Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Everyone has heard about this book. It isn’t as entertaining as you are led to believe but it may be more thought provoking than you can imagine. Two guys explore a lot of conventional wisdom and debunk some and support others. Their commitment to their work can be illustrated by the fact that one of them embedded himself in a crack gang to gain insight as to what makes that aspect of the economy function. Simplisticly they believe the root of all economics is incentives. What incentive drives you to work? What incentive drives a company to manufacture something? Considerbly more complex than these two examples, you should do yourself a favor and read the book. Certainly not a novel and not a quick and dirty read but well worthwhile.

Body of work of Steven D. Levitt
Body of work of Stephen J. Dubner

Review of the book: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/books/review/15HOLTL.html