Freakonomics

As the economics best-seller of 2005, I thought this was rather thin, both in terms of size and substance.

While there are some startling conclusions, the extensive bibliography shows that much of the underlying research does not belong to the author. In fact, that bibliography is one of the most impressive parts of the book, revealing an obsessive record-keeper and, deep down, a serious economist behind the editorial hype.

Nevertheless, there is some interesting research, including the application of statistical techniques to identify teachers who cheat on their students' behalf and to evaluate the practical effect on crime rates of having more police. On the other hand, his statistical analysis of children's names and social standing over the years returns statistics to its traditional ultra-boring status.

The economics question I wanted answering was why the English version of the book, which I bought, with a print run of millions, costs more than the Portuguese version, which incurs the overhead of translation as well as losing economies of scale due to a smaller print run.

Overall, not a book I would recommend buying.