SIMPLER The Future of Government

Narrator Joel Leffert's pacing and diction are faultless, and perhaps if this text were simpler, the result would be a more user-friendly audio version of Sunstein's latest offering. The clarity of the presentation helps make this blueprint for efficient government more approachable, but listeners familiar with Sunstein's theories of "nudging" and "choice architecture" will have an advantage. The book's premise of "fewer rules, more common sense" has almost universal appeal, and there are interesting observations from Sunstein's time in the Obama Administration. But ultimately, the overall weight of references to economic theories and philosophical detail makes rather heavy lifting for the casual listener. Like most print books that fail to make the transition to audio, the difficulty here lies with text, not presentation. M.O.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2014]