Freakonomics

A rogue economist's attempt to reveal the hidden side of everything falls short of explaining it all but is a very interesting read nevertheless.

This is not a book about macro or micro economics as one is wont to expect from an economist teaching at the University of Chicago. Steven Levitt , the economist, and Stephen Dubner of New York Times have produced this unusual book - unusual in that the book targets the lay person but manages to be very data driven.

The book deals with disparate subjects as incentives, the power of information and how these drive human behavior. The examples they choose to explain these ideas are singular and interesting. While sumo-wrestlers and public school teachers help them explain the concept of incentives, the seemingly polar Ku Klux Klan and Real-Estate agents are used to explain how experts hoard, abuse and use information to their advantage.

Most people who routinely accept conventional wisdom without questioning the data underneath would do well to do read this easy but inforrmational work.