On the Edge

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything by Nate Silver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I enjoyed this book and when I enjoy a book, I give it a 5. If I don't like it, it gets a 1 and it it's meh, or if I loved some and hated other parts, I give it a 3. I hardly ever use 2 or 4. That said, this book is not perfect. I noted a number of complaints from those giving it a 1. The first was it dealt too much with poker and sports betting. If you don't like these things I don't think this book is for you. The second was the audio version wasn't clear. I didn't experience that. For me the speaker did a fine job; however, perhaps if I lived somewhere in the south where people speak slower, I might have encountered difficulty. The third was the author was all over the map. There is some truth to this, and the book might have been organized better but the lack of focus didn't bother me. There is a section in the middle where the author discusses philosophy and what he terms 'effective altruism' I found tedious, but it wasn't sufficiently annoying to bother me much. I was simply glad when he got past it. One other criticism was the author was a name dropper. This is quite true but once more it didn't bother me. If he hopes to garner points with someone - or himself - by dropping names he's welcome to do so. Despite these faults I enjoyed the book but I don't think I'll take up gambling.



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