Book Corner: Freakonomics

I've decided that I will start a bi-weekly(or-so) column about different litterature that I recommend, mostly baseball books that you may have skipped over or that people don't know about yet. This time however I am starting with a book which isn't about baseball *gasp*. It's a book I recently completed and it's called freakonomics. I know the name sounds strange, however the book is written by an award winning economist who uses his knowledge to explore social issues instead of the same old economics issues.
It's a great read and written simply (because of the influence of a co-writer), and surprisingly not as dryly as I was expecting. In one chapter, the book explores the inside workings of a drug dealing gang and finds out that their inner workings are very much like that of a big company with a board of directors, 'district managers' and then the underpaid grunts. I found this chapter to be absolutely fascinating. In another, he examines a conspiracy of match fixing in sumo wrestling along with cheating teachers who help their students perform well on state exams to keep their positions. Throughout the book, there is a heavy usage of statistics which is one reason I recommend it to readers of this page. But it is an absolutely fascinating read and I truly recommend it to everyone to read something entertaining and that may make you explore new ways of thinking. Click on the title to be brought straight to the amazon page, i believe it's on sale for under $20...

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

• Also, JP Ricciardi missed an interview on the FAN tonight because he was entertaining a free agent. The mystery man is Gil Meche who was at the Leafs game tonight!
• Updates on the hat below!