In Conned Again, Watson!: Cautionary Tales of Logic, Math, and Probability physicist Colin Bruce turns maths teaching on its head by using conflict, drama and familiar characters to bring probability and game theory to vivid life. People who think they hate maths will luckily learn that they actually just can't abide its dry, abstract presentation. Using short stories crafted in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, he lets Sherlock Holmes guide Watson and his clients through elementary mathematical reasoning. This kind of thinking is growing more and more important as poll numbers, economic indicators, and scientific data find their way into the mainstream, and Bruce's gambit pays off handsomely for the reader. Delving into such arcana as normal distribution, Bayesian logic, and risk taking, the stories never dry up, even when presenting tables or graphs. Holmes' quick wit, Watson's patience, and their various friends' and clients' dubious decisions unite both to entertain and to illuminate tough but important problems. Even the cleverest numerophile will probably still find a nugget or two of hidden knowledge in the book, or at least a few new ways to explain statistical concepts to friends and students. The rest of us can relax, enjoy the tales, and come away a little bit tougher to con. —Rob Lightner