Shortlisted for the 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books.

A sharp and occasionally very funny guide to the effects Randomness has on our lives showing how our need to find patterns in the external world can lead us astray. Leonard Mdlodinow packs his text with some startling examples such as the trial of O J Simpson, Hollywood winners and clunkers and the success rates of company executives. Amazing facts, a thorough tour of all the theories of chance, it will give you a great insight into the problems of our random world.

Comparison: The Logic of Life by Tim Harford, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, Irrationality by Stuart Sutherland

Synopsis

Leonard Mlodinow reveals the psychological illusions that prevent us understanding everything from stock-picking to wine-tasting, winning the lottery to road safety, and reveals the truth about the success of sporting heroes and film stars, and even how to make sense of a blood test.

The Drunkard's Walk is an exhilarating, eye-opening guide to understanding our random world - read it, so you won't be left a victim of chance.

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About the Author

Leonard Mlodinow has a PhD, has been a member of the faculty of the California Institute of Technology, a television writer in Hollywood, as well as developing many award winning CD-Roms. He is currently Vice President of Emerging Technologies and R&D at Scholastic Inc and lives in New York city. He is the author of Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace (Penguin, 2002) and The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives (Penguin, 2008). More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation