Editorial Review:
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
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Today's hero is often tomorrow's blockhead. 2008-08-25
There are two things that I really liked about this book, and one thing that I didn't. The good things:
1) The author's vast knowledge of the financial markets, from most of a century of experience.
2) His extensive and entertaining history of risk analysis.
The bad thing:
His attempts to explain math concepts that he apparently doesn't understand very well.
His history of risk analysis was a pleasure to read -- from Fibonacci and Cardano, to Markowitz and Sharpe. My favorite, was his coverage of Francis Galton, the man who measured everything.
Above all, the greatest value in this book is that it's packed with the author's knowledge of finance, from 63 years of experience. He's 89 years old now, and appears to still be going strong.
This book is well worth reading.
My favorite quote from the book:
Today's hero is often tomorrow's blockhead.(pg 297)
Very Interesting!  2008-08-10
Risk Management has always been interesting to me, and learning about the history of it through this book has increased my understanding tremendously. The book is written very well, and it reads very easily for the material being discussed. I was pleasantly surprised as I delved further and further into the book.
History of Statistics 2008-06-06
I wasn't sure what this book would be about when I flipped through the pages at some airport (even with the subtitle, it still wasn' clear what the book would address). I made the right decision to buy it.
For all of us who have had a course in statistics and who trade in the stock market, this book provides a history which otherwise may be difficult to come by as in this book. The book is also well-written and fun to read.
Just Great! 2008-05-17
Great book for Risk Manager's Professionals. Include great point of view and provide a good background.
A must 2008-04-09
This book is an abolute must for whoever uses the word RISK in reflexion, work, publication or lecture.
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