The Myth of the Rational Market - by Justin Fox (Paperback)

About the Book

Book 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.

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.

Review Quotes

"An intellectual tour-de-force..." - The Economist

"A fascinating historical narrative." - Roger Lowenstein, The Washington Post

"Impressively broad and richly researched." - Financial Times

"An engaging history..." - Joe Nocera, New York Times

"...a rich history of the world's most seductive investing idea...the book chronicles the rise of rational market theory over the decades and captures the sizzle and pop of the intellectual debate ..." - Bloomberg

"Good wonky fun." - Barry Ritholz, The Big Picture blog

"A valuable and highly readable history of risk and reward." - Burton Malkiel, Wall Street Journal

"Fox's explanations of technical material are superbly accurate and readable... Clearly the result of many years of research and reading, ... it is a model of what the popularization of social science can be, but too rarely is, and it will continue to be read when the current crisis is many years behind us." - American Scientist

"Do we really need yet another book about the financial crisis? Yes, we do -- because this one is different. Fox's book is not an idle exercise in intellectual history, which makes it a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the mess we're in." - Paul Krugman, New York Times Book Review

"Superbly accurate and readable... Clearly the result of many years of research and reading, ... it is a model of what the popularization of social science can be, but too rarely is, and it will continue to be read when the current crisis is many years behind us." - American Scientist

"A tough, tasty steak of a book." - Dan Neil, Los Angeles Times

"A thoughtful, often fascinating, always illuminating history of the idea of market rationality." - Cory Doctorow, boingboing.net

"This wise and witty book is must reading for anyone who wonders what makes financial markets tick. Even those who have wrestled with this question for years will be glad to have read Fox's compelling history." - Peter Bernstein, author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk

"Justin Fox is a truly insightful fellow who can see things with his own eyes--a rare, very rare attribute." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan

"His analysis is singularly compelling, and the rare business history that reads like a thriller... A must-read for anyone interested in the markets, our economy or government, this dense but spellbinding work brings modern finance and economics to life." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A lucid, lively and learned account." - Barron's

"Fox makes business history thrilling." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch