Overview

The Instant New York Times Bestseller “Engaging and entertaining… a glimpse of the economy of the future.” —Tim Wu, New York Times Book Review 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,” the community of like-minded people 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 twenty-first century. By immersing himself in the worlds of Doyle Brunson, Peter Thiel, Sam Bankman-Fried, Sam Altman, and many others, Silver offers insight into a range of issues that affect us all, from the frontiers of finance to the future of AI. Most of us don’t have traits commonly found in the River: high tolerance for risk, appreciation of uncertainty, affinity for numbers—paired with an instinctive distrust of conventional wisdom and a competitive drive so intense it can border on irrational. For those in the River, complexity is baked in, and the work is how to navigate it. People in the River have increasing amounts of wealth and power in our society, and understanding their mindset—and the flaws in their thinking— is key to understanding what drives technology and the global economy today. Taking us behind the scenes from casinos to venture capital firms, and from the FTX inner sanctum to meetings of the effective altruism movement, On the Edge is a deeply reported, all-access journey into a hidden world of power bro­kers and risk-takers.

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9781594204128

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Reviews

“A clever look into a unique realm. An enlightening study of the people who play the game of risk and win.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"“Engaging and entertaining… Silver describes how the decision-making methods of the professional gambler have spread to encompass a wide swath of human activities, from cryptocurrency investment to the pursuit of a more ethical life. He offers readers an interview-driven tour of the parts of America where the outlooks and incomes depend on sophisticated forms of risk-taking. The result is a glimpse of the economy of the future.” —Tim Wu, New York Times Book Review “Silver had initially intended to write mostly about gambling but ultimately widened his scope as he became convinced that gambling might provide a framework for understanding risk takers in other fields. The result is a book that’s more interesting—Silver managed to land an interview with Bankman-Fried shortly before his arrest in the Bahamas—and more subversive.”—Max Chafkin, Bloomberg Businessweek “Endlessly informative and fascinating, On The Edge is an indispensable guide to identifying the most feasible options in a messy, hypercompetitive world of uncertainty and risk.” —Glenn C. Altschuler, Pittsburgh Post Gazette “A compelling read… Silver covers a lot of ground in this likeable, insightful read, investigating risk-taking ability and how it applies to blue-sky investing. It’s worth the price of the tour.”—Alan Livsey, Financial Times ""Silver compellingly theorizes that humans are in general too risk averse... a thought-provoking interdisciplinary book which covers a host of timely topics from artificial intelligence, political theory and what happens when risk takers go too far.""—Krysta Fauria, AP “Masterly… If you — like me — find gambling irresistible … [A] highly readable and engaging tour.”—Sam Freedman, The Times (UK) “A clever look into a unique realm. An enlightening study of the people who play the game of risk and win.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred) “Colorful and enlightening”—Publishers Weekly"

Author Information

Nate Silver is the founder of FiveThirtyEight and the New York Times bestselling author of The Signal and the Noise. He writes the Substack ""Silver Bulletin.""

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