Tracing the history of the concepts of luck and fortune, destiny and fate, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day - in religion, in banking, in politics - Ed Smith argues that the question of luck versus skill is as pertinent today as it has ever been.
Weaving in his personal stories - notably the fortunate encounter, on a train he seemed fated to miss, with a beautiful stranger who would become his wife - he challenges us to think again about chance, and to re-examine the question of innate ability and of privileges, both accidental and unavoidable, that are conferred at birth.
Embracing luck leads us to a fresh reappraisal of the nature of success, opportunity and fairness, and the case is ready to be made.
Tracing the history of the concepts of luck and fortune, destiny and fate, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day - in religion, in banking, in politics - Ed Smith argues that the question of luck versus skill is as pertinent today as it has ever been.
Weaving in his personal stories - notably the fortunate encounter, on a train he seemed fated to miss, with a beautiful stranger who would become his wife - he challenges us to think again about chance, and to re-examine the question of innate ability and of privileges, both accidental and unavoidable, that are conferred at birth.
Embracing luck leads us to a fresh reappraisal of the nature of success, opportunity and fairness, and the case is ready to be made.
To what extent do we control our own destiny? Can those who have risen to the top really say it was all down to them? Is lucky success somehow less deserving?
Ed Smith is an author and journalist, and a former international cricketer who has represented England, Cambridge University, Kent and Middlesex. Ed Smith's previous books include Playing Hard Ball, On and Off the Field - the Wisden Book of the Year and shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and The Cricket Society Book of the Year Award - and the critically acclaimed, What Sport Tells Us About Life. After retiring from cricket Ed Smith became a leader writer for The Times. He is now a features writer for The Times, has a column in GQ and writes regularly for the Spectator. In 2010 he wrote and presented a TV documentary for BBC1 and now appears regularly on the Today Programme. Ed Smith lives in London.
Only those with scars on their body should be taken seriously when
they talk about randomness. Ed is one of them; he is for real
*Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black Swan, on Luck*
Very, very well written, excellent story-telling, great ideas.
Brilliant
*William Leith*
There's hardly a sentence here that isn't clear, thought-provoking
and beautifully expressed. Sport bores me rigid. Inspirational
books repel me. But Smith on sport, life and luck brings fresh ways
of looking at things on every page and, despite myself, I read
on
*Matthew Parris*
Smith takes a taboo subject and knocks the cover off it. You start
off reassessing sport and end up reassessing your own life
*Simon Barnes*
I love this book. It combines experience and erudition to show that
luck shapes life in sport, politics, business, and love. In a way
rare since ancient Athens, Ed Smith embodies a classical ideal:
excellence in sport and thought
*Felipe Fernandez-Armesto*
Smith's entertaining exploration of creativity and inspiration
would be every bit as useful to a poet or a songwriter as to an
opening batsman
*Nick Hornby on What Sport Tells Us About Life*
Recommended to anyone interested in sport, history or simply human
nature
*Mark Lawson, Front Row*
An exceptional book: lucid, thought-provoking, informative and
fair. Outstanding
*The Times*
A terrific book
*Mike Atherton*
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