Freakonomics by award winning economist Steven Levitt has very little to do with economics. Despite that, anyone interested in making a big impact in the world should read this book. The book advocates for the use of data analytics as a means of solving large scale societal problems, and argues against the use of “common sense” as a way of addressing these issues. The book does this anecdotally, which I found interesting. All in all, definitely pick this book up— it’s short in length but impactful in meaning.
Opening Line: Anyone living in the United States in the early 1990s and paying even a whisper of attention to the nightly news or a daily paper would be forgiven if they were scared out of their skin.
Closing line: Which suggests at least one legitimate reason to dislike the IRS: if the agency hadn’t been so stingy with Szilagyi’s reward back then, it probably would have attracted a lot more of the anti-cheating wizards it really needs today.
Why I like it: Like a college lecture given through stories instead of slides
Read if you like: Books by prominent economists, “looking at the world in a new way” type books