Jane Austen, Game Theorist - Hardcover

Chwe, Michael Suk–you

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691155763 ISBN 13: 9780691155760

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Title: Jane Austen, Game Theorist <>Binding: Hardcover <>Author: Michael Suk Young Chwe <>Publisher: University Press Group Ltd

About this title

Review:

"Michael Chwe shows that Jane Austen is a strategic analyst--a game theorist whose characters exercise strategic thinking. Game theorists usually study war, business, crime and punishment, diplomacy, politics, and one-upmanship. Jane Austen studies social advancement, romantic relationships, and even gamesmanship. Game theorists will enjoy this venture into unfamiliar territory, while Jane Austen fans will enjoy being illuminated about their favorite author's strategic acumen--and learn a little game theory besides."--Thomas C. Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics

"Jane Austen's novels provide wonderful examples of strategic thinking in the lives of ordinary people. In Jane Austen, Game Theorist, Michael Chwe brilliantly brings out these strategies, and Austen's intuitive game-theoretic analysis of these situations and actions. This book will transform the way you read literature."--Avinash Dixit, coauthor of The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life

"Jane Austen, game theorist?! You will cry, how absurd! But you will be wrong. Michael Chwe's beautifully written and argued book makes the case, crushingly, that Our Jane was fascinated by human prudent interaction--what the game theorists call strategy. Based on deep familiarity with the novels and their scholarly literature, his book will instruct and delight both literary critics and economists. Combining the humanities and social sciences for mutual illumination, Chwe practices a 'humanomics' masterfully."--Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Illinois, Chicago

"Whether you're an intelligent strategic thinker or a clueless bureaucrat, this book will teach and delight you. The merger of game theory and Jane Austen, with extended examples from African American folklore and U.S. foreign policy, provides the best study I know of motive and cluelessness. Michael Chwe, a rare breed of political scientist, has raised the game of two disciplines. This is a genuinely interdisciplinary work that avoids the reductionism of much game theory and the provincialism of many Austen admirers."--Regenia Gagnier, author of The Insatiability of Human Wants: Economics and Aesthetics in Market Society

"It would be useful for everyone to understand a little bit more about strategic thinking. Jane Austen seems not only to get this, but to explore it obsessively. Looking at Austen and other works, this persuasive book shows that the game theory in historical sources is not inherently opposed to humanistic thinking, but embedded within it."--Laura J. Rosenthal, University of Maryland

"Polished, organized, and well-documented, this book demonstrates the existence of well-defined game theory in historical texts. Jane Austen, in particular, develops a clear model of strategic thinking in her novels. Michael Chwe shows the efficacy and pitfalls of such thinking in her characters' actions, and in their perceptions and understanding of the actions of others. An enjoyable read."--Susan Skeath, coauthor of Games of Strategy

"Jane Austen, Game Theorist . . . is more than the larky scholarly equivalent of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.'. . . Mr. Chwe argues that Austen isn't merely fodder for game-theoretical analysis, but an unacknowledged founder of the discipline itself: a kind of Empire-waisted version of the mathematician and cold war thinker John von Neumann, ruthlessly breaking down the stratagems of 18th-century social warfare."---Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times

"[A] convincing case for how mathematical models and fictional narratives can work towards reciprocal illustration."---Jonathan Sachs, Times Literary Supplement

"This is insightful literary analysis at its most accessible and enjoyable."---Kate Hutchings, Huffington Post Books

"Jane Austen, Game Theorist should join the list of strategic classics like The Art of War . . . on the shelf of everybody who wants to be effective in life."---Diane Coyle, Enlightenment Economics

About the Author:

Michael Suk-Young Chwe is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge (Princeton).

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0691155763
• ISBN 13: 9780691155760
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288