"Very clear and well-informed. It has loads of thought-provoking examples."?—Enlightened Economist
“Looks deeply into the structurally problematic factors that impact the price tags Americans are given for our lives.”?—Hacking Finance
“A reflection and criticism of the data cult of contemporary technological bureaucracy.”—First Financial Network
“In meticulous detail, Friedman shows that not all lives are valued equally, that social and economic inequalities are often reproduced and compounded in how we calculate the value of any one life . . . . Friedman draws a vivid picture of how uneven power, competing interests, and social and economic inequality influence how we value life.”—Literary Review of Canada
“Thank you, Howard Steven Friedman, for providing invaluable information, insights, and counsel that will help those who read your book to have a wider and deeper impact on efforts NOT to value all people equally; rather, to value all people fairly ?'?so that human rights and human lives are always protected.?'" ?—BobMorris: Blogging on Business
"Friedman’s tour through the value of life is an excellent work for those willing to dip their toes into these regulatory waters without drowning in the scholarship."—Regulation
“He has succeeded admirably in his aim of providing a non-technical and comprehensive presentation of the salient issues that will prove useful to concerned citizens and policy analysts in the health sector alike.”—Economic Record
“Incredibly engaging reading. It deals with an extremely sensitive topic, but is written delicately, with sensitivity, with respect for human life.”—Dziennik Gazeta Prawna
"Friedman, who is an American statistician and health economist, argues compellingly that the way in which governments place a monetary value on human life is 'neither transparent nor fair'."—Economic Affairs
"Provides a comprehensive introduction to the prices put on human life and a corresponding critical assessment of the methods routinely used to do so. It forces us to reflect not only on how critical price tags are in everyday life but also on what they convey about society’s values."?—Health Affairs
"A clear and useful introduction."—European Legacy
"The author has a great thesis and is true throughout the book calling for equity in fairness in human valuation."
—Social Science Journal
"[Friedman] has succeeded admirably in his aim of providing a non-technical and comprehensive presentation of the salient issues that will prove useful to concerned citizens and policy analysts in the health sector alike."—Economic Record
"This is an important book."
—Journal of Economics
"Social science researchers would find this book a worthwhile read for broadening their perspective on the many ways society values lives."—Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law
“A timely and valuable study of how society values individual lives. Friedman gets to the heart of society priorities. Indispensable reading.”—Kenneth R. Feinberg, Former Administrator of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund
"What is a human life worth? That question seems repugnant. The answers that society gives are often unfair and irrational. But our justice system, environmental regulations, product safety, life insurance, health care, and abortion decisions demand answers. This gripping book is essential reading on a topic that you’d like to avoid but can’t."—Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
Guns, Germs, and Steel and other best-selling books.
"This well-written book does an exemplary job of explaining the thorny issues of how life is valued."—Paul W. Thurman, DBA, Professor of Management and Analytics
"This book will find a ready audience among educated lay persons interested in how to put an economic value on life."—Kim Sweeny, Victoria University