Love

So Mr. Levitt and Mr. Dubner begin their book with-
(I JUST realized the copy I got from the library is signed by both of them)
-a masculine love letter to each other.
To quote:
"But Levitt decided that Dubner wasn't a complete idiot. And Dubner found that Levitt wasn't a human slide rule"- awww cute. They like each other.
Then "The writer was dazzled by the inventiveness of the economist's work and his knack for explaining it. Despite Levitt's elite credentials (Harvard undergrad, a PhD from MIT, a stack of awards)..." Dubner then calls Levitt a "very smart and curious explorer". They're adorable, really.
After being told he should write a book on his quirky economic methods, Levitt said:
"Write a book? I don't want to write a book-- unless, maybe Dubner and I could do it together."
After that they are "henceforth known as the two of us."
After that, their slightly sarcastic partnership in crime was practically cemented.

But back to the original reason for this post.

Organization? Anybody notice a lack thereof?
Even the introduction is choppy. They go from proving that abortion brought down crime rates and meld straight into...lying real estate agents. Hmmm. And the connection lies in?

Mr and Mrs Dubner-Levitt close their book with "And now, with all these pages behind us, an early promise has been confirmed: this book indeed has no "unifying theme."
Their chapters are full of vaguely, slightly, barely connected subsections made me feel like I was getting strung along by floss, barely baited to keep reading.

After discussing the 'glamour job' of being a crack dealer (similar to trying to be in the NBA, a celebrity, or even a publicist), the next subsection begins with "Now for another unlikely question: what did crack cocaine have in common with nylon stockings."

Maybe this is how economics work. Perhaps Levitt was able to prove some really random but fascinating things...and then poor Dubner was left to string them together. I find the partnership really interesting because the style is quite funny and the content is quite interesting, so I wonder which one is responsible for what. (Clearly all the math and economics stuff goes to Levitt, but how much of the wit belongs to Dubner?).

The intro really leads me into the partner dynamic...and then the rest of the book focuses more on subject/content matter then the authors.

Sorry for the varying subject matter. Enjoy!