Three Really Good Books

My reading of ficition and non-religious materials has dwindled in recent years despite my English degree and love of reading. I have read three books,though, in the last year that were fascinating. If you like to ask, "why?" or like behavioral sciences (why people do the things they do) you will enjoy these books. While it is possible to get lost at times in any of the three books, they are generally very readable and actually hard to put down. The subtitles are great, too.
You can click on the titles to find out more about the books.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
The authors explain, prove and disprove, and suggest all kinds of interesting and crazy things using statistical analysis (math). They were able to prove that teachers in the Chicago area were cheating for the students to get more funding. They were able to prove which Sumo wrestlers were cheating. They have a shocking theory for why the crime rate drastically dropped in the mid-90's. There is a true story of how a graduate student was able to research the financial status of drug-dealing gangs from the inside.


The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
This book is about epidemics and trends and how they start and continue. There is alot of interesting history about the philosophy and techniques of Sesame Street and how that led to Blue's Clues. There is neat stuff about how when a social unit gets above 200 people, it is harder for things to stay organized and harder for any one individual to keep up with that many relationships (pay attention, mega-churches). Teen smoking is discussed.


Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
This one is about instinct. Some people are really good at making snap decisions and recognizing things that most don't. The book is really about how the mind works and how much the brain does that we are unaware of. One of my favorite chapters was on the effects of marketing and how much we are affected by packaging. It tells the whole story about the New Coke fiasco.
An early chapter is about a researcher who videotaped couples and learned to pick up on problems in the relationship just by watching the couple have a discussion for 15 minutes on whatever they wanted to talk about. (by the way, he lists defensiveness, stonewalling, criticism, contempt as the most telling signs of a shaky relationship, with contempt being the worst). He explains why some are such good "mind-readers" (has more to do with the face).