Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets,   ISBN:9781400067930

Customer Rating: 

Taleb changed the way I thought about skill and luck. The book was not made to prove things one way or the other but to get you to think. Don't take anyones supposed skill to your bank. You need to be aware of the risk of what you are purchasing. This book applies not only to investing but to life in general. The book is easy and fun to read.

Customer Rating: 

Found the book strangely absorbing and innovative. Myself, I have very little knowledge of things mathematical or statistical, but a rather strong interest in them. Nassim Taleb delivers a spirited defence of skepticism, which I always like. His examples from the world of financial trading (and gaming) are entertaining and probably(!) illustrative, as are his anectodes from other fields of life and his obviously very extensive reading.
I should have liked to read a non-polemical discussion of his thesis. But it would have to be written in the same and wonderfully popular and humorous vein that runs thru this fine book.

Customer Rating: 

There are some interesting ideas in the book. That's why I would give it 2 stars and not 1.
Other than that the style is quite bad (IMHO of course) but the one biggest problem for me is that
the author lacks even a single smallest drop of humility. Most of the book is about how smart
the author is and how stupid everybody else is. I did not need all that.

The message of the book if there was any is lost in all this bragging.

Customer Rating: 

A book that all of the overpaid egomaniacs on Wall Street will hate. Answers to the questions about what role luck plays in our financial lives. A must read before you overpay for financial advise.

Customer Rating: 

The topics are very engaging, and the author's style is very verbal (write's the way people talk). Highly recommended.