The Gospel Coalition

If you were one of the millions who has read Freakonomics you know what you are going to find in the sequel, Superfreakonomics. You will find a series of chapters that really have little to do with one another. Each of the five chapters stands on its own as a case study that somehow draws fascinating conclusions from seemingly irrelevant and disconnected data. It is the formula that worked so well in Freakonomics (which sold millions of copies) and there was really no reason to change it. Eventually the format may grow tired, but at least for two books it works very well.

The topics vary wildly between chapters and even within chapters. For example, the first chapter discusses prostitution, going so far as to look at in-depth studies on what prostitutes charge for their various services and how these rates differ from neighborhood-to-neighborhood within a particular city and how the rates differ for those who work for a pimp. While the subject matter may not sound so compelling, what the authors begin to do is show how pimps and real estate agents are alike, why prostitution is so much less prevalent today than it was in days past, and so on. What begins as a case study involving street prostitutes quickly draws conclusions about a wide variety of topics related to our culture. In examining the economics of prostitution we begin to see reflections of our culture; we begin to see how culture has changed in all sorts of different ways.

I was particularly glad to see that the final chapter is dedicated to global warming. Here the authors bring some reason to one of our society’s sacred cows. Without outright denying the impact of human beings on the (very!) gradual warming of the earth, they show how so many of the mind-breakingly-expensive solutions proposed by Al Gore and others like him would really do nothing but destroy the wealth of the wealthy nations. Any of these solutions are just the smallest drop in the bucket, destined to spend billions for no great effect. The authors show that there are far better solutions and ones that the earth has already used with great success. This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book and the time spent reading it. As if to prove what a sacred cow global warming is today, this chapter alone has turned multitudes of readers against the book (see the Amazon reviews as evidence).

And so it goes. Superfreakonomics is a faithful sequel in every way. It is not a book you would necessarily read to retain or one you would read to change your life. It is a book that can be read just for its entertainment value and there is nothing wrong with that. If you liked the first book, there is no reason you shouldn’t enjoy this one just as much. Do note, of course, that the first chapter, while tastefully done, does include some content that may not be appropriate for younger readers.

Verdict: Buy it