Asked at a recent conference what I thought was the best book on education research I'd read recently, I was quick to answer:  "Moneyball."  Moneyball?  But that's a baseball book!  Well, yes and no.  Michael Lewis tells the story of how Oakland A's General Manager Billie Bean brought the lowest payroll baseball team in America to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins and experience repeated success by dispensing with preconceived notions of what makes for a good baseball player and letting comprehensive data analysis inform decision making throughout the organization.