getAbstract Summary: Get the key points from this book in 10 minutes.

While working for President Barack Obama, Cass R. Sunstein became one of the far right’s favorite targets. Glenn Beck called him “the most dangerous man in America” and ran a spirited campaign against Sunstein’s appointment to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Although Beck said he expected OIRA’s intrusive regulations to invade Americans’ privacy and curtail their liberty, Sunstein’s account of his tenure at OIRA proves rather evenhanded and undramatic. He writes as a pleasant if wonky insider who enthusiastically explains how regulations work, why they sometimes fail and how they differ from “nudges.” He introduces concepts such as “choice architecture,” “cost-benefit analysis,” and more. If this sounds a little dry – and lacks a bit of the flare of some of Sunstein’s earlier books, like Going to Extremes – you’ll soon see how everything he explains manifests in your daily life. getAbstract recommends this absorbing primer on regulation to anyone interested in the decisions that a government should and should not make for its citizens.

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From SIMPLER by Cass R. Sunstein. Copyright © 2013 by Cass Sunstein. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.