Freaks of Fortune
Book description
Until the early nineteenth century, "risk" was a specialized term: it was the commodity exchanged in a marine insurance contract. Freaks of Fortune tells the story of how the modern concept of risk emerged in the United States. Born on the high seas, risk migrated inland and became essential to…
Why read it?
1 author picked Freaks of Fortune as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Although this book is ostensibly about risk, none of Levy’s fascinating case studies stray far from money. Indeed, one of his central claims is that modern capitalism transforms risk into a financial calculation, whereby money’s fluid nature can be employed to divert uncertainty in different directions. Although the goal in such transactions is always to contain risk, the reality (as brilliantly recounted by Levy) is far less certain.
I read this book immediately after writing about the history of British life insurance, and most of these cases (about insuring slave ships, African-American savings, farm mortgages, and the stock market, among…
From Timothy's list on the strangeness of money.
If you love Freaks of Fortune...
The Coaching Habit
The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.
It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".
It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,…
Want books like Freaks of Fortune?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Freaks of Fortune.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,593
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Freaks of Fortune, you might also like...
The Deviant Prison
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…
We Had Fun and Nobody Died
This irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a promoter’s perspective. From a young age, Peter Jest was determined to make a career in live music, and despite naysayers and obstacles, he did just that, bringing national acts to his college campus atUW-Milwaukee, booking thousands of…
