On the Edge

The Art of Risking Everything

De: Nate Silver

Narrado por: Nate Silver

The Instant New York Times Bestseller | With a New Preface from Nate Silver for 2025

New York Times Book Review Paperback Row selection

“Engaging and entertaining . . . a glimpse of the economy of the future.”—Tim Wu, New York Times Book Review

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Signal and the Noise, the definitive guide to our era of risk—and the players raising the stakes

In a world wired for chaos, these players are rewriting the rules. High-stakes, high-IQ, and often high on their own mythologies, they are driving the next era of finance, tech, and politics. But what happens when their bets go too far?

Nate Silver’s On The Edge reveals the hidden world of the River. It is the domain of gamblers and like-minded folks who move markets and change the fabric of society: poker legends, hedge fund titans, crypto speculators, and even those willing to bet the world’s future on AI. They are obsessives with a deep hunger for volatility and an unrelenting desire to exploit every edge over the rest of us. Silver embeds with them, competing in the World Series of Poker, visiting Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX compound, and attending wild Miami yacht parties at the height of the crypto bubble.

On the Edge is a front-row seat to a new world order built on risk, math, and ambition—a gripping ride through the minds shaping your future, whether you like it or not.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of charts and a glossary of terms from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Nate Silver (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Fascinating report from a distant land

In the language of Nate Silver, I am a lifelong Villager— conventional, square, behind every curve. Like the Lewis & Clark of advanced probabilistic thinking, he brings back vivid reports of a world I dimly perceive. I wouldn’t gamble if you paid me, but his analysis of poker playing is riveting. He starts with something we recognize and builds out from there into increasingly complex structures of thought. He is relentlessly fascinating. This is a wide ranging, artfully structured book. He is a great witty companion. My only complaint is that this book ends. I wanted more.

Fun and well-articulated discussion of managed risks

Full disclosure, I’m a fan of Nate Silver’s writing. I know a lot of folks don’t enjoy him, but for those who enjoy his somewhat snarky, plain spoken style, this book is a treat.

grest review of risk

loved concise explanations of čomplex ideas. did a good job of giving overview of risk

Loved it

Really fun book, really spoke to me. I play competitive magic the gathering. The one part I didn’t enjoy was his impressions. Who told him to keep the silly voices? Haha.

Interesting bits with an imperfect though line.

I loved Silver’s The Signal and the Noise, and was excited for this book, but while I found many of the anecdotes interesting, the comprehensive argument didn’t grab me. I believe the thesis is sound, but it felt like the stories used to support it too often wandered off on tangents.

A fascinating look at risk and the different risk tribes that have developed

Very good book read by author himself . The two different tribes , the risk-neutral river driving innovation and the risk averse village (arguably holding us back with insane levels of caution) get a thorough and more balanced than this treatment

fascinating examination of risk takers

it helped me understand people who like to take risks. Great narative, very engaging. I learned a lot about the movers and shakers in our modern world

Fantastic job by Nate!

Gave a great historical overview of the River and the Village, and fascinating look at the future!

Never boring. As soon as I got tired of a subject it moved into a new area.

I like how seamless the story was. I would say he spends just a bit too much time on poker (probably could have cut out about 10% of it) but overall it was solid from start to finish.

ADHD

This book was all over the place. Gambling, risk, Sam Altman, SBF, Fox's vs. hedgehogs—all kinds of held together by a thread of risk taken. Signal and Noise was great. This feels like multiple short books Frankensteined together. Lots of good information, so it's not bad, but just oddly put together. We reviewed this in my book club, and we all stumbled through it without much excitement but a feeling of, “Are we there yet?”