Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Superfreakonomics is the follow-up to Freakonomics by the same authors. I found this a lot of fun to read, because they present lots of quirky subjects. The authors present these things as facts, but how can you really be sure? This is their understanding and interpretation of how things work, how things come to be. I generally find economics to be pretty boring, so much so that I avoided taking any classes in the subject throughout high school or college. The authors sneak in some economic terminology and explain some basic concepts. Don’t worry, it’s pretty painless. In this book, you can read about such things as how birth date can affect someone’s chances at becoming a pro baseball player or how the explosion of Mount Pinatubo has fueled research in combating global warming. If you enjoy reading about the quirky side of human nature and what motivates some people to do the things they do, give this one a try. It’s a quick, fun read.