Thinking, Fast and Slow

By: Daniel Kahneman

Narrated by: Patrick Egan

Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The guru to the gurus at last shares his knowledge with the rest of us. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's seminal studies in behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, and happiness studies have influenced numerous other authors, including Steven Pinker and Malcolm Gladwell. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman at last offers his own, first book for the general public. It is a lucid and enlightening summary of his life's work. It will change the way you think about thinking.

Two systems drive the way we think and make choices, Kahneman explains: System One is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System Two is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Examining how both systems function within the mind, Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities as well as the biases of fast thinking and the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and our choices. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, he shows where we can trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking, contrasting the two-system view of the mind with the standard model of the rational economic agent.

Kahneman's singularly influential work has transformed cognitive psychology and launched the new fields of behavioral economics and happiness studies. In this path-breaking book, Kahneman shows how the mind works, and offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and personal lives - and how we can guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Daniel Kahneman (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A tour de force... Kahneman’s book is a must read for anyone interested in either human behavior or investing. He clearly shows that while we like to think of ourselves as rational in our decision making, the truth is we are subject to many biases. At least being aware of them will give you a better chance of avoiding them, or at least making fewer of them.” (Larry Swedroe, CBS News)

“A major intellectual event... The work of Kahneman and Tversky was a crucial pivot point in the way we see ourselves.” (David Brooks, The New York Times)

“[Thinking, Fast and Slow] is wonderful, of course. To anyone with the slightest interest in the workings of his own mind, it is so rich and fascinating that any summary would seem absurd.” (Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair)

Big impact.

What made the experience of listening to Thinking, Fast and Slow the most enjoyable?

The way it was read and presented.

What did you like best about this story?

Understanding the impact on economics and how it relates to so much of how management and business operates.

What about Patrick Egan’s performance did you like?

Great job in reading it like it was written.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

At the point of realization of the real impact of what was being presentation.

Any additional comments?

Great book with great implications of how we think and how it can be used to influence economics as well as behavior.

Started off good

This book started off great, but after listening to about 11 chapters, it seems extremely repetitive. The narrator could have read the book better too.

References small sample size cases

I'll start off saying I still loved this book and learned a lot from reading it, but.

This book has a lecture on small sample size and how that can alow for greater outline results and to always be cautious of such. it then has multiple tests it talks about where they are small sample size and talk about the results, and then using said tests as the baseline for the lecture.

It also does allow of telling the reader of what they would do in each situation, and I agree for most, but comes out as aggressive in some cases.

An Interesting book to listen to

Would you consider the audio edition of Thinking, Fast and Slow to be better than the print version?

A good reader but you will get more benefit from this book if you open the pdf file (that is in your audio library under this book title) so you can have access to pictures, graphes and other written info that is referred to in the audio. A pretty good audio book overall.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a well presented non-fiction audio. The pdf file makes it better than the actual book.

Not for listening, slightly boring, dispersed

I think the author did an interesting job, but what I noticed is that he way too often refers to other's work that I already read about some other book (Invisible Gorilla, The Willpower Instinct). This made it slightly boring for me and it also made the books very dispersed on various subjects. Coupled with the fact that, as others said, he often refers to figures presented on the PDF, it made this book not a good match for an audio version. My final complaint is that I think it would be a great idea if the author stated right away in the beginning WHY his idea of two systems is so important and why should I finish reading this book.

difficult to listen

What did you like best about Thinking, Fast and Slow? What did you like least?

i find it very difficult to concentrate due to the voice of the narrator but i like the topics. will probably get the book.

A must read

Enjoyed reading the title. Highly recommended.
Heard about this book via multiple top speakers.
Almost 12 hours long but worth it.

has supplementary material.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, however it was difficult to follow along while driving or doing other tasks due to the fact that this book has pictures and graphs that are intended to enhance understanding. I would recommend this book if you have the time for the extra material.

very bad narrative

very bad narrative. it is like he is reading a list of sentences, not a book! Very unpleasant and bad tone as well

I wish I would've heard this one sooner.

So many books I love refer to this one and now I see why. It sets out a framework and gives great, well-researched examples.