// Book comparison
Abundance vs Misbehaving
Which should you read? A side-by-side comparison of Abundance by Peter Diamandis, Steven Kotler and Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler.
Abundance
by Peter Diamandis, Steven Kotler
★ 4.8/5
Misbehaving
by Richard H. Thaler
★ 4.9/5
At a glance
| Abundance | Misbehaving | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 4.8/5 | ★ 4.9/5 |
| Pages | 400 | 432 |
| Reading time | ~10.0 h | ~10.8 h |
| Published | 2012 | 2015 |
| Author | Peter Diamandis, Steven Kotler | Richard H. Thaler |
| Category | Innovation & Technology | Finance & Investment |
| Publisher | Free Press | — |
Choose Abundance if…
- → You're interested in innovation & technology.
- → You prefer a shorter read (~10.0 hours).
Choose Misbehaving if…
- → You're interested in finance & investment.
- → You want the higher-rated book (4.9/5).
- → You want the more recent perspective (2015).
Key takeaways — Abundance
- ✓ Utilize Incentive Prizes and Gamification to accelerate your organization's R&D, attracting the world's best non-traditional problem-solvers to your strategic challenges.
- ✓ Leverage Dematerialization, recognizing that technology allows you to provide high-value services (like cameras or GPS) at near-zero marginal cost by turning them into software.
- ✓ Focus your organizational mission on Solving Grand Challenges, aligning your firm's growth with the most urgent needs of the 'Rising Billion' for massive strategic impact.
Key takeaways — Misbehaving
- ✓ Design pricing and incentives around loss aversion — people will work roughly twice as hard to avoid a loss as to capture an equivalent gain.
- ✓ Use default options as your most powerful behavioral lever; whatever you set as the default will dominate, regardless of how trivial it seems.
- ✓ Recognize mental accounting in your customers and employees — money is not fungible in their minds, and your offer architecture should reflect that.
The verdict
If you want the higher-rated, more acclaimed read, start with Misbehaving. If you specifically need finance & investment, Abundance is the better fit. Both summaries are free — no signup required.
❓ FAQ
Is Abundance or Misbehaving better? +
Misbehaving has the higher reader rating (4.9/5 vs 4.8/5), but "better" depends on your goal. Abundance focuses on innovation & technology, while Misbehaving focuses on finance & investment. See the verdict below.
Which is shorter, Abundance or Misbehaving? +
Abundance is shorter (400 pages, ~10.0 hours) compared to Misbehaving (432 pages, ~10.8 hours).
Should I read Abundance or Misbehaving first? +
If you want the quicker, higher-rated read, start with Misbehaving. Otherwise read whichever matches your current goal — both summaries are free on BookHubs.