The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street – A New York Times Bestseller on Economics, Finance, and Investing Theory - Softcover

Fox, Justin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060599030 ISBN 13: 9780060599034

Publisher: Harper Business, 2011

Synopsis

“Do we really need yet another book about the financial crisis? Yes, we do—because this one is different….A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the mess we’re in.”
—Paul Krugman, New York Times Book Review

 

“Fox makes business history thrilling.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

A lively history of ideas, The Myth of the Rational Market by former Time Magazine economics columnist Justin Fox, describes with insight and wit the rise and fall of the world’s most influential investing idea: the efficient markets theory. Both a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book of the Year—longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award and named one of Library Journal Best Business Books of the Year—The Myth of the Rational Market carries readers from the earliest days of Wall Street to the current financial crisis, debunking the long-held myth that the stock market is always right in the process while intelligently exploring the replacement theory of behavioral economics.

About this title

About the Author

Justin Fox is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, where he also contributes to Bloomberg Weekend and Bloomberg Businessweek and makes wonky videos that occasionally go viral. He previously served as editorial director of the Harvard Business Review, originated the "Curious Capitalist" column and blog for Time, and was a writer and editor at Fortune. He started out in journalism as farm editor of a small daily paper in California’s San Joaquin Valley, and has been a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He lives in New York City.

From the Back Cover

The financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent Great Recession demolished many cherished beliefs—most significantly, the theory that financial markets always get things right. Justin Fox's The Myth of the Rational Market explains where that idea came from, and where it went wrong. As much an intellectual whodunit as a cultural history of the perils and possibilities of risk, it also brings to life the people and ideas that forged modern finance and investing—from the formative days of Wall Street through the Great Depression and into the financial calamities of today. It's a tale featuring professors who made and lost fortunes, battled fiercely over ideas, beat the house at blackjack, wrote bestselling books, and played major roles on the world stage. It's also a story of free-market capitalism's war with itself.

From the Inside Flap

The financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent Great Recession demolished many cherished beliefs--most significantly, the theory that financial markets always get things right. Justin Fox's The Myth of the Rational Market explains where that idea came from, and where it went wrong. As much an intellectual whodunit as a cultural history of the perils and possibilities of risk, it also brings to life the people and ideas that forged modern finance and investing--from the formative days of Wall Street through the Great Depression and into the financial calamities of today. It's a tale featuring professors who made and lost fortunes, battled fiercely over ideas, beat the house at blackjack, wrote bestselling books, and played major roles on the world stage. It's also a story of free-market capitalism's war with itself.

--Barron's

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Business
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060599030
• ISBN 13: 9780060599034
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416