Economics for people who don't like economics

Superfreakonomics

This is the second book written collaboratively by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, the first being "Freakonomics." I've read both books now, and they're both really interesting. Both of them are nonfiction books that use economic principles to discuss everything from prostitution to global warming to monkeys. I think a lot of people shy away from the books because they hear "economics" and it makes them think "numbers hfdsuig stock market vasuigriutwt economy crash iothsgnsoet boringness," but that's not what the books are like at all. They use economic terms (externalities, incentives, etc.), but explain them in a way that even if you know nothing about economics, you can still get a lot out of the book. If you're looking to read a chapter just to get a feel for the book, I reccommend "Chapter 3: Unbelievable Stories About Apathy and Altruism." That one was my favorite.

What I really like about these books is that Levitt and Dubner get so much information in there without making you feel overloaded. Whenever I flipped back to look at something, I always went, "Oh yeah, I forgot about this part! Oh yeah, and that part, that was interesting too! Wow, there was so much stuff in this chapter!" I learned about some subjects I knew nothing about and, additionally, got a new take on some subjects I was more familiar with. I would say don't read the book for the hook questions they advertise with ("Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance?" for instance), because the answers to those are usually not so interesting, but the other information that accompanies those answers is fascinating. I don't have the greatest patience for non-fiction, so it wasn't exactly the kind of book I couldn't put down, and I definitely liked some sections more than others, but overall it was a really interesting book, and I reccommend it to economists and non-economists alike. 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY