If you loved
Books like Cheap
A sobering, eye-opening journey into the hidden psychological and economic toll of our addiction to a bargain. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Cheap.
- eye-opening
- reflective
- unsettling
- intellectually stimulating
- 01
The Secret Life of Groceries
Benjamin Lorr
A wildly engaging, deeply unsettling journey behind the sliding doors of the modern supermarket that will permanently change how you look at a shelf of condiments.
- 02
Average is Over
Tyler Cowen
A sobering but pragmatic look at the widening economic divide and how technology is permanently rewriting the rules of work.
- 03
Moneyland
Oliver Bullough
A globe-trotting, infuriating tour through the hidden financial plumbing of the ultra-rich.
- 04
The Curse of Bigness
Tim Wu
An urgent, historically grounded warning about the democratic dangers of unchecked corporate monopolies and a rallying cry for progressive reform.
- 05
Scarcity
Sendhil Mullainathan
A thought-provoking exploration of how the feeling of not having enough rewires our brains and shapes our world.
- 06
Money
Jacob Goldstein (Cohost of Planet Money podcast)
A witty, globe-trotting tour through the collective hallucination that makes the modern world go round.
- 07
Predictably Irrational
Dan Ariely
A playful, eye-opening tour through the hidden forces that secretly pull the strings of our daily decisions.
- 08
The Attention Merchants
Tim Wu
A revelatory, slightly unsettling journey through the history of how our focus became the world's most valuable commodity.
- 09
Free
Chris Anderson · 2009
A paradigm-shifting exploration of how the digital age turned a promotional gimmick into the bedrock of modern economics.
- 10
Nickel and Dimed
Barbara Ehrenreich · 2001
A sharp, boots-on-the-ground immersion into the exhausting reality of low-wage America that shatters the myth of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps.
- 11
Good Economics for Hard Times
Esther Duflo
A compassionate, myth-busting journey through modern policy that replaces partisan panic with evidence-based hope.
- 12
The honest truth about dishonesty
Dan Ariely
A playful, eye-opening exploration of the little lies we tell ourselves and the surprising ways our moral compasses go astray.
