Gladiators, Pirates and Games of Trust: How Game Theory, Strategy and Probability Rule Our Lives

Books like this are excellent guidelines on how education could be done in an engaging and effective manner. Instead of going into a quagmire of dense mathematical calculations, formulae and definitions the author manages to depict his subject as something very interesting and recognizable.The only potential downside is the lack of any advice or instruction about how to use the information in a more proactive way when dealing with certain situations, but it doesn't diminish the value of both the material and the writer's presentation skills.

Despite the author's efforts to explain game theory in language that non-mathematicians will understand, all too frequently, he ended sections with questions that those of us who are "lesser players" in math have little to no hope of answering. If the answers (and their explanations) were provided in an appendix, that would be fun. As it is, it's simply frustrating.But the book does do a very good job of explaining that the strategies people choose in the real world are a lot more complicated than any amount of math can explain.

This short book provides a brisk but wide-ranging first look at Game Theory via numerous examples and fairly minimal mathematics. It is very clearly written, and includes both the best-known examples (Prisoners' Dilemma, Ultimatum Game) and concepts (Nash Equilibria) and many less standard games, though often without going into much depth. So I can highly recommend it as a "first look" at the subject.Does this style of "made up stories involving settings with simple explicit rules" actually help everyday life? Wise to be skeptical. More serious is the point that pretty much any observed behavior can be "explained" as rational within some invented game -- and a theory that explains everything explains nothing.One quibble: the oft-repeated story "dozens of her neighbors witnessed the murder of Catherine Genovese" is essentially false (see Wikipedia).

It’s a great book but it will break your heart when you see how selfish mankind is. We deal w ppl who know game theory instinctively or have learned it in business schools - these masters of the world are self-dealing, egotistical maniacs because of whom the world is such a miserable place despite all the material wealth around us.It’s a great reality check. During negotiations I keep in mind what I learnt in this book despite the oppression I feel doing it.

a short book (which is a good idea) which provides a great first look at game theory.though the text is introductory, you can find many profound examples.

I really enjoyed reading this fascinating subject. The book is written in a light and funny way and reads quickly. A lot of food for thought

one of the best books about Game Theory - it is a fun read for persons without professional knowledge in this subject, but many insights may surprise even the experts.

Game Theory is a term many may have heard about, but fewer understand, so a book like this provides a clear, humorous and insightful look at how this mathematical formalization of interactive decision-making can impact on our everyday lives.We are all competitive, no matter what we may claim, and many play on this competitiveness to try and get us to share their news, buy their products, collect something and so-forth. It is not a one-way street, as our behaviours at auctions and retail sales can attest.This is a fascinating book that treats a serious subject in a serious way, albeit in an accessible and engaging style. A good balancing act has been achieved and reading it was a pleasure rather than a chore or something one may be required to endure! The author even makes the bold claim that the reader will, if they can remember the maths and tricks explained within, be a great asset at parties when they can amuse and amaze their friends at the same time. This has not yet been verified.An ideal “summer read” when you are travelling, lazing on the beach or just fancy swotting up on something you may not really know about. That said, even those who believe they know a lot about game theory could get some benefit from this book.

I have been fascinated by game theory for sometime. Beyond watching a few documentaries about it, I know relatively little. I toyed with the idea of reading Neumann's and Morgenstern's book but at a hefty £40 price tag I thought something more accessable was, perhaps, in order. I plumbed for this one.Shapira's book gives a good grounding in the princples of game theory and how it can apply in real life situatations using the well-known game theory dilemmas and paradoxes. It is not a text book on the subject but it does give a good introduction; I should describe it as a good starting point.Shapira describes the cases clearly enough for the layman to understand. There is no impenetrable mathematics. Whether this is considered a good or a bad thing depends on what the reader is hoping to get out of the book.If you have heard of game theory and want to know what it is all about then this is the book for you. If you want to study it in more detail then I suggest you look elsewhere.Is this book going to change your life? Probably not significantly but hopefully it will have the reading seeing things, especially events on the world stage, in a new light.

At first sight game theory would seem to have very little connection with everyday events and much more to do with psychologists conducting experiments with groups of volunteers. But it actually has a great deal to do with many of out interactions with other people, whether between two people or between groups of people. The principles also apply between nations and the author uses a frightening example of the Cuban Missile Crises.Reading this book can help you negotiating with others to get what you want in the most every day situations whether at home or at work. I found it interesting - though I don't pretend to understand the maths involved with some of the game analysis. Reading it did make me realise that I don't always work out what I want out of any situation which involves negotiation.There is a lot of information in this small book and it does repay careful study as it will help you to improve any situation which involves any sort of negotiation even if it only makes you realise that you have to decide in advance what your own bottom line might be.

For most of this book I didn't really see the point, perhaps the explanations were lacking or something. The chapter at the end, presenting or summarising conclusions was in my opinion quite badly written. I didn't see much explanation of how The Theory could be used in real life - the Diner's Dilemma for example is surely just a matter of common sense and how to keep your friends by not taking them for a ride.I've read better analysis of the Cuban missile crisis in a book on negotiation skills.Almost all of the book reminded me of an analysis I read by a Leading Economist of why popcorn is expensive in cinemas: his use of economic theory made no sense to me whatsoever and whilst I can see how Game Theory came to be invented I'm not much the wiser as to how to apply it in all but the simplest two-person situation; perhaps there's no way to do that, Yanis Varoufakis didn't have much success in using it when negotiating with the EU.

This is a simple easy introduction to Game Theory and other conundrums. There's not much maths, but don't let that put you off.

Well written, it may start you wondering if your friends are really what they seem! Then again, maybe the strategies will make you wonder if you can get one over on them without them realising! :-)