The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb presents a new daring work that challenges long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility.
In his most provocative and practical book, one of our era's most important thinkers redefines what it means to understand the world, to succeed professionally, to contribute to a just society, and to influence others. Drawing examples from Hammurabi to Seneca and from the giant Antaeus to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to embrace the risks that come with it is an essential characteristic of heroes, saints, and successful people, wherever they come from.
"Personal stake" is a phrase we often hear, but rarely take the time to examine in depth. It is the backbone of risk management, as well as an incredibly rich worldview that, as Taleb shows in this book, encompasses all aspects of our lives.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb took risks for twenty-one years before turning to the study of philosophical, mathematical, and mainly (very) practical problems within the framework of probability theory. Although he spends most of his time wandering, contemplating in various cafes around the world, Taleb is a distinguished professor at the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University. His books make up the multi-volume collection Incerto and have been translated into more than thirty-six languages. Taleb has published over fifty scientific articles supporting the ideas developed in Incerto, with topics ranging from international affairs and risk management to statistical physics. He is characterized as "a rare combination of courage and erudition" and is recognized as the most important thinker in probability theory and uncertainty. Taleb primarily resides in New York.
Always maintaining the same accessible and iconoclastic style, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who lead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious beliefs.