THE ART OF CHOOSING

Why would you choose to listen to this audiobook? As Sheena Iyengar points out in her engaging study, our choices are part of a constantly changing interactive relationship with our environment. We choose our clothes, for example, to distinguish ourselves from what we perceive to be “average,” and yet we don’t want to stand out too much. We fiercely believe in choosing our own life partners, yet 20 years after tying the knot, people in arranged marriages tend to be happier. Before the fall of Communism, Eastern Europeans were unhappy about their limited consumer choices, yet years after the fall many of them find consumer choice to be a prison. Orlagh Cassidy narrates with a scholarly, balanced sensibility that keeps the work appealing. She adds an empathetic touch when recounting Iyengar’s anecdotes about her childhood and Sikh extended family. Those who loved BLINK, THE WISDOM OF CROWDS, or FREAKONOMICS are sure to enjoy this. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2010]