The sequel to one of my favorite books was good, but not as good as the original.  If you haven’t read the first one (Freakonomics), go get it, now.  I’ll wait.

This one (Super Freakonomics) has a similar format.  It has only four chapters; “How is a Street Prostitute Like a Department Store Santa?”, “Why Should Suicide Bombers Buy Life Insurance?”, “Unbelievable Stories About Apathy and Altruism”, “The Fix is in – and It’s Cheap and Simple” and “What Do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo Have in Common”.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion, “Monkeys Are People Too”.

The first chapter provided fantastic conversation fodder for myself and a colleague.  The intricacies, pricing models and market segments that make up prostitution in Chicago are very interesting.  The third chapter provided an interesting view of altruism in the lab and outside it.  It was the last two chapters that made the book though.  A very interesting discussion on whether geo-engineering is a more economical fix to global warming then cutting emissions.  A further discussion on whether the negative externalities involved would become even more negative if it was.  Finally, the conclusion asks just how quickly monkeys could learn to build an economy around prostitution.

All in all, if you like economics (even as a hobby) or sociology (even as a hobby) I recommend it.