A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market

The book is a captivating life story of Edward Thorp, arguably the greatest Quant. He was a mathematician and academic to start with, who developed interest in casino games like blackjack and roulette. He mastered the art of card counting and proved that it was possible to beat the casinos at their own game. He was associated with great Claude Shannon, a father of information theory, which led to Information Technology. He used the famous Kelly principle in placing the bets. Ed Thorp got interested in investing after beating the casinos. He mastered the art of hedging by using long/ short positions in the same company's different types of securities. This was essentially a low risk strategy which produced index beating annual returns of 19.1 % compared to 10.2% for S & P 500 over a period of 20 years from 1969 to 1988. The book contains great investment advice from a very successful practitioner. A chapter on Financial Crisis of 2008 is an excellent exposition about what led to financial crisis of 2008 and how the governments, regulators and investors failed to learn lessons from the same. A must read for all serious investors and investment professionals.

Very interesting book for people interested in investing or gambling. Some moments are really gold in book while some can be skipped easily.

People seem to be disappointed with this book because they expect some unique insights from a genius like Ed Thorp. Here's the catch: if you were psyched about this release, you already knew of Throp's major contributions. This brings me to the problem with rating biographical texts. Biographies, individually read, are rarely that "insightful" (for the lack of a better word); the value of biographies comes from reading lots of them and finding patterns because they provide extensive context. If you want to explore Thorp's work more in detail, you'd be better off reading "Beat the Dealer," "Fortune's Formula," and the "Kelly Capital Growth Investment Criterion." Like any other biography, this one has both exciting and drab bits. The former make a (significantly) larger chunk of the book than the latter. Thorp's writing style is clear; his stories, thrilling.

This is a very readable book. It was written with enthusiasm and in a laymans language. Highly recommended but it is more an auto biography and understanding the achievements and way of thinking of Edward Thorp

Marvelously written. Practical wisdom and highly engaging. Highly recommended reading.

Edward throp, Professor of Mathematics, Co-inventor of wearable computer in 1962(along with Claude Shanon), Successful Hedge fund manager and the Man who gave Nevada Casinos a run for their money has lived an interesting and a bad-ass life. The book is dividend into three parts. Part one deals with his childhood. Part 2 is days in Nevada beating the Casino in their own game and Part 3 is basically this days in stocks and his views on the modern day crises. I was super excited about his memoir coming out this year. Unfortunately, you have to read between the lines to understand his brilliant mind and his methods. Offers little insights for a 400page memoir. A bit disappointed.

This is the autobiography of the celebrated mathematics professor Edward Thorp. This book will interest mathematicians, blackjack enthusiasts, card counters, and anyone interested in markets. The book begins Ed, two years old at that time, recalling his parents searching for a home. Strangely, he even remembers the exact words his parents spoke :) There are several chapters dedicated to blackjack and strategies to win in the game. These detailed theories can be boring for those who don't follow the game. The next chapters talk about horse racing, which can be even more boring. The following chapters are dedicated to wall street. There is an interesting chapter about the various ponzi schemes in the stock market. One of the most heartening chapters of the book is about Warren buffet and Berkshire. This talks about the history and journey of the stock price of Berkshire. Equally interesting is the way the stock was perceived by the market throughout this journey. In the following chapter, Ed blasts through the EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis) and proves with ample examples that the markets can be beaten. He also provides the guidelines for you to beat the markets as an investor.

Insight into one of the best kinds of all time. Fascinating read and is engaging must read for all investors