Freakonomics

A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

By Steven D. Levitt; Stephen J. Dubner
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780060731335, 352pp.)

Publication Date: August 25, 2009

Categories: Probability & Statistics - General, Popular Culture - General, Economics - General

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Steven D. Levitt is a professor or economics at the University of Chicago and the recipient of the John Bates Clark medal, awarded to the most influential economist under the age of forty.

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In the follow-up to his best-selling book, Freakonomics, Steven Levitt applies economic theory to more nontraditional topics, including solutions to global warming and the price of oral sex. Host Scott Simon talks with Levitt about his new book, Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance. More at NPR.org

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"Freakonomics was the 'It' book of 2005."
-Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"The trivia alone is worth the cover price."
-New York Times Book Review

"The funkiest study of statistical mechanics ever by a world-renowned economist... Eye-opening and sometimes eye-popping"
-Entertainment Weekly

"An easy, funny read. Many unsolvable problems the Americans have could be solved with simple means."
-Business World

"Freakonomics is politically incorrect in the best, most essential way.... This is bracing fun of the highest order."
-Kurt Andersen, host of public radio's Studio 360 and author of Turn of the Century

"Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences.... Steven D. Levitt will change some minds."
-Amazon.com

"Levitt is one of the most notorious economists of our age."
-Financial Times

"One of the decade's most intelligent and provocative books."
-The Daily Standard

"Freakonomics challenges conventional wisdom and makes for fun reading."
-Book Sense Picks and Notables

"Levitt is a number cruncher extraordinaire."
-Philadelphia Daily News

"The guy is interesting!"
-Washington Post Book World

"Levitt dissects complex real-world phenomena, e.g. baby-naming patterns and Sumo wrestling, with an economist's laser."
-San Diego Union-Tribune

"An unconventional economist defies conventional wisdom."
-Associated Press

"Provocative. eye-popping."
-New York Times Book Review: Inside the List

"Principles of economics are used to examine daily life in this fun read."
-People: Great Reads

"Steven Levitt has the most interesting mind in America... Prepare to be dazzled."
-Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point

"An eye-opening, and most interesting, approach to the world."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Hard to resist."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A showcase for Levitt's intriguing explorations into a number of disparate topics.. There's plenty of fun to be had."
-Salon.com

"If Indiana Jones were an economist, he'd be Steven Levitt. Criticizing Freakonomics would be like criticizing a hot fudge sundae."
-Wall Street Journal