About this title: In 1961, MIT mathematics professor Ed Thorp made a small Vegas fortune by "counting cards"; his 1962 bestseller, "Beat the Dealer," made the phrase a household word. With Claude Shannon, the father of information theory, Thorp next conquered the roulette tables. In this prosaic but fascinating cultural history, the author of "How Would You Move Mt ...
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Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780809045990ISBN:0809045990
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 386 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Brand New! No Marks! Fast Shipping! Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hill & Wang Publishers
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780809046379ISBN:0809046377
Description: Fine in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. The pages are clean and have no creases, tears or writing. The jacket is wrinkled along the bottom edge. The binding is tight. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780809046379ISBN:0809046377
Description: Used-Like New. Size: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches; Fortune's Formula is a fascinating study of the connections between such seemingly unrelated topics as gambling, information theory, stock investing, and applied mathematics. The story involves the stunning brainpower of men such as MIT professor Claude Shannon, who single-handedly invented information theory, the science behind the Internet and all digital media; Ed Thorpe; and John Kelly of Bell Laboratories, who developed the "Kelly criterion, " ... read more
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780809045990. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Date Published: 2005-09-14
ISBN-13:9780809046379ISBN:0809046377
Description: Like New. This First Edition, First Printing copy is in excellent condition and just as it says "like new". No visible markings, highlights, underlining, tears to text. Tight spine. Clean Hard Cover and Dust Jacket with light shelf/edge wear. Great reading copy, worth having at an affordable price. (5G-107) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hill and Wang/FSG, New York
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780809046379ISBN:0809046377
Description: Good/Very Good. . Hardcover, good condition, w. smwht slanted, ltly compressed sp. V. ltly to ltly bumped corners. V. ltly tanned p. edges, sme lt soil. R. free ep torn out--also surface of r. fixed ep. O/w cln, tight, unmarked. Dj very good, ltly rubbed, sme lt marks. V. ltly bumped sp ends. read more
Description: New. In 1961, MIT mathematics professor Ed Thorp made a small Vegas fortune by "counting cards"; his 1962 bestseller, "Beat the Dealer, " made the phrase a household word. With Claude Shannon, the father of information theory, Thorp next conquered the roul... read more
"I found this an interesting read on thinking in probability and how to keep the odds in your favour as much as possible. However, I thought that the changed direction about half way through with the chapter on RICO. It seemed to spend more time on the lives of certain individuals and less time on the math and science of probabilistic thinking.
Overall I am glad I read it, but definitely enjoyed the first half more than the second :)"
"William Poundstone is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. It amazes me how deep he gets into a variety of topics. This book focuses on information theory (as laid out by Claude Shannon) and John Kelly's application of that theory to investments, be they gambling in Vegas or on Wall Street. This is more of an enjoyment read for me, but it correlates tightly with the Random Walk Guide. In my view, that reinforces the views expressed in the Random Walk Guide - a good thing as far as I'm concerned."
"Anyone that wants to better understand how the financial world got to where it is today would be well served to read this book (hint: it isn't George Bush's fault after all). Poundstone takes you through the history of how the financial engineers came into play with all of its twists and turns. If nothing else, the story itself is quite fascinating."
"Fortune's Formula by William Poundstone (pp. 400)
Utterly fascinating. Gambling, mobsters, mathematicians, economists, hedge funds, greed, and how it's linked together by some early genius and freak timing. Part history lesson, part text book, part novel, all true, it flows beautifully. For anyone who is interested in math, the financial markets, or Las Vegas, this book is a fun read.
Poundstone tells the story of how one formula changed the way casinos look at card counters, how a mathematical concept influenced the height of junk bond trading and ultimately took it down, how current electronic trading was made possible, and how a couple of academics jumped from publishing obscure papers to making millions in the financial markets.
A lot of the elements of this book have been told in depth as their own subjects, but the joy of reading Poundstone's account is seeing how they are all related. Ivan Boesky, the early Las Vegas mobsters, Rudolph Giuliani, Warren Buffet and the original card counting book, Beat the Dealer are not something you'd expect to be rolled into a book about based on a formula created at the height of the Bell Labs heyday, but here it is.
This book is what all science pop culture books should strive to be and is even more relevant today given the daily news of our financial markets."
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