In the mid 1990s at a vast hotel complex on a private Florida beach dozens of bankers from JP Morgan gathered for what was to become a legendary off-site meeting. It was a wild weekend. But among the drinking nightclubbing & fist-fights lay a more serious purpose
- to assess the possibility of building a business around the new-fangled concepts of credit derivatives. The group at the heart of this revolution was an intense team made up of individuals with a supreme sense of loyalty to each other & to the bank
- for years nothing could break them apart. But when finally the team dispersed the innovations spread far beyond their original intentions producing perversions in the mortgage market that ultimately culminated in disaster. Part real-life thriller part investigation & expose this searing narrative takes us deep inside the shadowy world of complex finance
- a perfect storm for the credit crunch


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From the author of international bestseller The Black Swan" Nassim Nicholas Taleb's " Fooled by Randomness" is the bestselling account of the hidden role of chance in life & the markets. Everyone wants to succeed in life. But what causes some of us to be more successful than others? Is it really down to skill & strategy
- or something altogether more unpredictable? This book is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business & the world. It is all about luck: more precisely how we perceive luck in our personal & professional experiences. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the markets
- we hear an entrepreneur has 'vision' or a trader is 'talented' but all too often their performance is down to chance rather than skill. It is only because we fail to understand probability that we continue to believe events are non-random finding reasons where none exist. A " Financial Times" book of the year this irreverent bestseller has shattered the illusions of people around the world by teaching them how to recognize randomness. Now it can do the same for you. " One of the smartest books of all time". (" Fortune"). " An iconoclastic tour de force.. .nothing escapes his Exocets". (" Evening Standard"). " Brilliant". (John Kay). " Excellent & thought-provoking.. .an entertaining book". (" Financial Times"). " Wall Street's principal dissident". (Malcolm Gladwell). Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b.1960) has devoted his life to immersing himself in probelmce s of luck uncertainty probability & knowledge. His books " The Black Swan" & " Fooled by Randomness" have been published in thirty-one languages & " Fooled by Randomness" was selected by " Fortune" magazine as one of ' The Smartest Books of All Time'."

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A Ph D candidate in physics at Columbia University Alex Stone is also part of the underground magic circuit an exclusive community whose members convene regularly in pizza parlours & coffee shops to swap tips & develop new illusions. Determined to take his lifelong hobby to the professional level Stone embarks on a personal quest to reach the pinnacle of this bizarre world & become a master magician. But he has some learning to do. In Fooling Houdini" we journey through a strange & colourful subculture of obsessive brilliant & dysfunctional geniuses
- blind card sharps street-hustlers & Las Vegas showmen
- learning the principles & history of some of the greatest tricks ever performed. Seeking answers to broader questions about decision making the limits of perception & the nature of deception Stone helps us understand what happens as we attempt to distinguish reality from illusion & discovers the link between magic & psychology physics & even crime. From back-street scams to laboratories to the Magic Olympics " Fooling Houdini" reveals the mysterious world of magic as never before."

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Alex Stone part of the underground magic circuit is determined to take his lifelong hobby to the professional level to reach the pinnacle of this bizarre world & become a master magician. Combining his passion for magic with his studies in Physics Stone takes us on a journey through a strange & colourful subculture of brilliant characters
- a blind card sharp street-hustlers Las Vegas showmen & world-leading scientists
- as he seeks answers to the questions about the limits of perception & the psychology of deception & decision-making. By pulling back the curtain Stone reveals the principles & history of some of the greatest tricks ever performed.

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This title comes from the international bestseller of The Godfather". A story of big-time gamblers in a feverish world where law & organised crime are one & the same... From New York to Las Vegas Merlyn & his brother Artie obey their own code of honour in the ferment of contemporary America
- a world of greed lust violence & betrayal where the power of corruption & the corruption of power are nowhere better explored."
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This book offers simple ways to revive soothe pamper & feel fabulous all over: amazing reflexology techniques to recharge your body & improve your health with 300 photographs. This title covers everything you need to know about massage reflexology & aromatherapy to keep your feet & body feeling wonderful. Clear text & 300 beautiful pictures cover every aspect of foot therapy including pre-treatment warm-ups & all the basic techniques as well as simple foot care remedies lotions & scrubs that are easy to make at home. It offers treatments for all occasions from a luxurious foot-pamper session to a complete reflexology routine. It has quick fixes for everything from headaches & insomnia to anxiety back-ache & indigestion. Easy step-by-step self-treatments are included as well as routines to enjoy with a friend or partner. If youve ever uttered the words my feet are killing me you need this book. This informative guide will teach you how to pamper your feet & enjoy the total body benefits of good foot health
- even when youre always on the go. With its easy-to-follow advice & in-depth information on reflexology & massage this book shows you how to soothe aching feet to reduce stress promote relaxation & restore energy. You can discover how to use the ancient art of reflexology to diagnose & treat problems all over your body. Advice on using aromatherapy oils is also provided in this title from one of the worlds leading practitioners.
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Football coaches & players at all levels are increasingly having to look elsewhere for that psychological edge
- the mental discipline
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This is a mini version of the fascinating 100 Years of Football" with photographs h&-picked from the Press Association's archives. It is an essential & compelling addition to the bookshelves of fans of the sport. It is also a unique insight into our recent history; the crowds & backgrounds tell a story of their own. H&-picked by PA Photos' own archivists most of these images have lain unseen since they were used as news pictures when they were first taken. Each image has been scanned especially for these books many from glass plates ensuring the best possible quality of reproduction. Fans of football will find these books an essential & compelling addition to their shelves; a chance to see the people & witness the great moments of the last hundred years of the sport in Britain. The general reader will be equally fascinated by the unique insight into our recent history that these pictures provide: to modern eyes the crowds & backgrounds are as interesting as the subjects themselves." ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2011 ' Patrick Barclay traces the arc of the Scot's Govan youth to his Old Trafford supremacy with insight sensitivity & poise' Sports Book of the Year Sunday Telegraph Sir Alex Ferguson is the most controversial & compelling figure in football. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful. It's been more than ten years since Ferguson's Manchester United triumphed over Bayern Munich in the dying seconds of the Champions League final. Since then he has presided over the rise & fall & rise again of Jose Mourinho; the arrival & departure of the world's best player Ronaldo; the removal of one English talisman
- Beckham
- & the irresistible instalment of another
- Rooney. Ferguson has been instrumental in making the Premier League the most successful competition in football & he has endured while the mountains of cash have turned to valleys of debt. Throughout award-winning journalist Patrick Barclay has been pitch-side & spoken to all those who know Ferguson best
- fellow managers former players colleagues & commentators. The result is Football
- Bloody Hell!: the definitive work on the game's greatest living legend. ' Thorough of research rich of detail' Richard Williams Guardian Book of the Week ' Stylishly written admirably well-researched' Scotsman




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Throughout the world football is a potent force in the lives of billions of people. Focusing national political & cultural identities football is the medium through which the worlds hopes & fears passions & hatreds are expressed. Simon Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy from Russia to the USA to examine the way football has shaped them. At the same time he tried to find out what lies behind each nations distinctive style of play from the carefree self-expression of the Brazilians to the anxious calculation of the Italians. During his journeys he met an extraordinary range of players politicians &
- of course
- the fans themselves all of whom revealed in their different ways the unique place football has in the life of the planet.

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