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The Paradox of Choice
- Why More is Less
- Narrated by: Ken Kliban
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
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The Paradox of Choice
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Publisher's Summary
In the spirit of Alvin Tofflers' Future Shock, a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret.
Whether were buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions - both big and small - have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice - the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish - becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice--from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs--has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.
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What listeners say about The Paradox of Choice
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Nathan Lamont
- 2020-01-29
Find a summary article instead
At this point, Schwartz's concepts from "The Paradox of Choice" are widely spread and easily accessible in more succinct formats. If you're looking for the theory, start there. If your desire is to labour through this horrible narration, godspeed. Ken Kliban's painful cadence and annoyingly repetitive intonation made this torture. I had to restart this book several times with breaks between listening sessions - he is *that* bad.
That said, the concepts are valid and relevant to anyone looking at improving their understanding of managing choices or product options/variations for customers. However, unless your interest is in the superfluous detail through which Schwartz explains the scientific process through which the studies on choice were conducted, I would highly recommend finding a TLDR version of this book.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-08-10
It's crazy
It's really eye opening to know about all those choices that he talk about in this book.
It's really the land of the opportunity. The land of abundance.
Well now it's going down the toilet with all that it is going on with the supply chain.
Me I can deal with it and manage to get what I want. Because I am not difficult.
People are really specific so let's just see what is going to happen.
I just started the book. I just wanted to write about it.
I would not mind going back to the time he refer to. Just to try it.
I think that my time is way too much complicated for nothing.
I own 3 headphones from the same company. Why? Because on one I didn't like something about it. So I bought something better. But then it was not noise cancelling enough so I had to buy again. So you see there is noise cancelling and not enough noise cancelling.
Now I am fine. It's cancelling enough. LOL Even people I don't want to hear. LOL
What grandma? You talked to me? LOL
I had a lot of problems with regrets and this book makes me realize what I have, being more grateful and it make me more happy.
Even if I miss something from my past. Not everything was good but some parts were. At least. It was not all bad.
I would really recommend this book to someone who is dealing with regrets and have to make difficult choices.
It's really a great book. Thanks for everything.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Louis-Simon
- 2021-10-31
Strong case, relevant topic
The first half of the book is weak, but the second part is basically behavioural economics and he makes a somewhat strong case. Good book, even more accurate and relevant than 10 years ago
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jacob Melville
- 2021-01-11
More relevant and outdated than ever before
Amazing that the author wrote this in 2004, considering our abundance of choice has only increased since then. His given examples, ie the Gore Bush election, video rental shops, and mail out catalogues, are a combination of comical and painful. It would be great if this book was updated and rewritten, considering how much more powerful it could be if it focused instead on Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Tinder, Instagram, Audible, and every other aspect of our consumer, disposable, single use, infinite choice, same day delivery, free returns, rate and review culture. How is one ever supposed to find satisfaction in what they have when there are infinite reminders of what they lack? I enjoyed this book, and felt I needed the deeper dive past the TED talks and YouTube clips, but even still - it has only opened the door for me, rather than closed it. Where to next, I wonder
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 2019-07-30
Good reminders
I have been reminded why I hate shopping malls! I enjoyed the studies cited that lead to the conclusions the author comes to. If you are fascinated by human behaviour, you'll find this book an interesting read.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- JC from Ottawa
- 2019-07-25
Needs to be updated
the concepts are correct. the facts are too old to be useful. this book would benefit from an update.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Darwin8u
- 2013-10-28
The Tyranny of Pop Economics
A solid survey of behavioral economics literature related to the premise that the wide range of choices we have (what to read, how to read it, what rating to give it, where to post our review) actually ends up making us unhappier (tyranny of small decisions). Schwartz's summary is similar to a lot of those pop-economic books that seem to pop up regularly and sell quite well because they both tell us something we kinda already suspected, but also gently surprise us with counter-intuitive ideas at the same time. We are surprised, we are also a little validated: just little bit of supply with a very light touch demand.
This book belongs snug on the bookshelf next to: anything by Malcolm Gladwell, Freakonomics, Predictably Irrational, Nudge, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), etc. All interesting, all worth the time (as long as the time is < 5 hrs), but none of them are brilliant. They are all Gladwell-like in their reductionism (this is why they all sell so well to the business community and are pimped heavily by Forbes to TED). I am both attracted and repelled by the form. They seem to span the fissure between academic and pop, between economics and self-help. I read them and I end up feeling like I know a bit more about myself, and NOW I'm just disappointed in that bastard for a couple more rational reasons.
147 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Shane
- 2010-09-12
Great idea, repetitive & boring first hour
After watching TED talk and liking what I heard, I thought I'd pick up the audio book and get into some more detail.
Sadly after an hour I gave up. The first few chapters are extremely repetitive. He lists choice lists over and over again. ... 'and then you have medical insurance'. option 1, 2,3,4... 'and then you have cookies' chocolate chip, oatmeal... over and over again. I had to give up. Maybe the book will get better in the following chapters, but after an hour I decided to give up and switch to the next audiobook I'd grabbed.
From what I listened to, you could get most of the information from the above 20minute TED talk.
47 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Diego Alvarez
- 2019-10-27
If you have seen the TedTalk don’t buy the book
I picked up this book after watching Barry’s TedTalk (Which I highly recommend to anyone struggling with taking decisions), hoping to expand further on the topic. The book’s idea is great but the storytelling is awful and very repetitive. The point could have been transmitted in less than half of the length of the book.
20 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Bill
- 2010-12-06
Interesting
This work caused me to realize that much of the stress of my life is related to the infinite list of possibilities and choices that I have to make. It also gave me a set of strategies for dealing with that stress.
16 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Chong
- 2011-03-19
Very true...
Satisficers really do enjoy life more than maximizers. This I think is particularly true in a marriage.
15 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Stephen
- 2013-06-03
Good information, distracting narration
Would you be willing to try another one of Ken Kliban’s performances?
Not likely. He had an almost forced steady rate of speech and he seemed to place too much emphasis/stress in the "ity" for words such as "opportunity" and "possibility" which was rather distracting once I noticed it.
Any additional comments?
I will likely go back and review parts of this book again, but I would get a physical copy because of the narration.
11 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Robert Evans
- 2013-04-26
The narration took away from the material for me.
What made the experience of listening to The Paradox of Choice the most enjoyable?
The second half was useful because it was expanded material built on the first half which was material I had already read in other works.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Paradox of Choice?
I often got distracted by the way the reader would just read what we're obviously section headers straight through and continue on to the text of the section. I had to mentally stop to put the organization of the work together in my head when a section header should have been an obvious part to help organize it. Setting section header off in the reading, as in the actual text, would make the reading much more coherent.
This is not the first audio book to be read this way, but it certainly was distracting to me.
Would you be willing to try another one of Ken Kliban’s performances?
Not in non-fiction
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
No
10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nobody's business
- 2013-08-11
Awesome book for overcoming perfectionism
What did you love best about The Paradox of Choice?
The author made it clear not only how much the phenomenon of "overchoice" affects us, but how to overcome it.
What other book might you compare The Paradox of Choice to and why?
I've really never read anything similar.
What three words best describe Ken Kliban’s voice?
Aloof, clipped, and unemotional
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
The way to enjoy your choices more is to impose your own limits on choice.
Any additional comments?
As a recovering perfectionist, I found this book to be a wonderful guide to living a simpler, more satisfying life by limiting the choices that I have to make and by consciously choosing the amount of value that I assign to the choices that I do make.
8 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Jeff in Rhode Island
- 2011-04-27
Good Book
I really enjoyed the information and ideas conveyed in this book, however I found the narration hard to listen to for any length of time. My next step is to pick up the hard copy.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Di
- 2010-10-22
Impressive
Impressive,
you will get much form this book!
Repetitive? No! Good idea need long talk! always.
7 people found this helpful