best-selling book freakonomics: a maverick economist explores the underside of it all by steven d.levitt and stephen j. dubner was a revelation when it was written. He took economic concepts considered boring by most people and made them accessible to millions of people by applying these ideas to interesting topics like drug dealing, baby names, and cheating partners. Ever since I first read this groundbreaking book, I have been constantly looking for more books like freakonomics.
wondering what are some of the best books like freakanomics you should read after finishing levitt’s & Dubner’s monumental work? These ten books that are similar to freakonomics are sure to hit the spot for what you’re looking for!
You are reading: Books similar to freakonomics
10 books like freakonomics
superfreakonomics by steven d.levitt and stephen j. bender
if you’re looking for more books like freakonomics, you’ll be glad to know that the success of levitt and dubner’s first book ensured that they followed up a few years later with superfreakonomics: global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy a life insurance.
Following essentially the same format as freakonomics, superfreakonomics explores a new set of topics by applying common economic theory to them. Covering topics like prostitution, sex changes, and terrorism, superfreakonomics is a very enjoyable read and compares well to the original.
If you still can’t get enough of Levitt and Dubner’s work, be sure to also check out Thinking Like a Monster: Secrets of the Rebel Economist which explores in more detail how they work on their economic work to develop books like freakonomics and superfreakonomics.
outliers by malcolm gladwell
Outliers: Malcolm Gladwell’s Success Story is written in a similar style to Freakonomics and aims to explore what makes high achievers in various industries stand out from their peers. Is it simply a matter of luck?
or is there a scientific explanation that could explain why successful people like bill gates or phenomenal rock bands like the beatles achieved what they did?
outliers is a fantastic book to read if you are looking for more books like freakonomics because you enjoyed the logic and reasoning that is common in levitt and dubner’s work.
thinking fast and slow by daniel kahneman
Daniel Kahneman’s
Thinking Fast and Slow delves into his Nobel Prize-winning work, exploring how the human mind works and what biases exist in people’s minds when making decisions. in particular, there is a deep focus on why humans make certain decisions when rational logic might suggest otherwise.
I highly recommend thinking fast and slow to people who are looking for more books similar to freakonomics and who enjoy understanding in more detail the different economic and psychological principles and how they relate to everyday life.
the undercover economist by tim harford
The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford is perhaps the closest book to freakonomics on this list.
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Like freakonomics, it focuses on taking interesting topics and applying economic theories to them to explain why certain things happen. Harford explores topics such as health care, the price of Starbucks coffee, and high rents in big cities, introducing readers to basic economic principles.
If you are simply looking for a book that brings more problems to light using economics in a similar style to freakonomics, then The Undercover Economist is certainly an excellent choice for you. you.
predictably irrational by dan ariely
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisionsby dan ariely delves into the world of behavioral economics.
Drawing some parallels with fast and slow thinking, this book explores why humans make certain decisions even though they are irrational. breaks his work down into a number of basic principles, such as the impact of something being free, procrastination, and emotions on decision making.
Predictably Irrational is a fantastic book to read if you want to learn more about why we make certain decisions, even when we claim to be logical and rational people.
fooled by randomness by nassim nicholas taleb
Deceived by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and Markets by nassim nicholas taleb explores the world of randomness and how humans can often fall into the trap of attribution random factors to a good decision making or your own work.
Originally published in 2005, this book came into its own in 2008 during the global financial crisis, when rising markets before the crash gave traders a sense of invisibility.
Fooled by Randomness is a fascinating book to read if you enjoyed freakonomy and want to delve deeper into the world of randomness and the effect it has on our daily lives.
eric weiner’s geography of happiness
Although you might expect to find this book on a list of travel books, The Geography of Happiness: A Grumpy’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner shares many similarities with books on this list despite not focusing on economic principles.
weiner travels to a number of different countries with the goal of understanding why certain countries are happier than others. His journey takes him around the world to places like Bhutan, Switzerland, Iceland and Moldova.
Despite exploring topics other than freakonomics, I found Weiner’s book to be written in a similar style and is a good choice if you enjoyed freakonomics and are looking for an interesting travel book.
gang leader for a day by sudhir venkatesh
Sudhir Venkatesh’s
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Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets is a fascinating insight into the economics of gangs and the lives of drug dealers. While researching a college paper on poverty, Venkatesh meets a drug dealer named JT who gives him access to his crack-dealing world and allows him to dig deeper than any outsider has ever gone before.
venkatesh’s book is a unique read on what everyday life is like for people who are part of this world and how economic principles apply to gangs. while freakonomics has dealt with drug dealing a bit, venkatesh spent over a decade being part of this world, which makes this book unique.
michael lewis moneyball
moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by michael lewis tells the story of how baseball was revolutionized by the use of statistics.
when billy beane took over as head coach of the underperforming oakland as he was working on a smaller budget compared to many other teams in the league. Beane along with his team changed the way players were selected for the team by focusing on a variety of stats instead of traditional scouting methods.
Beane’s method led to a long winning streak for Oakland and was eventually adopted by other major baseball teams.
moneyballlater became a hit movie in which brad pitt played beane and is a great choice for people looking for more books like freakonomics.
soccernomics by simon kuper and stefan szymanski
soccernomics by simon kuper and stefan szymanski is the perfect read for people interested in economics and who have a deep love of soccer or sports in general.
Explores a variety of soccer-related topics, such as why certain countries perform well and others don’t, FIFA’s corruption, and the psychological elements of penalty shootouts.
soccernomics has been updated over the years with the most recent version released in 2018 including topics from the 2018 world cup such as iceland’s success.
There are several great books out there, like freakonomics, that will make it easy to find another great book once you’ve finished levitt and dubner’s work. Whether it’s delving into economic theory or reading similarly styled books on different topics, I hope this list gives you some good ideas!
Looking for more books like freakonomics? have you read one recently? let us know in the comments below!