Making the boring bit of the news interesting.August 6, 2008 J. Duducu(Ruislip) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Freakanomics got a big push by its publishers and was quite the book to be seen to be reading about a year ago. Here with "The tiger that isn't" is a similar book aimed at a similar market but with nowhere near the same exposure.
Essentially this is a very well written book that talks the layman (like me) through the fog of averages, chance and statistical anomalies. Yes, that does sound a bit dull but there are excellent down-to-earth examples and information that will stick in your mind. Did you know for example that you almost invariable have MORE than the AVERAGE number of feet?
It didn't get the full 5 stars as it is quite a slender tome (like Freakanomics) but it is always well written with thought provoking examples and a definite sense of humour.
If you want an intelligent and fun read on a topic that you are unlikely to know much about, or you want to know more about what numbers actually mean when they are grandly announced on the news then this is the book for you.