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Summary: Learning about risk and uncertainty can be pleasant!
Review: This is a pleasant and instructive book. It tells very human stories to show how people learned to think about risk. Bernstein also shows considerable understanding of the human nature.
This book may be enough for someone who is only curious about risk management, but it is also a very useful complement for someone who studies it seriously. Although it addresses risk management in investment decisions, its approach is also useful for understanding uncertainty in process management, which was pioneered by Walter Shewhart and widely taught by W. E. Deming.
Rating: 
Summary: Collect for your library, but not for your reference shelf
Review: A daunting task, to try and catalog the development of risk analysis. For that the author must be commended for his painstaking research. However, sloppy editing (spelling & algebraic errors) does take away from the overall impact of the book and thus relegates it to the not-so-favourite stack.
Rating: 
Summary: A good introduction to the use of statistics in investing
Review: An intertaining and lively introduction into the use of statistics in trying to understand the stock market. The book was well written and the author gave an excellent review of the evolution of mathematical thinking about probability and its relation to investing. I felt my time was well spent reading this book.
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Summary: Excellent historical perspective on risk management
Review: This book gives an excellent perspective on the development of probability theory, and its application to risk management. It is written in a language that is understandable by the average reader. It is also interesting reading for a serious student of risk management
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Summary: Required Reading for Insurance Brokers
Review: Any insurance executive should read and memorialize this novel. The concepts of risk and risk transfer are becoming more and more important as financial services consolidate and insurance and other risk tranferrence mechanisms blur.
Rating:
Summary: Good information, but too much "filler"
Review: The story of the development of probability theory is an interesting one, but the author's lengthy descriptions of the backgrounds and personal lives of the players make the book a sometimes tiring read.
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Summary: Thank God I read this book!
Review: If you are in the financial markets, I bet that something, somewhere in this book will provide you with a hint of an idea to be more successful. Be it
gambling, statistics, history,
derivatives
or even prospect theory, this book talks about it all. I was particularly fascinated by the extent of Peter's knowledge of history, going back to Al-Khowrizmi (after which the word algorithm came into being) and coming all the way to the use of derivatives.
For knowledge that *will* fill you up and never let you down, go "Against the Gods"!
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable, non-technical look at risk
Review: Except for the last three chapters, this book provided an easy to read, yet complete history of the math of risk. Assessing risk is something everybody does every day. Reading this book will give you pause next time you assess a risk, even a small one like "should I get up this morning?"
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I couldn't stop reading this book! Granted I am merely college educated, so some apparent errors mentioned in other reviews did not glare at me. The overall message is awe-inspiring. I am sending copies to friends and family
Rating:
Summary: Unique ability to capture the attention of all readers.
Review: Bernstein brings alive mathematics and how it has affected all of our lives and our ancestors over the past 5000 years. This work is that of a great historian who can relate history with real business applications. And, to top that off, he is a terrific story-teller. This is a "must read" for all business people, investors,economists, teachers, designers, and those who think mathematics has little to do with their everyday life
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