Coarse Guides — Freakonomics (The Trilogy)
Immersive and Illuminating Stories From The Mavericks of Econ
What to know?
Published: 2005, 2009, and 2014
Size: These three books range from 280 to 350 pages each, broken into 5–6 chapters organized around various case study topics
Popularity: The original Freakonomics was New York Times Best Seller peaking at #2 on the Non-fiction list. The sequels never reached the popularity of the original.
The Theme: Freakonomics is written to grab your attention and then cram as many economic principles into your brain as possible. The stories are purposely sensational but the principles are just core economics. The books urge you to think differently and to understand principles like altruism, incentives, and feedback.
The Author: Steven Levitt is a University of Chicago economist and Stephen Dubner is a journalist and writer for such publications as The New Yorker, Time, and The New York Times. What is far more interesting is there passion and attitude toward their subject matter. These guys know how to pick a story and how to tell it.
Who should read it?
Everyone — at least the first book. If you are looking an analyst, economist, mathematician, or just a student of human thinking and behavior, you probably want to read all three. These books will instantly create a new recognition of human behavior and reaction to lives great issues.
Why should you read it?
The books are incredibly interesting, very informative, and will leave you with greater understanding. It is hard to think of three better reasons. They will also challenge many of your common beliefs and nudge you toward higher objectivity and scrutiny of popular wisdom.
Caveats, provisos, and disclaimers
If your passion for major issues are not solidly based in fact, these books are liable to offend you. After years of scrutiny, some of the statistics offered in the first two volumes have been called into question. Of course, the book encourages you to take your own critical eye. In the end, most of that criticism was either itself speculative or seemed fairly unimportant to the greater themes. Finally, the third book just isn’t as good as the first two — at least according to popular review.
In Our Opinion: These books are a must read for anyone looking to perform analytics, study human behavior, or wear the title Economist. All three books provide great value and insight. But we encourage you to inform your own-
