On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything

Like it or not, our lives in the U.S. are heavily influenced by professional risk takers — like the hedge fund managers and venture capitalists who shape much of the business environment. In On the Edge, Nate Silver — a New York Times bestselling author and founder of presidential-election forecast site Silver Bulletin — looks at how power brokers like entrepreneur Peter Thiel, now-convicted cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried and Open AI CEO Sam Altman are shaping the world. What they have in common, he argues, is not only a high tolerance for risk but an appreciation of uncertainty, an affinity for numbers, a distrust of conventional wisdom and an insatiable competitive drive. If you need a powerful reminder of why you’re doing all the work of building a Social Capital company where people are the ultimate bottom line, and what the alternative could be, pick up this fascinating book.