux's best letters, provides intelligent, witty rejoinders to questions like these:

-Are taxes ''really just prices''? (New York Times)

-Does the Tea Party suffer from a ''fatuous infatuation'' with the Constitution? (Washington Post)

-Is it ''obvious'' that ''if there are fewer guns, there are fewer shootings and fewer funerals'' (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

-Has ''slowing population growth'' proven to be ''critical to long-term economic growth''? (Wall Street Journal)

Without swearing allegiance to any party or ideology, Boudreaux takes aim at pundits and politicos on the left, right, and everywhere between. He tackles issues ranging from ''lookism'' in the office and the futility of border walls to naive faith in alternative energy and the all-too-common tendency to trust a fallible and ever-expanding government.

Half-truths and Hypocrites won't change the deeply held convictions of readers. But it will entertain them, enlighten them, and sharpen their eye for shaky facts, faulty reasoning, and intellectual dishonesty--all of which are threats to a free, prosperous country.

Print length

248 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free To Choose Press
Publication date

July 1, 2012
Dimensions

5.75 x 1 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0983968705
ISBN-13

978-0983968702
See all details

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

261
Paperback
$49.99
In stock on May 9, 2021.
William F. Buckley
65
Paperback
$11.95
In Stock.
Donald J. Boudreaux
14
Hardcover
$61.00
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald J. Boudreaux served as chairman of the department of economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, from 2001 to 2009. He runs a blog, CafeHayek.com, with Russ Roberts and has lectured in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe. He is the author of Globalization (2008), and his writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Regulation, Reason, Ideas on Liberty, the Washington Times, the Journal of Commerce, the Cato Journal, and several scholarly journals.

Before chairing the economics department at George Mason, Boudreaux was president of the Foundation for Economic Education; associate professor of legal studies and Economics at Clemson University, and assistant professor of economics at George Mason University.

Product details

Publisher : Free To Choose Press (July 1, 2012)
Language : English
Hardcover : 248 pages
ISBN-10 : 0983968705
ISBN-13 : 978-0983968702
Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.75 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,037,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,085 in Political Commentary & Opinion

Customer Reviews:
26 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		66%
4 star		24%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		7%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Ivan Arnaudov

If you listen to politicians and pundits and wonder why nobody reacts when they talk nonsense...

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

I strongly feel that each person should know the basics of economy and should be able to recognize and dispute false ideas. The book of Don Boudreaux takes publicly stated opinions of politicians and journalists and proves in plain language how these are wrong - regarless of how good they may sound at first.

Why is it necessary to read about these wrong opinions? Because the misconseptions that are repeated over and over on the radio & television and in the newspapers are not that many (the state can do better job allocating resources and managing than people themselves; that minimum wages help the poor; etc. etc.) and chances are you hear the same thoughts from people around yourself. Donald Boudreaux's book gives you a set of tools which you can use to explain to your friends and family why these popular ideas are wrong or misguided, and never work as intended.

I've been visiting Don Boudreaux's Cafe Hayek website for a couple of years and I purchased this book as a way to say thank you for his time spent maintaining the website. I give it 4 out of 5 stars only because it is just a bit more monotonous to read that I may have liked. But if you listen to politicians and talking heads and wonder why is it that they talk bulshit and nobody around you gives a damn, then you will enjoy reading 'Hypocricies & Half-Wits' and know you're not alone out there :)

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Exactly what it claims to be.

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book is a collection of letters to the editor by Don Boudreaux. If you read the blog at Cafe Hayek, or get the email from the same there probably isn't a lot new here.

I find a lot of value in his writings and I chose to support that by purchasing the book (vote with my dollars). Because the book covers many years there are a lot of topics and examples that I've enjoyed rehashing.

If you aren't familiar with Dr. Boudreaux he approaches each topic from a libertarian political bent and an Austrian economic philosophy. If you want a really good introduction to both as they apply to real world topics, I'd highly recommend this book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

1bobbo

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

You want to understand the dull science? Gat a hold of this!

Helpful

Tino

A great education on economics and liberty for everyone -- from economists to ignoramuses -- in a simple and fun format!

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2012

Verified Purchase

Before I begin my review, I must state in the interest of full disclosure: I am one of the (many) people that are thanked in the Acknowledgements of this book -- because I am a friend of the author Donald J. Boudreaux, and over the past few years, I have often chatted with Boudreaux about the content of his letters to the editor; some of which were ultimately compiled for this book -- although I had nothing whatsoever to do with the publishing of the book. I am recommending this wonderful book on its own merit; I truly believe that it is a gem. I greatly enjoyed reading it, and so will you!

----

Donald J. Boudreaux is a professor at George Mason University: an economist and a lawyer, he was Chairman of the Economics Department at GMU for 8 years, and currently teaches in GMU's economics department and law school. He is a staunch advocate of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and non-interventionist foreign policy. He frequently writes letters-to-the-editor in support of these principles, in opposition to newspaper articles/editorials that counter these principles, or display what he believes to be economic illiteracy. But newspaper editors are not the only targets of Boudreaux's pearls of wisdom: he will write a letter to anyone whom he encounters displaying economic illiteracy or advocating Big Government, whether it is a radio talk show host regurgitating talking points that have no basis in sound economics; a politician arguing for ever-more governmental power; or a blogger arguing that America is somehow economically harmed by importing cheap goods made in foreign countries.

He almost certainly has the world record for letters written to the editor -- he has written nearly 5,000 letters over the past decade! Of course, some of the letters he writes ultimately get printed in the newspapers.

This book is a selection of 100 of the letters he has written. (NOTE: Boudreaux sends all his daily letters to his large listserve; information on how to join the listserve is available in the book. He posts about half of his letters at the popular blog called Cafe Hayek, which he runs with his GMU colleague Russ Roberts).

In addition to being a brilliant economist, Boudreaux has two particularly great skills: Firstly that of Brevity, and secondly, what I like to call Easy Elucidation for Everyone. He has an incredible ability to impart a lesson on economics so that it is easily understandable to anyone, in a very concise manner: most of his letters are 200 words or less. That ability to explain a point so that even a person who has never studied economics can understand it easily, all in a letter than can be read in under 2 minutes, is a priceless gift.

I can personally attest to this: I have never studied economics formally, yet I have read and understood every letter Boudreaux has written over the past 6 years with the same ease that I understand the box score of a baseball game. I have more than held my own throughout numerous debates/discussions on important economic concepts with college-educated friends, ALMOST ENTIRELY DUE TO THE EDUCATION I RECEIVED FROM READING BOUDREAUX'S DAILY LETTERS!

This book is a great read whether or not you agree with Boudreaux's political views: if you do, then this book will give you great ammunition in support of your beliefs when you are arguing against those with different political beliefs. And if you do not share Don's opinion on some or all issues, this book will do a great job in challenging your views and seeing another side you may not have considered previously. Either way, this book will make you think about important issues in ways you never thought of before.

In addition to economic/fiscal issues, Boudreaux's letters address many other subjects, including: individual liberty, governmental regulation of private behavior, nanny statism, the war on drugs, the immoral hunger for power that drives so many politicians, and foreign policy.

The letters may make you laugh at idiotic comments uttered by radio hosts and callers; angry at the economic ignorance spewing from certain print outlets; or puzzled at how certain politicians ever got elected (and re-elected and re-elected and re-elected!)

Whether you follow politics closely or casually; whether you agree with all, some, or none of Boudreaux's views; and whether you've ever previously read any of Don's letters or will be reading them for the first time, this book will be a very enjoyable read.

The book was compiled in a very attractive format: Each letter is printed on one page; and on the facing page, there is an item that somehow relates to the letter: it may be a cartoon, a quote, or a few lines of bio regarding a famous person mentioned in the letter, or an easy-to-understand graph demonstrating eg. the fallacy of population control as a positive economic policy.

Everything is written clearly, concisely, and fact-driven, and where necessary, supported with appropriate statistics: there is absolutely none of the nonsensical straw-man arguments or cliche's that are sadly what passes for much of political discussion today -- whether in newspapers, on blogs, talk radio, or cable television -- on both sides of the political aisle.

For years, I've been recommending Boudreaux's letters to my personal friends, and they've all told me how much they love reading them; well, now that this wonderful book has been released, I enthusiastically recommend it to all of you, my Amazon friends ;-)

I am sure you will all find "HYPOCRITES AND HALF-WITS" interesting, informative, and fun, all at the same time!

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jeffrey L. Witt

Sanity and common sense in spades...concise, cogent arguments based on FACTS.

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

Have been a fan of Don's for a while now. He has a real knack for boiling issues down to their fundamentals, making the subjects seem simple in hindsight. Facts matter, feelings and intentions don't trump results. Read it (and his web site) and see the light.

Helpful

Santa Fe Frenchy

Boudreaux makes some great points in his letters . . . wish every member of Congress would read them!

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'd give it 4 1/2 stars if possible. I enjoy how Boudreaux turns conventional wisdom on it's head with wit and brevity. After all, as he points out in letter after letter, many of the policies pushed on us by the news media and passed into law by the Congress have the very opposite effect from what is intended. So many laws and regulations have it bass ackwards. The letters in this book make a quick point why.

Helpful

Tibor Machan

No more free reviews for Amazon!

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2012

Verified Purchase

Amazon is big business and that is just fine by me but then please don't ask free services from your customers. Taking time to evaluate my purchases is costly!

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Michael von Prollius

Scharfsinn gegen Mythen

Reviewed in Germany on April 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

Der langjährige Dekan der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der George Mason University soll von seiner Familie aufgefordert worden sein, keine Schuhe beim Fernsehen zu tragen. Die wollte er nämlich regelmäßig in Richtung Fernseher werfen, weil Nachrichtenleute und sogenannte Experten fortlaufend ökonomischen Unsinn verbreiten. Zur friedlichen Frustüberwindung hat Don Boudreaux 2004 angefangen fast täglich Leserbriefe an die Herausgeber namhafter Zeitungen zu schreiben. Inzwischen sind rund 5.000 zusammengekommen, von denen 100 für dieses sorgfältig gestaltete Buch ausgewählt und illustriert wurden.

Tatsächlich ist diese Sammlung von Vernunft und gesundem Menschenverstand nicht nur ein idealer Impfstoff gegen verbreitete Irrtümer, gedankenlose Nachlässigkeiten und unhinterfragte politische Dogmen. Don Boudreaux bietet über die Wirtschaft hinaus mit seinen Richtigstellungen in Politik, Recht und Gesellschaft eine Anleitung für konsequentes Denken und publizistische Meisterschaft. Ob Handelsbilanzdefizit, Ökologismus oder Rassentrennung per Gesetz, ob nationale Einheit oder der Unterschied von Absicht und Resultat, die messerscharfen Kommentare des ungekrönten Königs der Leserbriefe sind ein Quell der Freude.

Translate review to English

See all reviews

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Hypocrites & Half-Wits: A Daily Dose of Sanity from Cafe Hayek Hardcover – July 1, 2012

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries