Superfreakonomics

I’d been toying with the idea of writing a post about the original ‘Freakonomics’ for some time now. Mainly on account of its very high score on our number one selection criterion: being good. Slagging off Moby Dick was a bit of fun, but an exception. Why should I tag books as‘overrated’, if I can prize many amazing, quirky, moving or smart ones instead?

The original Freakonomics was extremely good. It told us of the similarities between the McDonald’s franchises and organized crime syndicates (most petty drug dealers are the equivalent of burger flippers, making little money,  living with their moms). It also showed how first names tend to migrate from the rich to the middle classes to the poor, and what the economic cost is of having a black name. It revealed how teachers in the Chicago school system ‘cheated’ by teaching the test instead of the course. And above all: how this was very normal to anyone thinking with an economist’s hat on. Quite simply, the ‘No Child Left Behind’ programme had very strong inecntives to do so.

So why didn't I discuss the first book? Well, the main reason is the novelty factor. It was published in 2005. Not a problem in itself, I review books that are much older. The problem was somewhat different: it was and still is a massive hit. Anyone who is in the know, knows about it already. Covering it would make me look like some off brand late adopter, instead of the off brand treasure hunter/shelf digger I really am.

But then, the plot thickens.What a thrill to walk into my book grocer’s this week, to find the sequel: Superfreakonomics! True, the horrible title raised a sliver of a doubt, but a quick diagonal read convinced me. Things only got better. Back home, I discovered that Amazon had set the release data on October 20th. Which meant that if I read and reviewed it fast enough, I might have a bit of pre-Amazon exclusive on my hands.

Now, this prospect of an early review was nice, but quite unnecessary. Even without that extra incentive, I would have stayed up late and read until my eyes bled. Being as good as it gets was sufficient. Levitt and Dubner do not only have a knack for finding scientific research on those darkish research subjects that tickle the funny bone (prostitution, siblings competing for inheritance). They are also great story tellers, peppering analyses on huge data sets with very down-to-earth  narratives. From the first book, the parents come to mind who called their sons ‘Winner’ and ‘Loser’ (Lou to his colleagues) . There are plenty more of these funny anecotes in the sequel.The subjects include horse manure, drunk driving, kidney transplants, shark attacks, terrorism. Dubner and Levitt continue dismantling conventional wisdom (the aloofness of Kitty Genovese’s neighbours).

The book's appeal goes beyond these senstational stories, however. By far my favourite chapter is the one where they have a go at Al Gore and his unwieldy cult of guilt-and-restraint-advocates. A thorny issue, the authors take a clear and unpopular stand but manage to sound convincing and knowledgeable.

What shines through even more in this second book is a very refreshing brand of ‘moderate optimism’. No, people are no do-gooders who will take into account the interests of others just because that is the right thing to do. We cause harm, out of selfishness, out of ignorance or out of sheer habit. But progress is possible and very real. After all, we faced horrible diseases before (polio) and overcame. We've been overly dependent on finite natural resources before (whale oil!) and managed to find an alternative (crude oil). There is no room for complacency, but no need to get hysteric and doloristic either. Get the data, learn from past mistakes, keep a cool head and you can overcome nearly anything.

A ripping read.

P.S. One caveat, addressed to a specific segment of the population. If you are a real estate agent, prepare for more tar and feathers. In their first book, Dubner and Levitt revealed just how similar your behaviour is to that of some Ku Klux Klan members. This time around, they reveal how your services are in fact less valuable than those of a pimp. Still, things could be worse. You could be an Indian man.

The Fall of Bunny

It finally hit the shelves, Nick Cave’s new novel ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’. The timing is spot on, grey skies ahead and gold in the leaves ripening. Why not celebrate the advent of fall with a dark tale? Enter drugs, lewdness, samples of skin moisturizer, death. I’m in the middle of it, savouring every dirty word. The jokes are priceless, but don’t be fooled. That is just Cave’s little trick to get your guard down, before he delivers his next grim blow.

In many ways, his latest brood reminds me of that other autumnal favourite: ‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt. Ah, if I could erase one book from my memory, just to get that maiden read back, this would be it. The plot revolves around the murder of one Edmund ‘Bunny’ Corcoran by the hands of his fellow Classics students. Thrilling enough in itself, what really sets it apart is the setting: a campus in the woods of Vermont, six choice students and their solitary mentor. Old money, blackmail, stupor, betrayal and remorse. Eros and Thanatos, as the Greeks call it. The cunt and the coffin, as Bunny Munro might put it.

Tartt is academic and Cave vulgar, but they both pull off the same stunt: announcing the death of their Bunny before you even met him. Making you care for him. Describing his world in absurd detail, making it seem even stranger than the deranged outcast protagonists. In other words: Stay inside. Read a book. That’s what autumns are for.

More soon!

I found the drawing of Cave on http://monaux.com/work/nick-cave/.
Tartt's was on http://woldhek.nl/images/drawings/1097-donna-tartt.jpg

Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion

Ah, the powers of positive thinking. Turning that frown upside down. Just works miracles, doesn’t it? Just ask Banksy (picture opposite).

But hold on, haven’t we heard one too many ‘yeses’ recently? As in ‘Yes we can?’ Don’t get me wrong, it was a great slogan and a great campaign for Barack Obama. But now that every second middle manager is mumbling it,  attempting to boost morale after yet another round of downsizing, it may have started to wear a bit thin.

Isn’t it time for a bit of ‘Yes, I will?’ Preferably in reply to one of your own questions/propositions/orders? For instance “Could I borrow your thesaurus for a minute?” Affirmative, all right, amen, aye, beyond a doubt, by all means, certainly, definitely, exactly, fine, gladly, good, good enough, granted, indubitably, just so, most assuredly, naturally, of course, okay, positively, precisely, right on, sure thing, surely, true, undoubtedly, unquestionably, very well, willingly, without fail, yea, yep.

I would believe so. And that is where Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini come in. Two Ph.D.’s and one normal human being, spreading the gospel on how to convince other people. Their book contains fifty secrets from the science of persuasion. Vulgarized and chopped into easily digestible three-page chapters.

So what do we learn? First, that people are bald sheep who drive cars. Make them believe that "everyone else is doing it", then watch them dive off that cliff . Or, to use an example from the book: watch them recycle those hotel room towels. Or at least 25% more of them.

This also means that if there is certain behaviour/attitude you don't like, you'd better not focus attention on its prevalence. In other words: if you are looking for compassion, putting 'nobody likes me' on your facebook profile is not such a hot idea.

Now, there are a lot of different themes to persuasion: reciprocity, commitment, rhymes, favourable comparisons, likeness, seeking input and I am forgetting a few. Some principles may seem contradictory or difficult to put into practice. How do you do someone a favour in order to get one in return, whilst not giving the impression that you are expecting anything in return, all the while making sure that they are aware of the value of the favour you did them and getting across exactly which favour you want from them?

Maybe the whole idea is to pick the right hint at the right time. Let's cross fingers for that sequel.

Then, of course, there is a thin line between 'persuasion' and 'manipulation'. The further you get in the book, the more manipulative techniques become. How about this one: Giving compliments. Call someone generous and they will try to live up to your expectations. Suckas! And lookie here. People seem to be able to spot the difference between an authentic and a fake smile. Does that mean you shouldn't fake smiles? Hmmm, the authors suggest you think of something you genuinely like before approaching your target. ;-)

And if that doesn't work, you can always try sleep deprivation, exposing heml to the final scene of Bambi (a sad person wants to change its circumstances so is willing to sell lower and buy higher) or just serving them a dose of 1,3,7-trimethylxanthin (also known as a cup of coffee).

Now in all fairness to the authors: they are very much (almost painfully) aware of the ethical implications of persuasion. A bit like a chmistry teacher who tells you 'if you add these two substances the school will explode'. Then telling you not to. But, hey, that is a big part of the appeal of this book. It comes highly recommended.

So do as millions of others are doing, come back soon for more Bookambish!

Moby Dick vs The Old Man And The Sea

As long as we are on the subject of fish, why not pit Great American Fish Novel against Great American Fish Novel? In the red corner we have a real Heavyweight, weighing in at over 600 pages: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick! In the blue corner we have the mean lean aquamarine “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway. Slim, but a real Nobel Prize fighter.

Two books with a vast reputation, more often referred to than read.

I plead guilty. I read and savoured The Old Man and the Sea, then reread it twice. But in Moby Dick, I struggled my way to chapter 9 (The Sermon), less than one tenth. Then I buried it in the depths of my library. How very peculiar, my expectations had been completely opposite.

The Old Man and the Sea is not exactly a catchy title, is it? It conjures up images of a pensioner, staring at the horizon, mumbling an endless, incoherent narrative, laced with jargon and less than interesting anecdotes. But what the heck, it came at a discount and I was going on a holiday by the sea. Why not give it a try? Little did I know what a gripping tale, epic struggle of man against fish I would discover. My words cannot do it justice, so I will just tell you that it is my favourite novel, and go on to our fat friend instead.

Moby Dick, from which I expected, well, an epic struggle between man and fish (or mammal if you wish). Hold your horses. It starts with an etymological analysis of the word ‘whale’. Next, some six pages of extracts from books or newspaper articles, collected on account of the fact that they mention a whale in some form or shape. OK, we’ve had the commercials. Let the game begin. Only, it doesn’t. Instead of meeting Captain Ahab right away, first you get to follow the excruciating perambulations of a certain Ishmael. One advice: Do as I did, cut to the chase. I will admit that the three last chapters are quite good (“There she blows!” At long last)

Maybe, one day when I am older and living by the sea, suffering a mild heart condition, I will be ready for the other chapters. In the meanwhile, I will reread The Old Man and the Sea, again and again!

Fish that fake orgasms and other zoological curiosities

I first saw an ad for this book on the BBC website, next to one of their feature articles on Mother Nature. A great cover and a great title, for sure (notice the cigarette). Further info was hard to come by, though. Hardly any decent reviews, just the same old promotional talk taken straight from the publishing house. I mulled over it for a while, then decided to order it, as a hit or miss buy. Good news: It’s a winner!

On my bookshelf, you will find very few books on animals. Animal farm (Orwell, great) and Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Bach, dreadful), that’s about it. When I was a kid, I was well into my ‘creatures of the deep’ books. I had tons. For my favourites, you got the pictures separately by collecting points from cereal and soap boxes. I could spend hours studying food pyramids and habitats, learning Latin names by heart. By the time I was twelve, though, I couldn’t be bothered any longer. In short, I’m not much of an animal lover.

My motivation in buying this book was not so much with animals as with their dark side. And the animal kingdom is not lacking in antisocial behaviour. You will learn that, given the choice between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic drink, one vervet monkey in twenty will become an instant binge drinker. Most are moderate drinkers, whereas one in seven abstains completely (or could these just be recovering alky apes?). The female house sparrow pays a visit to her partner's girlfriends, only to kill the young in their nests. No alimony for you, bitch! Providing ‘ant colony’ with a whole new meaning, some of these little fellas will invade the nest of a rival species, kidnap their eggs, then raise these young to do all the dirty work. Next time you need an excuse for transgressing, just consult this little gem. Chances are, you will be able to retort ‘It’s just nature’s way, judge. After all, the moustached tamarind does it all the time!’

The naughty stories are nice, but there is more. There are some cool animal superpowers (bees tracking bombs by scent, flying snakes) or fascinating facts on evolution (ants evolved from wasps). You have the property market of hermit crabs, where finding an abandoned shell will cause an entire group to swap houses. And one of my favourites: Fire ants facing a flood will cling together, creating a living raft to reach safer ground.

But how do you know all of this is not just meaningless drivel and urban legend, in the vein of Karl Pilkington’s monkey news? Well, Matt Walker has a degree in zoology and he quotes all of his sources in the back. Most seem solid enough (Journal of Experimental Biology etc), very few if any mentioning ‘Me mate’s sister went to the Indian Jungle and saw it with her own eyes’.

So, anydownsides? Well, I admit, I’ve been cherry picking a bit for the selection above. Not all facts are as interesting. You could live without the knowledge that most primates prefer to cradle their babies in their left rather than their right arm. Plus, the lack of narrative makes it hard to read for hours on end.

For a tube ride or a visit to the smallest room, however, this is the perfect companion. And you may want to remember a few of these fun facts. Next time conversation stalls at a baby shower, you just mention “Did you know that the nine-banded armadillo gives birth to her young up to three years after insemination? Really, it does. It just waits for the right environmental conditions for raising her young to arise, then implants the fertilized egg.” Or, better still, just start humming this little tune

Bye! More soon.

P.S. Allright, if you insist, I‘ll spill the beans: The female brown trout is known to fake orgasms. She uses her superior acting skills to fool the less attractive males with whom she mates. Once she has convinced the ugly sod that he will be a father, he swims off to brag to his friends. The female then goes in search of a more attractive male with whom to get real. (Sometimes the female will not succeed in finding a better mate. She will then become old and bitter. If one of these ends up on your plate, you’re bound to taste it. Still, you should always pretend to find her really, really tasty).

The Giving Tree

This week’s pick is ‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein. An absolute classic, it would seem, at least in the USA. (I'm wondering about the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth. Please let me know).

As a non-native English speaker, you can find yourself regressing. You read children’s stories for the first time, long after you left college. By the time I discovered ‘The Giving Tree’, I knew how to tie my own shoe laces. I would go to bed on my own initiative. Copying machines, insurance documents and friends’ weddings had become an established part of my life. Still, this little story left me absolutely shattered.

Check out this animated version, Silverstein is the narrator, which is a nice little extra.

“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy”. Judging from the first few lines, it could be one of those dreadful children’s books that you find in museum stores. Two pinches of environmental awareness, a whiff of social justice but above all: a celebratory ending with a sound moral.

But the Giving Tree is different. The storyline and language are very simple, yet deep. It is sad as hell and provides no easy answers. In a way, I think it is quite similar to many of the classic Grimm stories for children, which were, well, quite grim and morally ambiguous.

Some people seem to think children’s stories should be about fluffy bears and ponies, and I could see the point. A children’s story that features the line “Life is not fun” could seem a bit daunting. But, then again, why not challenge them a bit once in a while? Treat them like small adults instead of cherubs. And who better to turn to than Uncle Shelby? After all, he's the guy who penned ‘Boy named Sue’ for Johnny Cash!

All this being said, I would probably prefer an edition that does not feature this picture of the author on the back cover. Challenging kids with a bit of a strange story is one thing, recurring nightmares are quite another.

'Wiseguy' and the 'Wiseguy Cookbook'

Brooklyn in the late 1960’s. Having it all, and having it for free. Schemes, swag, bust-outs and loan sharks. To own the judges, truck drivers, the unions and anyone in between. To drink cocktails on a stolen credit card or ‘Muldoon’. Not because you couldn’t afford to otherwise, but because anything tastes better if it’s stolen. Guys named Frankie Manzo or Bruno Facciolo, working for the Lucchese or Colombo crime families. Scaring some very scary fellows. That was the world of Henry Hill. Until he got busted on a drug deal, hence becoming worth more dead than alive to his bosses. He enters the witness protection programme, and tells his story to Mafia journalist Nicolas Pileggi, who records it in ‘Wiseguy’.

By all means, this is a terrific book. It has all the great stories and cracking dialogue that went straight into Scorsese’s great movie adaptation, Goodfellas. “To me being a wiseguy was better than being president of the United States. It meant power among people who had no power. It meant perks in a working-class neighborhood that had no privileges”. Reading about Billie Batts or the Lufthansa Heist is just as thrilling as seeing them on the screen.

On top of this, there are some great stories that never made it in the film. Example: With business thriving and two small kids, Henry and his wife could use a little help around the house. As a wiseguy, however, hiring a maid is a bit unorthodox. You can’t have just anybody cleaning the kitchen, listening in on conversations. So in comes a business partner with the perfect solution: Why not get a domestic servant, straight from the Haitian hills? A real bargain, just 600 dollars. Henry and Karen take the bait, but all does not turn out as planned “When the slave opened the door, she turned out to be over six feet tall and weighed two fifty minimum. My knees went. She was bigger than Paul Vario. We couldn’t keep her. She made the kids cry. She only stayed a day or two, until I could get Eddy to take her back”.

There is more to 'Wiseguy' than war time stories and bragging. Hill is a clever guy. He often takes a few steps back to reveal the hard wiring of crime syndicate, backdrops that few people know about. “There were hundreds of guys depending on Paulie for their living, but he never paid out a dime. The guys working for Paulie had to make their own dollar. All they got from Paulie was protection from other guys trying to rip them off. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what the FBI can never understand – that what Paulie and the organization offer is protection for the kind of guys who can’t go to the cops.”

In one word, 'Wiseguy' is priceless. But then, as I found out a few months ago, things get even better. You see, when Tony Soprano sees his shrink, or Vito Corleone strokes his cat, Henry Hill is making a sauce. Long before Jamie Oliver or any other TV chef, these wiseguys made Italian cooking look like men’s business. Just remember the famous prison cooking scene from Goodfellas, slicing garlic with a razor.

After Henry spent all the money he made from Wiseguy and Goodfellas, he decides to cash in on cooking. Result “The Wiseguy Cookbook. My Favourite Recipes from My Life as a Goodfella to Cooking on the Run” by Henry Hill and Priscilla Davis. So, is it a cook book or a tale of crime? Well, both. Most of the recipes come with a wiseguy title and background story. Example, the Fugazy cutlets. “It was from Fat Larry that I learnt my first scam. When he couldn’t get the veal he wanted or it cost too much, he substituted it with pork. He had the whole neighbourhood fooled!”

Now, before anyone thinks I'm writing this with Hill's gun to my head: I wasn’t too overwhelmed by the recipes. Knowing his lifestyle, you could expect the guy to serve up a spicy dish. No-one likes bland Italian cooking. But going by the proportions he recommends, it’s just a matter of days before you OD on garlic. And if you wonder how ‘Tomato Mint Sauce’ could ever taste any different from toothpaste: it doesn’t. If you’re just looking for good Italian recipes, you might want to go with the 'Silver Spoon' instead.

The book has other merits, though. There is some very sound intelligence in there, both practical hints (don't flour eggplants beforehand) and general advice. I can only agree with his rules of Italian cooking: “On a budget, use little of the good stuff” or “Cook either very fast or very slowly”. You can tell the guy is passionate about cooking, and it gets very contagious. More than any other cooking book, it makes me want to rush to the kitchen and start slicing some tomatoes. And what more could you ask for, ya schnook?

More next week!