While reading these two books, I started a mental list of how many people I should present with them as Christmas gifts. Talk about food for thought; these two collections of essays are both like seven-course meals of amuse-bouches. I don't even know where I would begin a review of these gems: the revelation that Roe v. Wade significantly reversed rising crime rates across the nation? the analytical breakdown of street economics, including drug dealers and prostitutes? the plan for global cooling?
Granted, the authors are intentionally provocative with their work and are conscious of writing for a lay audience. We lose the academic rigor that would call for the authors to substantiate these claims in any real depth. Several of Levitt's colleagues have taken exception to the unconventional nature of his research, but many others have praised him for bringing new life to a field that constantly threatens to dull the uninitiated at dinner parties. I, for one, am satisfied by the considerable end notes and the authors' rhetorical style of anticipating objections to their arguments. Maybe that reveals a degree of laziness on my part, but that will do for this brand of intellectual porn. In 15 minutes I can read one chapter and satisfy my urge for cool facts and well-spun rhetoric without the commitment of following a real academic study. Like the up-scale prostitute profiled in Superfreakonomics, these books offer a no muss, no fuss great time.
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