Description

About the Author

Steven D. Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to the most influential economist under the age of forty. He is also founder of The Greatest Good, a company that applies Freakonomic principles to philanthropy and business.

Praise for Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything…

“If Indiana Jones were an economist, he’d be Steven Levitt… Criticizing Freakonomics would be like criticizing a hot fudge sundae.”
-Wall Street Journal

“Provocative… eye-popping.”
-New York Times Book Review: Inside the List

“The guy is interesting!”
-Washington Post Book World

“The funkiest study of statistical mechanics ever by a world-renowned economist... Eye-opening and sometimes eye-popping”
-Entertainment Weekly

“Steven Levitt has the most interesting mind in America... Prepare to be dazzled.”
-Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point

“Principles of economics are used to examine daily life in this fun read.”
-People: Great Reads

“Levitt dissects complex real-world phenomena, e.g. baby-naming patterns and Sumo wrestling, with an economist’s laser.”
-San Diego Union-Tribune

“Levitt is a number cruncher extraordinaire.”
-Philadelphia Daily News

“Levitt is one of the most notorious economists of our age.”
-Financial Times

“Hard to resist.”
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Freakonomics is politically incorrect in the best, most essential way.... This is bracing fun of the highest order.”
-Kurt Andersen, host of public radio's Studio 360 and author of Turn of the Century

“Freakonomics was the ‘It’ book of 2005.”
-Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“An eye-opening, and most interesting, approach to the world.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“An unconventional economist defies conventional wisdom.”
-Associated Press

“A showcase for Levitt’s intriguing explorations into a number of disparate topics…. There’s plenty of fun to be had.”
-Salon.com

“One of the decade’s most intelligent and provocative books.”
-The Daily Standard

“Freakonomics challenges conventional wisdom and makes for fun reading.”
-Book Sense Picks and Notables

“The trivia alone is worth the cover price.”
-New York Times Book Review

“An easy, funny read. Many unsolvable problems the Americans have could be solved with simple means.”
-Business World

“Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences.... Steven D. Levitt will change some minds.”
-Amazon.com