Book two for the year, not quite fiction but certainly not something I would say is work related. This is the third book from the duo of Dubner and Levitt but very different from their previous two Freakonomics books.rnrnrnWhile the others involve the pair discovering and arguing certain facts and outcomes this is all about getting people to think in the way that they have been for years and how both the original books were delivered. It gives little examples and bits of information to illustrate their points and the way that they will work, ideas of how to, as it says, think like a freak or in the way that they do. Small things, simple changes.

For me this was a bit of a failure, for two reasons, mostly my fault. I think if you listen to the freakonomics podcast then much of the book had been revealed, far too much I believe, and that was the biggest reason it didn't work for me. Is that my fault for listening or theirs for giving too much away. The only way for that to be decided would be someone else doing the same. The second reason, the way I already think. This might have also had an affect on the first. Doing an apprenticeship kind of pushes you down the same way of thinking anyway, start small, start with the basics and start at the beginning. Look at each bit/step/item on its own and break that down as much as possible, all of these were the main points that I felt they were trying to get across. These both taken together, I guess you can see why I was a bit disappointed.

The other big warning, I was ok I knew what I was letting myself in for, this is really nothing like the other books. I did mention this earlier but I know people who have moaned at that fact so wanted to make it really clear.

I'm not sure i could recommend this to anyone, I think its something that you want to read as opposed to it being recommended for a particular "self help" situation. I'm also not saying don't read it either, although there are many engineers who will come out of it say "Durr yeah, obviously"