AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WITH A NEW PREFACE

'Masterly... Utterly compelling... A highly readable and engaging tour' - Sam Freedman, The Times

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Signal and the Noise, the definitive guide to our era of risk—and the players raising the stakes. In the bestselling The Signal and the Noise, Nate Silver showed how forecasting would define the age of Big Data. Now, in this timely and riveting new book, Silver investigates "The River," or those whose mastery of risk allows them to shape—and dominate—so much of modern life.

These professional risk takers—poker players and hedge fund managers, crypto true-believers and blue-chip art collectors—can teach us much about navigating the uncertainty of the 21st century. By immersing themselves in these worlds, Silver offers insight into a range of issues that affect us all, from the frontiers of finance to the future of AI.

The River holds increasing amounts of wealth and power in our society, and understanding their mindset—including the flaws in their thinking—is key to understanding what drives technology and the global economy today. There are certain common traits within this otherwise diverse group: high tolerance for risk; appreciation of uncertainty; affinity for numbers; skill at decoupling; self-reliance and skepticism towards traditional wisdom.

For The River, complexity is inherent, and the challenge is how to navigate it without crossing the line. From casinos to venture capital firms to meetings of the effective altruism movement, On the Edge provides a deeply-researched, all-access look into a hidden world of powerbrokers and risk takers.

Pages: 576, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm