In the Sports Legacy series, a sympathetic, overdue look at a man with an extraordinary vision, and extraordinary will to match. Chiefly responsible for reviving the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin preferred to work behind the scenes, and was consequently often slighted. Did he mind? In this engaging portrait, Kristy suggests that he certainly did: ``He had never sought glory for himself, but it would have been nice to have glory thrust upon him.'' The author ably describes the birth of Coubertin's dream, and how he got the ball rolling through solicitations, negotiation, compromise, and outright tricks; so ``strenuous, exciting and profitable'' were his 1896 Games that, despite ceaseless contention and political maneuvering, the Olympic Movement has been growing ever since, adding winter games and (over Coubertin's strident objections) women's events. Brief accounts of the ancient Games, 19th-century precursors, and highlights of the first few Olympics flesh out the narrative, as do occasional side essays, plenty of small black-and-white photosold and newas well as some in full color. (notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12- 15)
Pub Date: July 21, 1995
ISBN: 0-8225-3327-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
A unique examination of the limits of models and theories in understanding and predicting human behavior, and a nice...
A fascinating cross-disciplinary exploration of how and why financial and scientific models fail.
Derman (Financial Engineering/Columbia Univ.; My Life as a Quant, 2004) is a former theoretical physicist turned Wall Street financial engineer, or quantitative analyst (“quant”). Having previously written about the world of quantitative finance, he now sets out to discover why existing financial models failed to predict the economic crisis of 2007-08. Quants use mathematics and physics to create their predictions of how markets work; Derman argues that these models fail to account for the human element, or what John Maynard Keynes called “animal sprits.” Drawing on his experience as a child in Apartheid South Africa, the author exposes the failure of models and theories when applied to politics. By incorporating philosophy, physics, social theory and economics, he presents an eclectic, multidisciplinary discussion about what happens when models are taken too seriously and the human factor is ignored. “The greatest conceptual danger is idolatry; believing that someone can write down a theory that encapsulates human behavior and thereby free you of the obligation to think for yourself,” he writes. Derman draws intriguing connections between the language of physics and economics, and while the material may be complex for nonphysicists, the author’s prose writing is fluid and makes many of these complicated theories accessible.
A unique examination of the limits of models and theories in understanding and predicting human behavior, and a nice rejoinder to the equations-can-solve-or-explain-everything crowd.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4391-6498-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
A helpful analysis for anyone who wants to know how the world got into the present financial mess, which issues need to be...
Will the rules of international finance be replaced; if so, what will be the terms? Economist columnist Coggan (Guide to Hedge Funds, 2008, etc.) tackles these questions and others in this comprehensive treatment of money and debt.
As an award-winning financial journalist, the author writes for the layperson, refusing to shelter behind the jargon of the dismal profession. Further, he doesn’t claim to know with certainty how the current crisis will play out. Coggan states forthrightly that the confusing mess in which we currently find ourselves—initiated in 2007-08 by subprime mortgages—is not just another upheaval in American finance but the end of an era, a major turning point. He does not think there can be a return to the status quo because the promises to pay made in earlier times cannot be honored. The author situates his conclusion in a discussion of the longer-run history of booms and busts of monetary systems, and their related structures of indebtedness. The extremes in this series included phases associated with the word “bubble”—e.g., the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles—and the hyperinflation of Weimar Germany. The rapid expansion of paper credit secured only on promises to pay from the proceeds of anticipated future growth caused crises when they outran the possibilities of growth. As a result, leaders reacted with draconian austerity to rebalance financial excess, often with gold-based monetary systems. Unfortunately, the United States has fallen from its once-lofty perch. “The US,” writes the author, “so long the dominant power, is watching nervously in its rear-view mirror as China catches up. In short, the confidence needed to borrow and lend is diminishing.”
A helpful analysis for anyone who wants to know how the world got into the present financial mess, which issues need to be addressed and what the consequences might be.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61039-126-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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