Pathik Shah

I just happened to read this book ‘Freakonomics – A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything‘ a few days back. It was written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and was released in 2005. I had read a lot of reviews about it, almost all of them positive. So I gave it a try and I am very impressed.

Book: Freakonomics – A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Authors: Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner

Type: Non Fiction

Year: 2005

What is it about?

It covers a wide range of seemingly weird topics – cheating school teachers, the similarities between the Ku Klux Klan and real estate agents, why most drug dealers are still poor, how the legalization of abortion radically led to the reduction in crime rates, whether sumo wrestlers cheat, whether parenting does really matter that much and how the name of a person can affect his social and economic prospects.

How is it?

It offers a refreshingly new and different way to look at daily situations and assess the underlying logic. It urges you to ask the questions – Why? and How? a lot. It applies the principles of economic analysis and probability to unearth some conclusions about everyday situations and forces you to think about it in a way you wouldn’t have thought of. It changes the way you would view economics and offers an interesting way to apply it to practical situations.

The writing style is great and keeps you interested throughout. If you are a newbie economist or are just plain interested in economics like me, this book should be a must read.

If you liked the book, the blog will also definitely appeal to you.
Freakonomics Blog: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

My Rating: 4/5.