Peter L. Bernstein Classics : Capital Ideas, Against the Gods, The Power of Gold

Capital Ideas traces the origins of modern Wall Street, from the pioneering work of early scholars and the development of new theories in risk, valuation, and investment returns, to the actual implementation of these theories in the real world of investment management. Starting with the French mathematician Louis Bachelier-who wrote about the unpredictability of stock prices in the early 1900s-Bernstein brings to life a variety of brilliant academics who have contributed to modern investment theory over the years:

• Harry Markowitz, who wrote about optimizing the tradeoff between risk and reward
• William Sharpe, who shook the pillars of the investment establishment by asserting that the market cannot be beaten
• Fischer Black, Myron Scholes, and Robert Merlon, who paved the way for the creation of financial derivatives and new ways of controlling risk
• Franco Modigliani and Merlon Miller, who extolled the central role of arbitrage in determining the value of securities

Filled with in-depth insights and timeless advice, Capital Ideas reveals how the unique contributions of these talented individuals profoundly changed the practice of investment management as we know it today.

A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller

"Ambitious and readable ... an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism."
The New York Times

"An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book."!
The Wall Street Journal

"A lively panoramic book...Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it."
Business Week

"Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read."
The Economist

"[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world."
Worth

"No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement."
Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers

"With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Cods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it."
John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University

Praise for THE POWER OF GOLD and PETER L. BERNSTEIN

"Mr. Bernstein has turned this story-not an obvious golden opportunity for even a writer of Mr. Bernstein's skill-into a real page-turner."
The Wall Street Journal

"Bernstein's volume is a tour de force with a satisfying conclusion: The characters in this drama prove themselves 'fools for gold, chasing an illusion."
Business Week

"This book is an eloquent, brilliantly written historical review of how gold has influenced the evolution of monetary systems and trade, from early civilizations to the present day. Bernstein succeeds in presenting an enormous amount of research in a format as easy to read and as captivating as the best murder mystery."
Risk magazine

"There are sugarplums throughout the book... The pleasure of the book is in its sheer number of unknown places and interesting episodes."
The New York Times

"The triumph of Peter Bernstein's book is that in the end you understand why and how it happened that the golden dog no longer barks. Bernstein is America's greatest living economic journalist."
The Boston Globe

"Bernstein... does full justice to his material. Almost every chapter contains some detail to surprise or delight."
Financial Times

"The range of research evident throughout the book is staggering... Bernstein's ear for the telling quote is pitch perfect."
USA Today