Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

This book, one can afford to miss. With all of the other exceptional economic reads, many of which put out by the Mises Institute, by such authors as Hayek, Rothbard, Hazlitt, and Von Mises, I'm not entirely sure why this book receives so much praise, while the true reads receive so little. If you are a young economist or someone looking to understand anything about the market, how it works, the big picture in a meaningful way this book really isn't for you. This book does touch briefly on a couple of interesting topics that aren't commonly found in economic literature, such as the finances of a drug dealer. All in all though, I'm not overly impressed, and the authors have a way of presenting information in a more controversial way, when economic theory is controversial enough. Meaning that they have miss-quoted some of their supposed "sources". If you were my family or friend, I would tell you to, "Pick something else, and optimize your time spent reading."

This is a well-written book that deals with some interesting topics, but it also has many flaws.

First, the good: For the most part, the writing flows well. Except for the chapter on child names (which gets so bogged down with lists that I'm not even sure what the conclusion is), the authors keep the story moving for the reader. Each topic covered is interesting in its own right, and I'm sure each reader will have his/her favorite chapters. Some of the ideas can really make you think.

Now, the bad: The biggest problem is that most of the authors' conclusions simply aren't that interesting. Except for the abortion/crime link, almost everything else is basic common sense. Teachers and sumo wrestlers cheat when their jobs/advancement depend on it. Most drug dealers aren't rich. RE agents would rather sell your house quickly than wait for a better offer. If any of these conclusions surprise you, you should learn to think better.

Also, I do have to take issue (as many other reviewers have), with the authors ignoring their own advice about confusing correlation with causation. They do this repeatedly, especially with the abortion/crime section and the school test scores chapter. They often take correlated data series, add a smidgen of social reasoning, and, voila!, they have a causal connection.

Topic for discussion: During the baby name discussion, the authors mention Madison and say, "Where did *that* come from?" Did neither author see Splash, or are they just teasing the reader?

This book provides a good case of using data analysis to shake common "wisdom". To put it in other words, like it or not, this is yet another example of hard evidence based analysis which may be considered a panacea against 'expert opinions' (especially about parenting!), empty-headed political speeches, etc. Even though the authors are highly criticized for their next book (and I don't think I'll spend time to read Superfreakonomics) I'll sincerely recommend this book to lots of my friends.

PS: No, of course I won't let my child go and play at a house in which the parents have a handgun or a rifle no matter what authors tell about the bigger dangers of swimming pools. :)

Many of my friends have recommended this book and I finally bought it and read it. I thought it was a very interesting way to look at the world and was a very good read. Highly recommend it!

Good book which looks at various aspects of society you might not think about in day-to-day life. People seem to either love of hate this one. Some of the information is a bit hard to swallow, so many people disregard it. Even if you're one of those people though, I think this book will give you a different aspect to consider, which I think is always good.