The dismal science can be great fun — just chill out and follow the plot

IF YOU have only read one economics book — and one is, understandably, too many for some people — it was probably Freakonomics.

Perhaps Milton Friedman or John Maynard Keynes have sold more — I don’t know — but how many of us got past the first 10 pages?

Freakonomics was different. It made economics fun — sexy, even — by applying all the discipline’s tools to everyday life. It was a bit rough around the edges but fascinating nonetheless and became the publishing sensation of 2005.