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Everything Is Bullshit: The greatest scams on Earth revealed
Many of our society’s most cherished traditions are actually based on historical accident, the profit motives of a few companies, or the agenda of someone who died long ago. A lot of what we believe and do is bullshit, yet we walk around thinking our way of doing things is inherently correct.
Why do we exchange diamond engagement rings? Why is wine so expensive? How does art become “art”? Why do so many non-profits want us to donate cars to them? Why does college cost so much? Why do so many pets die in animal shelters? Why is the world the way it is?
Everything is Bullshit, by Priceonomics, is an investigation to find the answers.
Why do we exchange diamond engagement rings? Why is wine so expensive? How does art become “art”? Why do so many non-profits want us to donate cars to them? Why does college cost so much? Why do so many pets die in animal shelters? Why is the world the way it is?
Everything is Bullshit, by Priceonomics, is an investigation to find the answers.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2014
81 people are currently reading
848 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
February 19, 2017
Reviewed as part of my 100 books challenge: http://jimmylongley.com/blog/books/
Run-on Sentence Summary
A series of articles from Pricenomics, an economics blog, converted into a book about weird behaviors of our society, such as how nobody can tell the differences between cheap and expensive wine.
Impressions
This kind of book is pure candy to a natural skeptic like me. It is full of great conversation topics if you want to feel like you are smarter than everybody else. During lunch with your coworkers, you can just lay down, "Did you know that the diamond industry is really controlled by a giant global cartel that has been artificially inflating prices for decades, and the whole notion of diamond wedding rings was invented as a marketing ploy?" Or, "Did you know that baby seal clubbing isn’t really that unethical or bad for the environment compared to things like factory farming, and its popularity was really just due to evil PETA exploiting seals' cuteness to gain publicity, all the while destroying the livelihood of Inuit societies?"
I have a boner just thinking about how smart and informed I’ll be. Kidding aside, the information was interesting but as you can tell, I felt like at the end I didn’t really care all that much.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get too worked up about it, but this really is a fun and interesting bathroom-type book.
Favorite Quote
"In 2011, during a debate over the nutritional guidelines for school lunches, Congress decided that pizza counted as a vegetable. And not for the first time."
Run-on Sentence Summary
A series of articles from Pricenomics, an economics blog, converted into a book about weird behaviors of our society, such as how nobody can tell the differences between cheap and expensive wine.
Impressions
This kind of book is pure candy to a natural skeptic like me. It is full of great conversation topics if you want to feel like you are smarter than everybody else. During lunch with your coworkers, you can just lay down, "Did you know that the diamond industry is really controlled by a giant global cartel that has been artificially inflating prices for decades, and the whole notion of diamond wedding rings was invented as a marketing ploy?" Or, "Did you know that baby seal clubbing isn’t really that unethical or bad for the environment compared to things like factory farming, and its popularity was really just due to evil PETA exploiting seals' cuteness to gain publicity, all the while destroying the livelihood of Inuit societies?"
I have a boner just thinking about how smart and informed I’ll be. Kidding aside, the information was interesting but as you can tell, I felt like at the end I didn’t really care all that much.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get too worked up about it, but this really is a fun and interesting bathroom-type book.
Favorite Quote
"In 2011, during a debate over the nutritional guidelines for school lunches, Congress decided that pizza counted as a vegetable. And not for the first time."
September 6, 2017
Taken light heartedly, this book is quite entertaining, where every chapter could be source material for a John Oliver's episode.
August 15, 2014
This is a very interesting book. This work is an approach to several scams that occur on a daily basis and that we don't notice or even ever listen about. The book is full of anecdote stories. For instance (spoiler alert)
"In 2011 during a debate over the nutritional guidelines for school lunches. Congress decided that pizza counted as a vegetable. And not for the first time."
The authors have a very pragmatic way of explaining the topics and are very straightforward on the economic analysis of the scams. Finally they also have a good sense of humor, like you can see in:
"If Goldman Sachs didn't have more profitable market inefficiencies to exploit, they might be out there arbitraging stolen bikes"
"In 2011 during a debate over the nutritional guidelines for school lunches. Congress decided that pizza counted as a vegetable. And not for the first time."
The authors have a very pragmatic way of explaining the topics and are very straightforward on the economic analysis of the scams. Finally they also have a good sense of humor, like you can see in:
"If Goldman Sachs didn't have more profitable market inefficiencies to exploit, they might be out there arbitraging stolen bikes"
January 25, 2017
Basically a bunch of blog posts
Overall, this book was engaging and a quick read. Topics were wide-ranging, though sometimes perplexing - who DOESN'T think that bike theft is a scam?
Overall, this book was engaging and a quick read. Topics were wide-ranging, though sometimes perplexing - who DOESN'T think that bike theft is a scam?
September 19, 2014
This book would be 5 Stars if 50% of it wasn't already online as blog articles =( I feel cheated by paying the price of a full book for what was essentially just a few short articles.
February 6, 2018
While I wouldn't make over-generalized claims like this, it is true that certain aspects of our culture are subtle scams dressed as accidents of history. Diamonds, for example, are neither intrinsically valuable nor rare, but the "De Beers" company owns the entire world production and dictates their price. By bribing Hollywood producers and the British Royal Family to use diamonds in their on-screen engagements, De Beers created the social expectation that 2 months' worth of a man's income should be spent on an engagement ring, and thus got to own 2 months' worth of every marriageable man's work, or 0.5% of their lifetime salary earnings. I think their marketing budget paid off ;-).
July 28, 2014
Fresh, inspiring book.
The chapters about the diamonds and the wine were great (good positioning them in the front)
The touching story of the broken comedy writer was nice, but somehow not in place.
Overall: good, entertaining book.
The chapters about the diamonds and the wine were great (good positioning them in the front)
The touching story of the broken comedy writer was nice, but somehow not in place.
Overall: good, entertaining book.
December 9, 2017
I think the spirit of the book is a good one, but it needs work to become more of a full title.
There are a few core motifs that aren't really tied into the narrative of the book in a satisfactory way. Like, "here is example x ... in conclusion, this is just another example of materialism, which is bad. sad!", but it should connect that badness to a central idea of why people scam, what we can do about it, what our value systems have to adapt to. Many of the books' examples were well known and covered years before it was published so I was hoping for more novel examples.
Felt more like one large blog-post than a book.
There are a few core motifs that aren't really tied into the narrative of the book in a satisfactory way. Like, "here is example x ... in conclusion, this is just another example of materialism, which is bad. sad!", but it should connect that badness to a central idea of why people scam, what we can do about it, what our value systems have to adapt to. Many of the books' examples were well known and covered years before it was published so I was hoping for more novel examples.
Felt more like one large blog-post than a book.
August 7, 2023
I'm sort of addicted to this type of book, but what that really means, in practical terms, is that, for me, most of what it purports to reveal are things I already know. If you want it "revealed" that diamonds are a scam, the marketing of bycatch that brought us mahi mahi and chilean sea bass, and various credit reporting scams done by the big credit reporting companies, then this may be the book for you.
All in all though, it's kind of a mushy collection of essays without a lot to recommend them.
All in all though, it's kind of a mushy collection of essays without a lot to recommend them.
March 15, 2018
We live in a world that markets to us constantly and many things we are told to believe are just meant to enrich industry. Some good examples but I wish this had been extended to include Politics, automobiles, homes, insurance, medicine and opiates, crime and policing, terrorism, healthcare and other industries. Still, well worthwhile.
July 29, 2020
Everything is bullshit, so it's this book too
Basically the is nothing new in this book. And I can't see reasons to have that combination of the chapters ( regarding topics) in one book. At least it doesn't take too much time to read it
Basically the is nothing new in this book. And I can't see reasons to have that combination of the chapters ( regarding topics) in one book. At least it doesn't take too much time to read it
November 20, 2017
(This book included) should be the subtitle
February 4, 2019
Some common misconceptions debunked. Early chapters are excellent (e.g. the story behind the diamond trade). Later chapters aren't as strong.
August 16, 2020
An interesting book. It gives a fresh perspective/insights on a host of mundane issues by delving deeper. Overall a good read!
December 20, 2022
Very much from the Freakonomics style of books. It's written well and there are some interesting stories, but most likely you'll know a lot of them already
March 21, 2023
A solid 3.5 and definitely worth a read. There was a ridiculous amount of typos and, having been written 10 years ago, some of the info is becoming outdated.
February 5, 2019
Muy buen libro para darse cuenta porque los diamantes no tienen nada de especial, no hay diferencias considerables entre un vino caro y uno barato (ni siquiera los expertos los reconocen consistentemente), como la idea de una dieta balanceada ha cambiado a través de los años según el lobby de las grandes industrias, el monopolio que tienen las editoriales académicas sobre lo que se publica, y otras mentiras que nos creemos del mundo o como dice el libro que son simplemente "bullshit"
March 12, 2015
I have to admit openly that what drew me to this book while I was staring at the new non-fiction shelf in the library was its irreverent title. I don't know why. I pulled it off the shelf, read the back, and decided it might be worth perusing. Contrary to what the title may tell you, there is almost zero profanity in the book. I can probably count on one hand the number of swear words actually used, and most are in context of the authors quoting someone else. Frankly, I found the benefits of what I might learn outweighed having to skim over a bad word or two.
The book is a collection of essays on various topics, from diamonds to fine art to evictions in San Fransisco. Some chapters were more interesting than others. Some, I didn't care much about, but still found the information somewhat interesting.
The writing style is much more akin to what you might find in a blog post or an op/ed article, but it is well-edited and organized, in my opinion. Different writing styles are apparent, owing to the fact that there are multiple authors contributing. This also rounds out the topics. It is very cynical in tone, but not despairing. At the least, it assumes the intelligence of its readers, and doesn't resort to condescension, which is nice.
It covers a lot of "society's most cherished traditions," revealing the giant marketing scam/scheme behind each. That description I found misleading. Other than diamonds, I don't see how wine, evictions, or baby seals are actually "traditions." Perhaps I am just splitting hairs. Many of the topics are pets of the wealthy and elite, not necessarily down-to-earth Americans. Though, that is pure speculation on my part, as I related very little to most of the topics.
My favorite chapters were the following:
-Diamonds are Bullshit
-The Seal Clubbing Business
-The Tyranny of Taxi Medallions
-Why is Science Behind a Paywall?
-Is College Worth It? (Probably the one I learned the most from.)
-What Happens To Donated Cars?
-What It's Like to Fail. (This was my absolute favorite. Coincidentally, it is also the most optimistic in tone. Go figure.)
The book is a collection of essays on various topics, from diamonds to fine art to evictions in San Fransisco. Some chapters were more interesting than others. Some, I didn't care much about, but still found the information somewhat interesting.
The writing style is much more akin to what you might find in a blog post or an op/ed article, but it is well-edited and organized, in my opinion. Different writing styles are apparent, owing to the fact that there are multiple authors contributing. This also rounds out the topics. It is very cynical in tone, but not despairing. At the least, it assumes the intelligence of its readers, and doesn't resort to condescension, which is nice.
It covers a lot of "society's most cherished traditions," revealing the giant marketing scam/scheme behind each. That description I found misleading. Other than diamonds, I don't see how wine, evictions, or baby seals are actually "traditions." Perhaps I am just splitting hairs. Many of the topics are pets of the wealthy and elite, not necessarily down-to-earth Americans. Though, that is pure speculation on my part, as I related very little to most of the topics.
My favorite chapters were the following:
-Diamonds are Bullshit
-The Seal Clubbing Business
-The Tyranny of Taxi Medallions
-Why is Science Behind a Paywall?
-Is College Worth It? (Probably the one I learned the most from.)
-What Happens To Donated Cars?
-What It's Like to Fail. (This was my absolute favorite. Coincidentally, it is also the most optimistic in tone. Go figure.)
April 2, 2020
So this book is kinda like 'Freakonomics' mainly in the sense that it also uses data to try to show the reality behind the simple facts or tricks by companies.
This book was not Bullshit and it was very well written apparently it's just a collection of articles from their website but since I never knew about the site so for me it was different.
Though I knew something about the Diamonds before - Diamonds really are Bullshit :P.
Very nice book to pass some time while garnering some knowledge about the world which is not so straight after all and most of the things are rather controlled by select few and they obviously are super-rich.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
This book was not Bullshit and it was very well written apparently it's just a collection of articles from their website but since I never knew about the site so for me it was different.
Though I knew something about the Diamonds before - Diamonds really are Bullshit :P.
Very nice book to pass some time while garnering some knowledge about the world which is not so straight after all and most of the things are rather controlled by select few and they obviously are super-rich.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
August 7, 2014
Everything is Bullshit (2014) by Alex Mayyasi and the Priceonomics team is a book that is expanded tales from the excellent Priceonomics website. It's narrative connected with data.
The Priceonomics blog is an often fascinating, well written and highly entertaining blog that does a great job of writing magazine length stories. This book extends a number of them and does a reasonable job.
Diamonds, wine, food, $1000 phone applications, Taxis, evaluating college, pets, stolen bikes, San Francisco real estate, deodorant and what it's like to go from being very successful financially to homeless all have chapters in this book.
It's well written and if you haven't encountered the stories before they are mostly very interesting. The writing and hype can be a bit over the top, the title of the book is just one example. It's a pity the writers didn't cut back a bit on the hyperbole, the stories mostly stand on their own merit. The book also covers a lot of the same ground as the website so anyone who reads the blog regularly will know quite a lot of the material.
Still, the book is well worth a read for anyone who likes data driven stories.
The Priceonomics blog is an often fascinating, well written and highly entertaining blog that does a great job of writing magazine length stories. This book extends a number of them and does a reasonable job.
Diamonds, wine, food, $1000 phone applications, Taxis, evaluating college, pets, stolen bikes, San Francisco real estate, deodorant and what it's like to go from being very successful financially to homeless all have chapters in this book.
It's well written and if you haven't encountered the stories before they are mostly very interesting. The writing and hype can be a bit over the top, the title of the book is just one example. It's a pity the writers didn't cut back a bit on the hyperbole, the stories mostly stand on their own merit. The book also covers a lot of the same ground as the website so anyone who reads the blog regularly will know quite a lot of the material.
Still, the book is well worth a read for anyone who likes data driven stories.
August 13, 2015
I think like most people, I was drawn into this based on Priceonomics brilliant diamond industry piece published (for free) online.
This book is a series independent articles from their site (and some specific to the book) on topics ranging from the lobbying behind nutrition advice to why people pay for art. It does not take a scientific approach, which is fine for the casual reader looking to pick up some counter-culture conversation topics at a family dinner.
However, if you have been reading blogs and articles by more progressive writers (aka, HN, anyone twitter recommends, etc), most of the information found in this book is redundant.
From the perspective of people new to questioning how the world functions, this is an excellent start to many of today's (and tomorrows) big topics in industry and culture. However, I'm not reviewing this book from that perspective, so I will not rate accordingly.
This book is a series independent articles from their site (and some specific to the book) on topics ranging from the lobbying behind nutrition advice to why people pay for art. It does not take a scientific approach, which is fine for the casual reader looking to pick up some counter-culture conversation topics at a family dinner.
However, if you have been reading blogs and articles by more progressive writers (aka, HN, anyone twitter recommends, etc), most of the information found in this book is redundant.
From the perspective of people new to questioning how the world functions, this is an excellent start to many of today's (and tomorrows) big topics in industry and culture. However, I'm not reviewing this book from that perspective, so I will not rate accordingly.
October 2, 2014
Didn't much care for it.
I read the entire section on diamonds and then realized it didn't apply to me at all and I didn't care. Not wanting to make the same mistake again I skipped sections and found most of it I didn't care about.
The book is presented as exposing scams but it kind of doesn't. For example McDonald's Monopoly. It's not rigged. It was rigged once and they caught the guy and his conspirators. It's more of a news story. Same way the two homeless people stories evolve. What is the point of these? I supposed they're trying to argue it's bad to throw a 70 year old lesbian out onto the street, but really, she stopped paying rent, wrote "f you" on eviction notices, they gave her $14,000 to relocate, what else does she deserve? I'm guessing less.
Looking at the title, "The greatest scams revealed" I can't think of one scam revealed.
I read the entire section on diamonds and then realized it didn't apply to me at all and I didn't care. Not wanting to make the same mistake again I skipped sections and found most of it I didn't care about.
The book is presented as exposing scams but it kind of doesn't. For example McDonald's Monopoly. It's not rigged. It was rigged once and they caught the guy and his conspirators. It's more of a news story. Same way the two homeless people stories evolve. What is the point of these? I supposed they're trying to argue it's bad to throw a 70 year old lesbian out onto the street, but really, she stopped paying rent, wrote "f you" on eviction notices, they gave her $14,000 to relocate, what else does she deserve? I'm guessing less.
Looking at the title, "The greatest scams revealed" I can't think of one scam revealed.
September 14, 2014
I really enjoy the Priceonomics blog, so I was happy to support them even though this is just a collection of essay from the site.
Some of these I considered pretty obvious (demand for diamonds was created by DeBeers! Companies that make packaged foods lobby Congress a lot and get laws passed!), but there are definitely a few gems here. I specifically enjoyed the article about how a comedy writer became homeless (which honestly didn't have much to do with the book's premise, but was gripping and well-written), the donate cars for charity article, and the bicycle thief one.
So it all depends on what you know or have read before. I'd recommend it regardless and just skip to the next chapter if you get bored.
Some of these I considered pretty obvious (demand for diamonds was created by DeBeers! Companies that make packaged foods lobby Congress a lot and get laws passed!), but there are definitely a few gems here. I specifically enjoyed the article about how a comedy writer became homeless (which honestly didn't have much to do with the book's premise, but was gripping and well-written), the donate cars for charity article, and the bicycle thief one.
So it all depends on what you know or have read before. I'd recommend it regardless and just skip to the next chapter if you get bored.
December 23, 2021
A lot of things are bullshit, but not quite everything. Frankly, some of the stories were a little short and contrived but this served as an entertaining read on a flight from DC to Fort Myers.
As someone who was once relatively "hot sh!t" but still just about "lost it all" early on in adult life, I really enjoyed the open and honest "What It's Like to Fail" piece that details the fall of a top-TV script writer to homelessness. No attributes are more valuable in this world than humility and resilience.
As someone who was once relatively "hot sh!t" but still just about "lost it all" early on in adult life, I really enjoyed the open and honest "What It's Like to Fail" piece that details the fall of a top-TV script writer to homelessness. No attributes are more valuable in this world than humility and resilience.
October 22, 2016
Starts well but gets boring as it moves on. A few topics -
- diamond is the cheapest stone. ok.
- most folks cannot differentiate good and bad wine - some of my friends swear that this is not correct. I am not into wine so cannot say.
- food market controlled by big companies - not news
- asian students discriminated in ivy leagues - not interesting
- sob story of someone who went homeless because he made poor financial decisions - happens every day in my place - not interesting
- sob story of elderly squatter - not interesting
- other stuff that barely registers
Avoid if possible
- diamond is the cheapest stone. ok.
- most folks cannot differentiate good and bad wine - some of my friends swear that this is not correct. I am not into wine so cannot say.
- food market controlled by big companies - not news
- asian students discriminated in ivy leagues - not interesting
- sob story of someone who went homeless because he made poor financial decisions - happens every day in my place - not interesting
- sob story of elderly squatter - not interesting
- other stuff that barely registers
Avoid if possible
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2014
A little disappointed. The in depth stuff covered areas I already knew about and heavily covered in other places (diamond cartel, colleges etc) while other stuff was fairly lax on content.
If you have no knowledge of a lot of this stuff, or have a friend who is too trusting, this might be an interesting read. If you're the type of person who might read Priceonomics anyways or generally likes to understand stuff like this this book will seem severely lacking.
If you have no knowledge of a lot of this stuff, or have a friend who is too trusting, this might be an interesting read. If you're the type of person who might read Priceonomics anyways or generally likes to understand stuff like this this book will seem severely lacking.
August 11, 2014
Fun read casting a new light on many of our ideas. For example, diamond prices are artificially inflated and they are not a good investment, studies suggest that it is questionable whether anyone can tell the difference between a $2000 wine and a $3 wine, and high priced scientific journals interfere with readily available research results. I found some material fascinating and some less notable; one about baby seals I skipped.
August 11, 2014
Priceonomics is one of my favorite blogs. They put together interesting blog posts which explain complex yet fascinating things simply.
This book is a collection of various phenomena. Its form may be familiar to you if you've read the Freakanomics books. This book's writing style is better- stories capture your interest from the get go, and dive deep. For long form sluts (such as me), its a treasure.
A very satisfying read.
This book is a collection of various phenomena. Its form may be familiar to you if you've read the Freakanomics books. This book's writing style is better- stories capture your interest from the get go, and dive deep. For long form sluts (such as me), its a treasure.
A very satisfying read.
January 13, 2015
Fascinating read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which follows the successful model of Freakonomics books by Leavitt and Dubner. I now look forward to the daily blogs from the Priceonomics staff. The flow of book is seamless as they move from the crazy economics of the wine industry to the outright fraud of the car donation charity. A great read that leaves the reader a bit more informed, if not less trusting, of some of our everyday institutions.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which follows the successful model of Freakonomics books by Leavitt and Dubner. I now look forward to the daily blogs from the Priceonomics staff. The flow of book is seamless as they move from the crazy economics of the wine industry to the outright fraud of the car donation charity. A great read that leaves the reader a bit more informed, if not less trusting, of some of our everyday institutions.
February 10, 2015
Some interesting nuggets; not incredibly in-depth (and most sources are just Wikipedia), but a fun and easy read regardless. Each "essay" / converted blog post basically goes back and forth over the economic arguments regarding the topic under discussion, but generally doesn't take a strong editorial stance on either side.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews