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Against the Gods
http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Against-Gods-Peter-L-Bernstein/9780471295631
The Remarkable Story of Risk
By
Peter L. Bernstein
RRP $25.99 $14.53 Save $11.46 (44%)
Free shipping Australia wide Ships from UK supplier | Rating: | | | Format: | Paperback, 400 pages | | Other Information: | facsimiles | | Published In: | United States, 29 September 1998 |
A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable ...an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." -The New York Times "An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." -The Wall Street Journal "A lively panoramic book ...Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." -Business Week "Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." -The Economist "[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." -Worth "No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." -Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers "With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." -John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. "An extremely readable history of risk." -Barron's "Fascinating ...this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." -Money "A singular achievement." -Times Literary Supplement "There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." -The Australian |
Table of ContentsTO 1200: BEGINNINGS. The Winds of the Greeks and the Role of the Dice. As Easy As I, II, III. 1200-1700: A THOUSAND OUTSTANDING FACTS. The Renaissance Gambler. The French Connection. The Remarkable Notions of the Remarkable Notions Man. 1700-1900: MEASUREMENT UNLIMITED. Considering the Nature of Man. The Search for Moral Certainty. The Supreme Law of Unreason. The Man with the Sprained Brain. Peapods and Perils. The Fabric of Felicity. 1900-1960: CLOUDS OF VAGUENESS AND THE DEMAND FOR PRECISION. The Measure of Our Ignorance. The Radically Distinct Notion. The Man Who Counted Everything Except Calories. The Strange Case of the Anonymous Stockbroker. DEGREES OF BELIEF: EXPLORING UNCERTAINTY. The Failure of Invariance. The Theory Police. The Fantastic System of Side Bets. Awaiting The Wildness. Notes. Bibliography. Indexes. About the AuthorPETER L. BERNSTEIN is President of Peter L. Bernstein, Inc., economic consultants to institutional advisors and corporations. His semimonthly analysis of the capital markets and the real economy, Economics and Portfolio Strategy, is read by managers and owners of investments totaling over one trillion dollars. Mr. Bernstein is the author of many articles in the professional and popular press, as well as six books in economics and finance, including the bestselling Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street. He is the coeditor of Investment Management (Wiley), and was the first editor of The Journal of Portfolio Management. ReviewsRisk management, which assumes that future risks can be understood, measured and to some extent predicted, is the focus of this solid, thoroughgoing history. Probability theory, pioneered by 17th-century French mathematicians Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat, has made possible the design of great bridges, electric power utilities and insurance policies. The statistical sampling methods invented by dour Swiss scientist Jacob Bernoulli undergird diverse activities such as the testing of new drugs, stock-picking and wine tasting. Bernstein (Capital Ideas) animates his narrative with a colorful cast of risk-analyzers, including gambling addict Girolamo Cardano, 16th-century Italian physician to the Pope; and John Maynard Keynes, whose concerns over economic uncertainty compelled him to recommend an active, interventionist role for government. Bernstein also traces the development of business forecasting, game theory, insurance and derivatives, and surveys recent advances in risk forecasting made possible through chaos theory and by the development of neural networks. (Oct.) "...provides an excellent history about risk and it's vital role in markets." (Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2006) "...an excellent book on what can be a dry subject..." (Financial World, 1st December 2005) "I must say that I enjoyed the book, it was written in a light-hearted manner".(Money Matters, April 2001) No. 7 bestseller in 'Risk' (erivativesreview.com, December 2001) For several centuries, mathematics has been the language of the exact sciences. Only in the 20th century has mathematics become predominant in other fields, particularly economics and finance. In this book, Bernstein (Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street, LJ 12/91), head of an economic consulting firm, traces the development of probability theory from its beginnings in analyzing games of chance, through its application to statistical theory and insurance, up to its present use in developing investment strategies to control risk. He includes excellent sections on portfolio analysis and on investments in derivatives. Bernstein clearly describes the people, their work, and the events that have revolutionized the thinking on Wall Street. A worthwhile acquisition for business and math collections.‘Harold D. Shane, Baruch Coll., CUNY
| Publisher: | John Wiley & Sons Inc | | ISBN: | 0471295639 |
| EAN: | 9780471295631 | | Dimensions: | 23.0 x 16.0 x 2.0 centimeters (0.54 kg) |
| Age Range: |
15+ years |
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