Are there tangible benefits in flossing? Is it wrong to fakeorgasms? What does the perfect online dating ad look like? Shouldwe bother doing the ironing? Is it really impossible to buy theperfect Christmas gift? (Other than this book, of course.)Economists might not be the first people you would think of to giveyou advice on such diverse areas as parenting, the intricacies ofetiquette or the dark arts of seduction. But for years bestsellingauthor Tim Harford has been doing just that: answering the mostchallenging questions in his brilliant column, where he uses thetools of economics to give practical advice about everydaydilemmas, conundrums and concerns. From family rows and the stockmarket to buying socks or speed dating, you'll find within thesepages a witty - and of course rational - explanation for almosteverything you ever wanted to know about life.

In this indispensable book, urban visionary JaneJacobs--renowned author of The Death and Life of Great AmericanCities and The Economy of Cities--convincingly argues that asagrarianism gives way to a technology-based future, we stand on thebrink of a new dark age, a period of cultural collapse. Jacobspinpoints five pillars of our culture that are in serious decay:community and family; higher education; the effective practice ofscience; taxation, and government; and the self-regulation of thelearned professions. The corrosion of these pillars, Jacobs argues,is linked to societal ills such as environmental crisis, racism,and the growing gulf between rich and poor. But this is a hopefulbook as well as a warning. Drawing on her vast frame ofreference–from fifteenth-century Chinese shipbuilding to Ireland’scultural rebirth–Jacobs suggests how the cycles of decay can bearrested and our way of life renewed. Invigorating and accessible,Dark Age Ahead is not only the crowning achievement of Jane Jacobs’c