Customer Reviews:
 A good airport book, but not to the point December 4, 2008
The main thesis is that people underestimate the importance of random events. The book is very timely when I read it after the crash of 2008.
My key problem with the book is that the author beats around the bush all the time. It is not clear what his specific arguments are. Since the specific arguments are not clear, it is impossible to think about counter-arguments. And then he moves onto the next chapter and the same structure repeat itself. This kind of tires the intellectual part of my brain.
For my non-intellectual brain I do like reading the book, or halfway through skimming. Taleb provides some stories that gives you insight into the lives of traders. I don't find the author unbearable as some reviewers do. Actually I find it nice that he has a strong voice and trashes other people. Like when calling Wall Street economists for entertainers. That makes it more interesting. But the author is always careful not to trash any named individuals. That is not very brave, but I suppose he doesn't want to burn any bridges.
The takeaway of this book is: "I need to read some more books so that I have a better understanding of the issues in the book". Had I read ten books in the areas I would be in a position to rank this book. If you haven't read anything in the area, I would still recommend this book. It should sell well at airports, but I am sure that there are better books out there. Recommendations appreciated in the Comments section!
Taleb is unbelievably taken with himself (and has quite an affinity for parenthetical exposition). December 3, 2008
This was mostly a masturbatory essay by an author unbelievably taken with himself. The entire first third of the volume explains to the reader why the author is so smart, and why everyone else is so not smart. He embarks on a series of ad hominem attacks condemning many different people and professions as stupid, while offering no evidence outside of the fact that their trading account may have "blown up." Yes, the first third of book was "noise."
Moving onto part two, we actually get something for our $16.00: we get a basic statistical probability class reduced to laymen's terms. Taleb is certainly not revealing knowledge previously unknown to the world, but we do get maybe 25 pages of "signal."
Taleb's writing style is horrifically jumpy, and lacks the most basic flow techniques, and the last third of the book epitomizes this fact. Even more disappointing, Taleb fails to cleanly summarize the support for his stated hypothesis. He does, however, finally show some humility, if only in one or two sentences. Overall, just more "noise."
It appears Taleb badly needed to write this book as a means to vent and criticize. Although, I'm thinking this may have merely been a tactic to generate sales. His liberal use of hyperbole suggests he is deliberately trying to generate reactions from people and thus generate publicity for the work. An example of this is Taleb claiming that Warren Buffet is just a lucky idiot. The author provides preemptive defenses throughout the book despite the fact that he claims he puts wax in his ears while also reminding us that he has read the Odyssey. Wow, I'm impressed.
I have to agree with him on a few of his criticisms, however. I couldn't agree more when it comes to journalists and financial commentators, and most of all, people who consistenly incorrectly predict market movements on CNBC.
I found it very curious that Taleb systematically attacks the methods of traders in general, but does not let us in on what he does as a trader to maintain long term success. The only shred of evidence we get, is that Taleb does not write options. Okay, so we know what he doesn't do. As someone who trades options, and also does not write options, I would have liked a little elaboration on this topic. As a matter of fact, we don't get any real world applications of how to use the profound knowledge Taleb has bestowed upon us.
Overall, had Taleb employed the services of a professional author who could have organized the endless thoughts and perspectives of Taleb, he could have sold over a million copies, instead of just 260,000. Unfortunately, readers of this book have to endure what is really an autobiography of sorts, informing us of how "deep" the author is. He informs us that he works out at least twice in the book, he constantly brags about his knowledge of literature and philosophy, and let's us know that he travels Europe extensively (by leisurely train of course, because apparently flying is for white trash).
Anyways, the guy has a handful of good points. I just wish the book had some more content. I would have never read the book had I known it was going to be 250 pages of self indulgence written by an author who couldn't be more impressed with himself.
 This book will cause you to think! December 2, 2008
A great book. Read this, then follow up with the BLACK SWAN. I am more inclined to recommend this book for people who are self employed or investors. [.............]
Does not deliver December 1, 2008
The book sounds like it will give you some insight into the markets or the ramdomness of it. It builds on that expectation but does not deliver it slowly turns into a boring mumbuling of anecdotes. I did not finish the book and left it half way.
Good ideas, weak style November 25, 2008
Interesting. Annoying. Self-referential. Insulting. Exasperating. Ultimately, intriguing. Taleb is smart, but an autodidact and quite full of himself. (After he lobs his tenth purely gratuitous insult, he is no longer cute -- he is merely sociopathic.) He gets a lot right, but he also plays fast and loose with schools of thought in which his understanding is strictly superficial. (And as with many autodidacts, he has trouble identifying which areas these might be -- making humility the mark of the really smart ones.) Like Descartes, whom he loathes, he is a rich guy who has the time and the means to ruminate with a wide swath of other intellectuals. This breadth offers bridges from ideas with which the reader is familiar into new and intriguing places. And on the pragmatic side, the reader can ask himself just what this guy does that might have saved us from loosing our collective shirts in the market.
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