Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
by: Peter L. Bernstein
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Amazon.com Review:
With the stock market breaking records almost daily, leaving longtimemarket analysts shaking their heads and revising their forecasts, a study ofthe concept of risk seems quite timely. Peter Bernstein has written acomprehensive history of man's efforts to understand risk and probability,beginning with early gamblers in ancient Greece, continuing through the17th-century French mathematicians Pascal and Fermat and up to modern chaostheory. Along the way he demonstrates that understanding risk underlieseverything from game theory to bridge-building to winemaking.
Product Description:
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
With the stock market breaking records almost daily, leaving longtimemarket analysts shaking their heads and revising their forecasts, a study ofthe concept of risk seems quite timely. Peter Bernstein has written acomprehensive history of man's efforts to understand risk and probability,beginning with early gamblers in ancient Greece, continuing through the17th-century French mathematicians Pascal and Fermat and up to modern chaostheory. Along the way he demonstrates that understanding risk underlieseverything from game theory to bridge-building to winemaking.
Product Description:
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
Alternate Versions:
Accessories:
- Economist on Wall Street (Peter L. Bernstein's Finance Classics): Notes on the Sanctity of Gold, the Value of Money, the Security of Investments, and Other Delusions
- A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold (Peter L. Bernstein's Finance Classics)
- The Price of Prosperity: A Realistic Appraisal of the Future of Our National Economy (Peter L. Bernstein's Finance Classics)
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Somewhat interesting read in the history of quantifying financial risk
The author has done extensive research and provided a historical account of the academic study of quantifying financial risk.It starts at the beginning of the Arabic numeral system all the way to the Black-Scholes options formula.The book is generally interesting from the historical perspective.Yet it suffers from a few flaws: (a) the grandiose claim that modernity depends on this quantification is grossly exaggerated and not justified in the text(seems like a common suffering of tunnel vision ... Read More
Rating: 
- Put the current economic crisis in perspective
A fantastic, well written survey of the history of understanding and mitigating financial and market risks. Should be required ready for every legislator or regulator dealing with financial markets. If you want to put the current financial crisis in perspective, read this now!
Rating: - Lucid, accessible history of risk management
This work is a minor classic of financial literature. Business historian Peter L. Bernstein wrote it during the early 1990s, when faith in the power of quantitative models and financial engineering was at its apex, and he tells a heroic story. Beginning with Greek mythology, Bernstein shows how cultural ideas about risk and probability evolved through Arab mathematics, the European Enlightenment and Chicago School economics. He writes in a spare, straightforward style, and manages to convey the essentials ... Read More
Rating: - fantastic
for many years, i have been the owner of this wonderful book. i re-read it and keep on learning about risk. i trade and invest in the local market (Philippines),and am making good money.
Rating: - A Learned Companion Volume to an MBA Course in Risk Management
Against the Gods was written with a public in mind. It is mainly intended for the professional investor, who deals with notions of risk and uncertainty on a daily basis, and for MBA students who wish to complement their courses in probability theory and financial analysis with a learned companion volume. It will provide such readers with a cultural perspective on the history and cultural significance of risk. According to Peter Bernstein, the taming of risk and its breakdown into something quantifiable and ... Read More
- Somewhat interesting read in the history of quantifying financial riskThe author has done extensive research and provided a historical account of the academic study of quantifying financial risk.It starts at the beginning of the Arabic numeral system all the way to the Black-Scholes options formula.The book is generally interesting from the historical perspective.Yet it suffers from a few flaws: (a) the grandiose claim that modernity depends on this quantification is grossly exaggerated and not justified in the text(seems like a common suffering of tunnel vision ... Read More
- Put the current economic crisis in perspectiveA fantastic, well written survey of the history of understanding and mitigating financial and market risks. Should be required ready for every legislator or regulator dealing with financial markets. If you want to put the current financial crisis in perspective, read this now!
- Lucid, accessible history of risk managementThis work is a minor classic of financial literature. Business historian Peter L. Bernstein wrote it during the early 1990s, when faith in the power of quantitative models and financial engineering was at its apex, and he tells a heroic story. Beginning with Greek mythology, Bernstein shows how cultural ideas about risk and probability evolved through Arab mathematics, the European Enlightenment and Chicago School economics. He writes in a spare, straightforward style, and manages to convey the essentials ... Read More
- fantasticfor many years, i have been the owner of this wonderful book. i re-read it and keep on learning about risk. i trade and invest in the local market (Philippines),and am making good money.
- A Learned Companion Volume to an MBA Course in Risk ManagementAgainst the Gods was written with a public in mind. It is mainly intended for the professional investor, who deals with notions of risk and uncertainty on a daily basis, and for MBA students who wish to complement their courses in probability theory and financial analysis with a learned companion volume. It will provide such readers with a cultural perspective on the history and cultural significance of risk. According to Peter Bernstein, the taming of risk and its breakdown into something quantifiable and ... Read More
