Luck: What It Means and Why It Matters - Softcover

Smith, Ed

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408826577 ISBN 13: 9781408826577

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

Tracing the history of the concepts of luck and fortune, destiny and fate, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day - in religion, in banking, in politics - Ed Smith argues that the question of luck versus skill is as pertinent today as it has ever been.

Weaving in his personal stories - notably the fortunate encounter, on a train he seemed fated to miss, with a beautiful stranger who would become his wife - he challenges us to think again about chance, and to re-examine the question of innate ability and of privileges, both accidental and unavoidable, that are conferred at birth.

Embracing luck leads us to a fresh reappraisal of the nature of success, opportunity and fairness, and the case is ready to be made.

About this title

Review:

'Only those with scars on their body should be taken seriously when they talk about randomness. Ed is one of them; he is for real' Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black Swan, on Luck

'Very, very well written, excellent story-telling, great ideas. Brilliant' William Leith

'There's hardly a sentence here that isn't clear, thought-provoking and beautifully expressed. Sport bores me rigid. Inspirational books repel me. But Smith on sport, life and luck brings fresh ways of looking at things on every page and, despite myself, I read on Matthew Parris Smith takes a taboo subject and knocks the cover off it. You start off reassessing sport and end up reassessing your own life' --Simon Barnes

'I love this book. It combines experience and erudition to show that luck shapes life in sport, politics, business, and love. In a way rare since ancient Athens, Ed Smith embodies a classical ideal: excellence in sport and thought' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

'Smith's entertaining exploration of creativity and inspiration would be every bit as useful to a poet or a songwriter as to an opening batsman' --Nick Hornby on What Sport Tells Us About Life

'Recommended to anyone interested in sport, history or simply human nature' Mark Lawson, Front Row

'An exceptional book: lucid, thought-provoking, informative and fair. Outstanding' The Times

'A terrific book' --Mike Atherton

Book Description:

To what extent do we control our own destiny? Can those who have risen to the top really say it was all down to them? Is lucky success somehow less deserving?

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1408826577
• ISBN 13: 9781408826577
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256