Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything | 
 enlarge | Authors: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 35.99
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Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 260
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1REV
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061234001
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780061234002
ASIN: 0061234001
Publication Date: October 5, 2006
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Amazon.com
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: They could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from innercity Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner Answer The Amazon.com Significant Seven   Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, author and co-author of this season's bestselling quirky hit, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, graciously answered the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions that we like to run by every author.
Levitt and Dubner answer the Amazon.com Significant Seven questions
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 This book gets me thrown out of parties May 12, 2008
Barry Tighe (Spawater, Britanicca)
Freakonomics gets me thrown out of a lot of parties. Now that I know what really makes the world turn I cannot resist butting in on folk's conversations and putting them right.
`Zero tolerance', someone will say, `that's what cut crime in New York'.
`No it didn't', says I, `it was the 1973 legalisation of abortion that cut crime. Fewer young men means fewer young criminals.' A few dirty looks and off I go to another group.
`My estate agent is marvellous; she sold my house in no time. A little under my asking price but she got me the best deal she could'.
`No she didn't', I interrupt. `She sold your house below your asking price for a quick sale. She makes more money selling lots of houses cheaply than fewer houses for a fair price.' More unfriendly stares. Next group.
`Drug dealers are all rich, living off the backs of their victims'.
`Oh yeah? Says I, `Then why do most of them live with their moms?'
And so on until they show me the door.
Freakonomics has turned me into a know-all. It explains the real reasons things happen as opposed to the conventional thinking. Written in a style that tells you that you are among friends, Freakonomics leads you gently from a world of easy assumptions to a world of questioning. You will never be quite the same again.
My only bicker is that it is too short. Are they writing a Freakonomics II? I do hope so. Maybe they can explain why know-alls get thrown out of parties.
Not meant to be an introduction to economic fundamentals May 5, 2008
J. Tupone (Saskatchewan)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think the title says it all. Freakonomics is not intended to be an economics textbook, a peer-reviewed journal article or thesis dissertation for a PhD candidate. It is a book that fuses economics with journalisms to make the work of economists more appealing to the masses. When I initially studied economics, I heard the same things over and over again - moaning and groaning from fellow freshman and sophomore students who had to take introductory micro and macro economics as a requirement of their professional college or applied arts & science program (e.g. environmental studies). A few of us would decide that we found economics interesting enough, and applicable enough, to choose it as a major. I chose the discipline because it helped me to understand the world I live in a little more than other fields I had dabbled in. While history taught me about the past, how to appreciate it and how it laid the groundwork for what happened later, economics enabled me to analyze everything that happens in life vis-à-vis human society.
This book is an introduction to the broad-based applications of the economics discipline, not a textbook for a senior undergraduate course. It's not meant to be an economic thesis on why things are the way they are, but to try and answer some questions that many people wondered about, using methods that we probably never considered. It also looks at a number of topics that we don't wonder about and discusses some interesting aspects of those topics; e.g. the propensity for high-level Sumo wrestlers to collude and cheat in order to maximize ranking. In doing this, Levitt has brought a new, fresh perspective to a number of issues that have faced our North American society as of late and a number of topics that we rarely think about but are interesting nonetheless. I think the bottom line of this book is to communicate that there are reasons why things happen in human society. We do things, because there is an incentive to do things; that incentive is often financial, but oftentimes it is non-financial.
If you're hoping to figure out what makes the world tick by reading this book, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a crash course in economics, that's not what this book is. If you're looking for an economic treatise or magnum opus along the lines of Fredrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, you'll be gravely disappointed because this book is clearly not intended to be any of those things. The book is meant to be fun, entertaining, interesting and provide a little insight in the process. In those respects, the book does not fail to deliver. Economics can be fun, entertaining, interesting and provide a little insight at the same time. Thank you Steven Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
Laughing Points. July 31, 2007
maya j (Quail Crossing)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
'Freakonomics' is a witty, irreverent book for individuals who have never been and will never be Economics theorists. It's at once hilarious and serious about applying principles of Economics to real life scenarios, and it's just so much fun to read!
Let's start by saying, don't let the title scare you. I know most people pretty much despise anything to do with Economics, and anyone with a "respectable" connection to Economics would turn a nose up at this book. But with chapters like: The Ku Klux Klan and Real Estate Agents; Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers; and Drug Dealers Living with Their Moms- I mean how awful can it be? Steven D. Levitt teaches Economics at the University of Chicago, so he is absolutely qualified to make the relational comparisons he makes, thus actually giving we Economics neophytes something to chew on. In other words, if my Economics classes in college were like this, I might have actually learned something! But seriously, 'Freaknomics' delves into how things actually are all intertwined, no matter how absurd. It's premise is that conventionally held beliefs may not always be what they seem, and many things that seem wholly apart from each other are inter-related. Other than just laughing and enjoying the witty banter of the authors, I feel like I truly learned some things, and it gave me food for thought on other issues. The chapter entitled "A Roshanda by Any Other Name" was just pitch perfect, and the chapter on parenting makes you realize that we really don't need all those parenting books after all.
'Freakonomics' is deftly written for novices and easy to read, with each chapter being basically a lesson unto itself. It's not a full-tilt Economics lesson; it's little vignettes that show us how Economics is incorporated into our everyday lives and the impact therein. You can put the book down and pick it up a month later, and there's nothing to hold you back from enjoying the next chapter. Whether you love fiction, non-fiction or poetry, you'll love this book. It is a delightful, interesting, and well thought out read.
Should have bought the book six months ago May 31, 2007
Sivakumar Nadarajah
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I heard Levitt on Bloomberg ten months ago and wanted to buy this book immediately. Unfortunately, I was on highway 287 in New Jersey, stuck in traffic during rush hour. Then every time I saw the book on a bookstand in an airport, I avoided it and chose a latest bestseller instead. Then, last week, it just happened that I finally bought the book for my west- coast six-hour flight and was pretty much expecting a "Tipping Point" kind of read. I'll tell you hands down. This book is amazing. No offence to Gladwell, Steve Levitt has definitely produced a better read than "Blink" and "Tipping Point". This book, as we already know, has introduced a new "cult" in economics. Just like how blogosphere is changing the rules of journalism, "Freakonomics" has already changed the rules of economics.
If you are reading this review and you are one of those who took so long to buy this book(like me), I'll vouch for it, just go ahead and buy this book. You will be glad that you did. It's hilarious, thought provoking, fun to read and above all will make you suspect every phenomenon that you observe everyday, including why Giuliani and Obama are popular (?). Or are they really?
N.Sivakumar
Author of "America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World".
 At grade 9 level March 26, 2007
William O. Haflidson (Canada)
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
Hi: I found the book interesting and easy to read. However, it was a bit condescending. It was written at a grade 8 or 9 level. I guess that helps a books popularity. The book had some interesting stories and facts but nothing I could use to help me work more effectively.
Cheers!
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