I've just now learned of a brand new book that has me very excited. Here are excerpts from the review I've read. The book's homepage has links to the full review plus a lot more, including excerpts and a discussion-forum that has just started.

If Indiana Jones were an economist, he'd be Steven Levitt, winner of the John Bates Clark award for the best economist under the age of 40, famous as a maverick treasure hunter who relies for success on his wit, pluck and disregard for conventional wisdom. Mr. Levitt's typical quarry is hidden in a pile of data. His genius is to take a seemingly meaningless set of numbers, ferret out the telltale pattern and recognize what it means.

Mr. Levitt nailed Chicago public-school teachers for inflating their students' standardized test scores. Mr. Levitt actually reproduces the answer sheets and challenges you to spot the cheater. Then he points to suspicious patterns that you almost surely overlooked. …

Then he is on to the Case of the Cheating Sumo Wrestlers. Then another question, and another and another. Were lynchings an effective way to keep Southern blacks "in their place"? Do real-estate agents really represent their clients' interests? Why do so many drug dealers live with their mothers? Which parenting strategies work and which don't? Does a good first name contribute to success in life? … where other parenting books rely on either puerile psychological theorizing or leaps of logic from haphazard numerical correlations, Mr. Levitt relies on his instinct for analyzing data.

Back in 1999, Mr. Levitt was trying to figure out why crime rates had fallen so dramatically in the previous decade. He was struck by the fact that crime began falling nationwide. ...

Today, on the homepage of the Freakonomics site:

Damn Harry Potter
Were it not for the forthcoming Harry Potter book, the following statement would be true:
All day yesterday, and even as of right now (8:45 a.m. E.D.T.), the No. 1 book in America (according to Amazon.com) is .... yes, Freakonomics. No, we aren't kidding. Apparently a lot of people read the book excerpt on Slate; or this review from the Wall Street Journal. Or the blogs that are blog-blogging their way into heartland.

Alright, already! I finally got around to looking at the page and reading some exerpts and it drew me in. I requested it from my library and I'm #78 on the list.

Of course, I also just got 'round to putting my name on the waiting lists for HP6, the book and the book on CD. I'm #1227 for the book and I'm #254 for the recorded book. Sigh. I guess I'll just HAVE to win the wrestling match for the copy we're buying!