Surge-onomics

One of the more interesting, fun-to-read books is Freakonomics. It's co-written by Steven Levitt (an economist) and Stephen Dubner (a journalist). Based on Levitt's economics work, the Steves try to use unique methods to explain some interesting phenomena. The most interesting and controversial chapter regarded what they believe is the best explanation for decreases in crime levels in the 1990s. I'm no statistician, but at least they make statistical analysis interesting and fun-to-read. Anyway, they offer some interesting thoughts on whether or not the surge in Iraq is working. Other neat stuff if you care to dig on their blog.