Freakonomics
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FacebookI feel like I’m a bit late to the party on this one, as a lot of other people have already reviewed it, but… I just finished reading Freakonomics (actually, I listened to the audio version), and I thought I’d write a few words about it…
In short, this Freakonomics details a variety of studies in which economist Steven Levitt applied economic principles in an attempt to shed light on “the hidden side of everything.” I know what you’re thinking… Economics? Yuck! But this is actually a rather entertaining book that takes a contrarian look at crime, sumo wrestling, the KKK, real estate agents, parenting, gun safety, the No Child Left Behind Act, and more.
The basic premise of the book is that if you want to understand what’s really going on in any particular situation, you need to consider the incentives. While it felt a bit dumbed down, and didn’t contain a whole lot of truly useful financial information, I really enjoyed reading (err, listening to) it. It’s an entertaining book that encourages you to think outside the box, and it really appealed to the skeptic in me. If you’re looking for an entertaining read (or listen) I suggest that you check out Freakonomics.
Published on January 26th, 2006 - 6 Comments
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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I read this book a few months ago, and it is really, really interesting. The author draws some very unique conclusions from the information he gathers. The book, even though it deals with economics, is very, very entertaining.
Comment by ncnblog — Jan 26th 2006 @ 1:27 pmKeep up the good work…
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Levitt does a great job of keeping it interesting, but I felt like the book really slowed down at the end. The information on Parenting just seemed like it was dumbed down too much and frankly dragged on for too long. That being said, overall it was a good read!
Comment by Will Kirby — Jan 26th 2006 @ 2:56 pmI read the book when it first came out and thought it was a fun and fast read. I must say, however, that most of the book is really pure statistical analysis not economics.
As you said, not much in the way of useful info for investing or personal finance.
Comment by Jeremy — Jan 26th 2006 @ 6:36 pminteresting book. they also have their
own blog with some interesting reads.
http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/
Comment by Guest — Jan 26th 2006 @ 8:43 pmWhile I enjoyed Freakonomics, I preferred the Undercover Economist. I just finished the latter and I thought it was well done. It’s written in a similar, easy-to-read fashion, but explains how consumers use economics in their everyday economic decision making.
The book provides a beginner’s education on a broad-based economic theory ranging from the basic to cutting edge.
I’ll try to post a review on Financial Revolution.
Comment by Jeremy — Jan 30th 2006 @ 2:06 pm