Allison Schrager Knihy

Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot wave? Is making an action movie riskier than a horror film? Should sex workers give up half their income for security or keep the extra money? Most wouldn't expect an economist to address these questions, but Allison Schrager, an award-winning journalist and economist, has dedicated her career to exploring how people manage risk in their lives. We all take risks daily, and even the most cautious among us must choose which risks to embrace. The challenge lies in measuring those risks and maximizing our chances of achieving our goals. Schrager provides readers with five principles for navigating risk, drawn from interviews with fascinating risk-takers. She speaks with a professional poker player on maintaining rationality under pressure, a Manhattan paparazzo on identifying various risks, Kentucky horse breeders on diversifying risk, and a war general about preparing for the unexpected. By applying Schrager's framework to risky decisions, readers can enhance the potential benefits of any situation while effectively managing the downsides.

Whether we realise it or not, we all take risks large and small every day. Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out - the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all. What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximise the chances of getting what we want out of life. In An Economist Walks into a Brothel, Allison Schrager equips readers with five principles for dealing with risk, principles used by some of the world's most interesting risk takers.