Freakonomics was an interesting book to read, albeit not a life altering one as the blurb would have you believe.
Part of that is to do with the book's age, it was first published 15 years ago and while some of the ideas expressed may have been novel at the time, they appear quite banal now. I suppose that means the book did influence how the world is perceived by many people.
The premise is relatively simple:
Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work—whereas economics represents how it actually does work.
The authors take this idea to investigate concepts like cheating by teacher in school districts, information control by estate agents, the effects of parenting on education and more.
It's the sort of book you can pick up and easily read in a couple sittings, and while it might not change the way you view the world, you're sure to learn a thing or two in the process.