book: Freakonomics (revised and expanded edition

Book: Freakonomics (Rev Ed)

I’d been waiting a long time to read this, and my very generous ex-workmates chipped in and gave it to me as a farewell present (among other gifts!). Rogue economist Steven Levitt teams up with journalist Stephen J. Dubner to put together this eclectic collection of anecdotes loosely tied around a theme of applying economics to unusual situations.

Does this book live up to its hype? Could any book? Sadly, the answer is no. Is it a thoughtful, if popularly written book that provides some moments of reconsidering popular logic? Yes it does. And so to some extent it doesn’t disappoint.

This revised and expanded edition corrects apparent mistakes in the “KKK” chapter, and adds in the original article from which the book emerged, and a few pages of blog post extracts: overall, the additions are about half the length of the book again, which makes the book feel longer, but doesn’t help it fit together any better.

Worth reading to know what everyone else has read, but – if you’re pressed for time – it’s better to read the original article than the entire book.

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