Despite all evidence to the contrary, goes this unconventional book's premise, the modern world proves neither unknowable nor impenetrable—provided one looks at things the right way.
Sumo wrestlers, crack dealers, automobile depreciation, baby names, online dating, real-estate agents, the comparative salaries of a prostitute and an architect—scores of the seemingly unrelated reveal their connections through economics, the study of how people get what they want when other people want the same thing.
