New Review: Freakonomics

The following is a brief excerpt from a review I posted on PopandPolitics.com:

The intellectual trains of economics and sociology rarely come together, but in “Freakonomics,” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, they smash together in a fabulous flaming wreck. One cannot read this book without being utterly flabbergasted by the authors' assertions. Unlike other books that put forth nutty claims, this one isn’t entirely based on a talking head’s opinion but rather, the assertions are the sum total of a lauded economist's analyzation of pertinent data.

As the book jacket states, “…the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through the clutter.”

And what clutter is he seeking to see through, you might be asking? Well, there are six full chapters titled with fascinating questions that will hook the reader right from the start. Those questions/chapter headings are:

1. What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
2. How is the Klu Klux Klan like a group of real-estate agents?
3. Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
4. Where have all the criminals gone?
5. What makes a perfect parent?
6. Would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet?

At first glance these questions may seem silly or at the very least the stuff of bar room riddles, but they are in fact a testament to the book's claim that there is indeed a hidden side to everything. (More)