A World of Chance: Betting on Religion, Games, Wall Street: Reuven Brenner, Gabrielle A. Brenner, Aaron Brown
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘Did you know that the modern insurance industry is a direct outgrowth of gambling? Did you know that poker provided one of the most important sources of capital for penniless Western frontiersmen in the United States? Did you know that major opera houses of Europe began as gambling halls with the theaters attached (history, if not always the quality of music, repeats itself in Las Vegas)? Do you know the real reason the NFL resists the legalization of sports betting in America? For the fascinating answers and insights into the politics, the finance and the economics of that over-maligned pastime, gambling, and, yes, including the surprising role it has frequently played in finance - read A World of Chance. The odds are strong that you will love it.’ Henry G. Manne, Dean Emeritus, George Mason Law School ‘No one since Joseph Schumpeter has done more than Reuven Brenner to put risk-taking and innovation at the center of economic theory.’ Laury Minard, Forbes ‘A World of Chance undermines our usual view of ‘economic man’ and substitutes the angst-ridden, uncertain denizen of a world that offers no certainties and requires risk-taking as a matter of survival. … For providing a theoretical foundation for the counter-intuitive behavior of American taxpayers, the Brenners deserve the Nobel Prize in economics.’ Asia Times
Review
“Did you know that the modern insurance industry is a direct outgrowth of gambling? Did you know that poker provided one of the most important sources of capital for penniless Western frontiersmen in the United States? Did you know that major opera houses of Europe began as gambling halls with the theaters attached (history, if not always the quality of music, repeats itself in Las Vegas)? Do you know the real reason the NFL resists the legalization of sports betting in America? For the fascinating answers and insights into the politics, the finance, and the economics of that over-maligned pastime, gambling, and, yes, including the surprising role it has frequently played in finance - read A World of Chance. The odds are strong that you will love it.” - Henry G. Manne, Dean Emeritus, George Mason Law School
“A World of Chance undermines our usual view of ‘economic man’ and substitutes the angst-ridden, uncertain denizen of a world that offers no certainties and requires risk-taking as a matter of survival…. For providing a theoretical foundation for the counter-intuitive behavior of American taxpayers, the Brenners deserve the Nobel Prize in economics.” - Asia Times
“No one since Joseph Schumpeter has done more than Reuven Brenner to put risk-taking and innovation at the center of economic theory.” - Laury Minard, Forbes
“…a fine, freshly produced reference for those presenting the argument about pros and cons of gambling versus Wall Street and how they compare in the 21st Century.” - Howard Schwartz, The Gamblers Bookshop
Praise for Rivalry: “This is an important book. Schumpeter would have been impressed.” - Graham Bannock, Business Economist
Praise for Gambling and Speculation: “Brenner is one of the freshest writers I have read in economics, willing to introduce himself into his prose and express (sometimes outrageous) opinions. I like to read him.” - Richard C. Rockwell, Social Science Research Council
