While Freakonomics is by some definition an economics book and purists might say that the study of economics has nothing to do with useful math, when I read it all I keep thinking was “lies, damn lies and statistics”.
Admittedly, it is an entertaining book and has been on the NY Times hardcover non-fiction best seller list for over 90 weeks (currently occupying the 11th spot). But, I can’t help but thinking that it is a gimmicky mind game book intended to “show” that correlations and regression analysis are tools to prove anything you want – especially if it is shocking.
Ultimately, the book makes me think that economics is not the dismal science, but the silly science.
JuniorHighBookReport 
One Comment
Another good example is “The Skeptical Environmentalist” by Bjorn Lomborg. Basically he tries to use statistics to decide which global issues should have priority and receive the most attention. He feels that those that have a favourable economic cost-benefit are the ones that should be tackled first. Using this type of analysis then he concludes that environmental issues are not worthing fighting…! Baffling reasoning in my opinion but definitely worth a read if you havent already.