Life: The Odds: And How to Improve Them (精装)

出版时间：2003-12  出版社：第1版 (2003年10月1日)  作者：Gregory Baer  页数：252  
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内容概要

This is an entertaining book that succeeds despite its author's missteps as a humorist. In presenting the odds of all manner of events both possible ("Dating a Supermodel") and improbable ("Becoming a Professional Athlete"), Baer (The Great Mutual Fund Trap) is clearly emulating the Worst-Case Scenario books, which have turned studying extreme real-life events into a cottage industry. Baer knows and expertly uses statistics and probabilities: it is fascinating to learn, for example, that the chances of dying by being hit by an asteroid are three times greater than dying in a train crash or an earthquake and are 250 times greater than dying from a shark attack. He also provides some revealing sidebars on certain topics, such as his look at how the odds of celebrity divorce are even worse than the already horrible odds of divorce for newly married couples ("about even money, 1 to 1"). Baer sometimes interrupts his statistical analyses with attempts at Dave Barry-style one-liners, but they fall flat, such as when he insults the livability of Cleveland or comments on the looks of Prince Charles's paramour Camilla Parker Bowles. Because of its range of topics, this book should gain some word-of-mouth praise, however, and will likely improve water-cooler conversations.     Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

作者简介

GREGORY BAER is the coauthor of The Great Mutual Fund Trap. He has served as
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions and was formerly managing senior counsel at the Federal Reserve Board. A graduate of the University of North Carol

书籍目录

IntroductionA Brief Note on TerminologyPart 1:LOVE AND MARRIAGE　Dating a Supermodel　Being Poorly Endowed (or Romantically Linked to Someone Poorly Endowed)　Marrying Royalty　Marrying a Millionaire　D-I-V-O-R-C-EPart 2: CLIMBING THE LADDER OF SUCCESS　Achieving Sainthood　Secular Sainthood: Being Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor　Getting into an Ivy League College　Winning a Rhodes Scholarship　Writing a Best-selling Book　Going into Space　Winning an Academy Award　Growing Up to Be PresidentPart 3: REALLY BAD STUFF　Dying by Accident　Being Struck by Lightning　Being Possessed by Satan　Destruction of the Earth　Destruction of the UniversePart 4: THE SPORTING LIFE　Catching a Ball at a Major League Game　Reaching the Summit of Mount Everest　Hitting a Hole in One　Bowling a Perfect Game　Becoming a Professional AthletePart 5: MEDICAL MATTERS　Getting Hemorrhoids　Being Killed by Your Doctor　Dying of the Plague　Beating CancerPart 6: THE HUMAN CONDITION　Being Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon (or Anyone Else)  Sharing a Birthday　Being Overweight--and Losing Those Unwanted Pounds (For Good)!  Being Alone in the Universe  Giving Birth to a GirlPart 7: VOLENCE AND TRICKERYPart 8: THE COLOR OF MONEYPart 9: PANDOM GOOD FORTUNEEndnotesAcknowledgments