"The need for realism in reform of its monetary system is what makes Bernstein's story of the Power of Gold so timely. It is a compelling reminder that maintaining a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates were difficult even in a simpler financial environment....Peter Bernstein was reluctant to project the story of gold into the future. But to me his message was clear. Yes, gold will be with us, valued not only for its intrinsic qualities but as a last refuge and store of value in turbulent times. But its days as money, as a means of payment and a fixed unit of account are gone."--From the New Foreword by Paul Volcker

This bestselling book reveals a record of human nature in the ubiquity of gold with a new foreword by Paul Volcker

In this exciting book, the late Peter L. Bernstein tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by the gold standard and its aftermath, gold has led many of its most eager and proud possessors to a bad end. And while the same cycle of obsession and desperation may reverberate in today's fast-moving, electronically-driven markets, the role of gold in shaping human history is the striking feature of this tumultuous tale. Such is the power of gold.

Whether it is Egyptian pharaohs with depraved tastes, the luxury-mad survivors of the Black Death, the Chinese inventor of paper money, the pirates on the Spanish Main, or the hardnosed believers in the international gold standard, gold has been the supreme possession. It has been an icon for greed and an emblem of rectitude, as well as a vehicle for vanity and a badge of power that has shaped the destiny of humanity through the ages.Discusses the beginnings of gold as something with magical, religious, and artistic qualities and follows its trail as we progress to the invention of coinage, the transformation of gold into money, and the gold standard Other bestselling books by the late Peter Bernstein: "Against the Gods," "Capital Ideas," and "Capital Ideas Evolving" Contemplates gold from the diverse perspectives of monarchs and moneyers, potentates and politicians, men of legendary wealth and others of more plebeian beginnings

Far more than a tale of romantic myths, daring explorations, and the history of money and power struggles, "The Power of Gold" suggests that the true significance of this infamous element may lie in the timeless passions it continues to evoke, and what this reveals about ourselves.

Advance Praise for Against the Gods

"With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it."—John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University

"No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbronerc author of The Worldly Philosophers

"A fascinating and unusual perspective on modern man's Promethean attempt to master risk. The book reads easily and provokes thought—a rare combination." —William Kristol Editor and Publisher, The Weekly Standard

"Peter Bernstein leads us effortlessly through the history of risk because he writes so beautifully. This is a book on a left brain subject that will have right brain readers lining up for more!"—Robert Ferguson Managing Director, Bankers Trust Australia Limited

"In Against the Gods, Peter Bernstein, a scholar, historian, and successful investor gives us the history of great thinkers whose visions put the future at the service of the present."—Dr. Marc Faber Managing Director, Marc Faber Limited, Hong Kong

"This looks like a new classic to me."—Barton M. Biggs, Chairman Morgan Stanley Asset Management, Inc.

"It's a sizzler!"—Charles P. Kindleberger author of Manias, Panics & Crashes

In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the more distant past. Against the Gods, a narrative that reads like a novel, chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from the oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. This is a richly-woven tale of Greek philosophers and Arab mathematicians, of merchants and scientists, gamblers and philosophers, world-renowned intellects and obscure but inspired amateurs who helped discover the modern methods of putting the future at the service of the present, replacing helplessness before the fates with choice and decision.

When investors buy stocks, surgeons perform operations, engineers design bridges, entrepreneurs launch new businesses, astronauts explore the heavens, and politicians run for office, risk is their inescapable partner. Yet their actions reveal that risk today need not be feared: managing risk has become synonymous with challenge and opportunity.

Bernstein presents fascinating vignettes of such towering intellects as Omar Khayyam, Pascal and Bernoulli, Bayes and Keynes, Markowitz and Arrow, and Gauss, Galton and von Neumann. With his engaging literary style, he clarifies the concepts of probability, sampling, regression to the mean, game theory, and rational versus irrational decision making. The final sections of the book raise important questions about the role of the computer, the relationship between facts and subjective beliefs, the impact of chaos theory, the role of the burgeoning markets for derivatives, and the looming dominance of numbers.

Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk is that rare book that turns the most profound issues of our time into pure reading pleasure.

CAPITAL IDEAS

Capital Ideas traces the origins of modern Wall Street, from the pioneering work of early scholars and the development of new theories in risk, valuation, and investment returns, to the actual implementation of these theories in the real world of investment management. Starting with the French mathema-tician Louis Bachelier--who wrote about the unpredictability of stock prices in the early 1900s--Bernstein brings to life a variety of brilliant academics who have contributed to modern investment theory over the years: Harry Markowitz, who wrote about optimizing the tradeoff between risk and reward William Sharpe, who shook the pillars of the investment establishment by asserting that the market cannot be beaten Fischer Black, Myron Scholes, and Robert Merton, who paved the way for the creation of financial derivatives and new ways of controlling risk Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller, who extolled the central role of arbitrage in determining the value of securities

Filled with in-depth insights and timeless advice, Capital Ideas reveals how the unique contributions of these talented individuals profoundly changed the practice of investment management as we know it today.

Praise For Investment Secrets From PIMCO's Bill Gross

"No investor is held in higher regard by his peers than Bill Gross. His understanding of the markets and his insights on how to profit from them are unparalleled. Now, Tim Middleton takes you into Gross's world for an insider's view on how the world of finance really works. If this book were a bond, it would be AAA rated with a double-digit yield."
--DON PHILLIPS, Managing Director, Morningstar, Inc.

"The secret to investment success is discipline. In bonds, nobody has displayed better discipline than Bill Gross. And nobody has done a better job of explaining Gross's methods, and instructing private investors how they can exploit his approach, than Tim Middleton."
--JON MARKMAN, Columnist, CNBC on MSN Money

"Warren Buffett, John Neff, Bill Miller, Peter Lynch--the stock market has always had dominant personalities whose long-term success becomes legend. In the bond market, that dominant personality is Gross."
--FORTUNE

"Bill Gross is the Emeril Lagasse of bond managers."
--FORBES

"If you want to get a stock mutual fund manager steamed, ask why his fund can't beat bond guru Bill Gross."
--USA TODAY

One of the foremost financial writers of his generation, Peter Bernstein has the unique ability to synthesize intellectual history and economics with the theory and practice of investment management. Now, with classic titles such as "Economist on Wall Street, A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold, and The Price of Prosperity"?which have forewords by financial luminaries and new introductions by the author?you can enjoy some of the best of Bernstein in his earlier Wall Street days.
First published in 1962, "The Price of Prosperity" speaks to today's uncertainties as clearly as to those of the past. With chapters like "The Burden of Government" and "The Economics of Democracy," Bernstein probes the future of an economy during rapidly changing times and the appropriate role of government in determining the ultimate outcome.
The questions have not changed over time, but Bernstein's answers help us understand these issues from today's perspective. How much government control is too much control? How much can government spend? How can government influence the level of unemployment?
As Bernstein shows how to navigate an ever-changing economic landscape, his timeless insights throughout these pages make The Price of Prosperity as vital and important today as when it appeared in an environment fundamentally different from our own.

"A lot has happened in the financial markets since 1992, when Peter Bernstein wrote his seminal Capital Ideas. Happily, Peter has taken up his facile pen again to describe these changes, a virtual revolution in the practice of investing that relies heavily on complex mathematics, derivatives, hedging, and hyperactive trading. This fine and eminently readable book is unlikely to be surpassed as the definitive chronicle of a truly historic era."
--John C. Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group and author, "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing"
"Just as Dante could not have understood or survived the perils of the Inferno without Virgil to guide him, investors today need Peter Bernstein to help find their way across dark and shifting ground. No one alive understands Wall Street's intellectual history better, and that makes Bernstein our best and wisest guide to the future. He is the only person who could have written this book; thank goodness he did."
--Jason Zweig, Investing Columnist, "Mone"y magazine
"Another must-read from Peter Bernstein This well-written and thought-provoking book provides valuable insights on how key finance theories have evolved from their ivory tower formulation to profitable application by portfolio managers. This book will certainly be read with keen interest by, and undoubtedly influence, a wide range of participants in international finance."
--Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian, President and CEO of Harvard Management Company, Deputy Treasurer of Harvard University, and member of the faculty of the Harvard Business School
"Reading "Capital Ideas Evolving" is an experience not to be missed. Peter Bernstein's knowledge of the principal characters-the giants in the development of investment theory and practice-brings this subject to life."
--Linda B. Strumpf, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, The Ford Foundation
"With great clarity, Peter Bernstein introduces us to the insights of investment giants, and explains how they transformed financial theory into portfolio practice. This is not just a tale of money and models; it is a fascinating and contemporary story about people and the power of their ideas."
--Elroy Dimson, BGI Professor of Investment Management, London Business School
""Capital Ideas Evolving" provides us with a unique appreciation for the pervasive impact that the theory of modern finance has had on the development of our capital markets. Peter Bernstein once again has produced a masterpiece that is must reading for practitioners, educators and students of finance."
--Andre F. Perold, Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School

The history of the Erie Canal is a riveting story of American ingenuity. A great project that Thomas Jefferson judged to be "little short of madness," and that others compared with going to the moon, soon turned into one of the most successful and influential public investments in American history. In Wedding of the Waters, best-selling author Peter L. Bernstein recounts the canal's creation within the larger tableau of a youthful America in the first quarter-century of the 1800s. Leaders of the fledgling nation had quickly recognized that the Appalachian mountain range was a formidable obstacle to uniting the Atlantic states with the vast lands of the west. A pathway for commerce as well as travel was critical to the security and expansion of the Revolution's unprecedented achievement. Gripped by the same fever that had driven explorers such as Hudson and Champlain, a motley assortment of politicians, surveyors, and would-be engineers set out to build a complex structure of a type few of them had ever actually seen, let alone built or operated: a manmade waterway cut through the mountains to traverse the 363 miles between Lake Erie and the Hudson River. By linking the seas to the interior and the interior to the seas, these pioneers ultimately connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Bernstein examines the social ramifications, political squabbles, and economic risks and returns of this mammoth project. He goes on to demonstrate how the canal's creation helped bind the western settlers in the new lands to their fellow Americans in the original colonies, knitted the sinews of the American industrial revolution, and even influenced profound economic change in Europe. Featuring a rich cast of characters that includes political visionaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Martin van Buren; the canal's most powerful champions, Governor DeWitt Clinton and Gouverneur Morris; and a huge platoon of Irish and American diggers, Wedding of the Waters reveals that the twenty-first-century themes of urbanization, economic growth, and globalization can all be traced to the first great macroengineering venture of American history.

Friedman and Schwartz's "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960," published in 1963, stands as one of the most influential economics books of the twentieth century. A landmark achievement, the book marshaled massive historical data and sharp analytics to support the claim that monetary policy--steady control of the money supply--matters profoundly in the management of the nation's economy, especially in navigating serious economic fluctuations. The chapter entitled "The Great Contraction, 1929-33" addressed the central economic event of the century, the Great Depression. Published as a stand-alone paperback in 1965, "The Great Contraction, 1929-1933" argued that the Federal Reserve could have stemmed the severity of the Depression, but failed to exercise its role of managing the monetary system and ameliorating banking panics. The book served as a clarion call to the monetarist school of thought by emphasizing the importance of the money supply in the functioning of the economy--a concept that has come to inform the actions of central banks worldwide.

This edition of the original text includes a new preface by Anna Jacobson Schwartz, as well as a new introduction by the economist Peter Bernstein. It also reprints comments from the current Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, originally made on the occasion of Milton Friedman's 90th birthday, on the enduring influence of Friedman and Schwartz's work and vision.

"Streetwise" brings together classic articles from the publication that helped revolutionize the way Wall Street does business. During the recession of the early 1970s, investment professionals turned to the theories of a small band of mathematical economists, whose ideas on such topics as portfolio development and risk management eventually led to the reform and maintenance of entire economies. This was the first time economists and practitioners had joined forces to such remarkable effect. Economist and money manager Peter Bernstein sought to encourage this exchange when, in 1974, he founded "The Journal of Portfolio Management" (JPM). For this present volume, Bernstein and JPM editor Frank Fabozzi have selected forty-one of the most influential articles to appear in the journal over the past twenty-five years, some of them written by Nobel laureates and all aimed at stimulating dialogue between academic economists wishing to understand the real-world problems of finance and investment professionals wanting to bring the most advanced theoretical work to bear on commerce.

Financial economics is a youthful but vital field. "Streetwise" not only reflects its fascinating history but through articles on topics ranging from stock prices and risk management to bonds and real estate also offers relevant insights for today.

The contributors are: R. Akhoury, R. D. Arnott, G. L. Bergstrom, G. O. Bierwag, F. Black, R. Bookstaber, K. Cholerton, R. Clarke, D. M. Cutler, C. P. Dialynas, P. O. Dietz, D. H. Edington, M. W. Einhorn, J. Evnine, R. Ferguson, P. M. Firstenberg, H. R. Fogler, F. Garrone, R. Grieves, R. C. Grinold, D. J. Hardy, D. P. Jacob, B. I. Jacobs, R. H. Jeffrey, R. N. Kahn, G. G. Kaufman, M. Kritzman, R. Lanstein, C. M. Latta, M. L. Leibowitz, K. N. Levy, R. Lochoff, R. W. McEnally, K. R. Meyer, E. M. Miller, A. F. Perold, P. Pieraerts, J. M. Poterba, K. Reid, R. R. Reitano, R. Roll, B. Rosenberg, S. A. Ross, M. Rubinstein, A. Rudd, P. A. Samuelson, R. Schweitzer, C. Seix, W. F. Sharpe, B. Solnik, L. H. Summers, A. L. Toevs, J. L. Treynor, A. Weinberger, and R. C. Zisler.

One of the foremost financial writers of his generation, Peter Bernstein has the unique ability to synthesize intellectual history and economics with the theory and practice of investment management. Now, with classic titles such as "Economist on Wall Street, A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold, and The Price of Prosperity"--which have forewords by financial luminaries and new introductions by the author--you can enjoy some of the best of Bernstein in his earlier Wall Street days.

Peter Bernstein's "Economist on Wall Street" is a collection of writings from 1955 to 1970. The book is especially interesting because so many of Bernstein's observations reflect the most important issues of the present--the outlook for inflation and its control, the intricacies of monetary policy, the future of the dollar, and the dilemmas of household finances. Bernstein was also concerned with developments in portfolio management, including the new influence of institutional investors and rules for optimal asset mixes. He provides light touches, too, as he indulges in fantasies and philosophical musings over a wide variety of topics.

With so many years of hindsight, we should not be surprised to find some of Bernstein's predictions running awry. But why? In each instance, these forecasts were biased by memories of the past. There is a big lesson to be learned there.

Economist on Wall Street is a remarkable book, with lasting relevance and keen insights into the art of investment management, the capital markets, gold and the dollar, and the fun of being alive.

The authors explain what national debts and deficits are, and what they are not. One thing they are not nearly as big as we think. Another thing they are not is a burden on the shoulders of our grandchildren. And one thing they are is a potential means of financing economic growth. Heilbroner and Bernstein do not shrug aside the debt and deficit. "The only remedy for our present frightened state of mind," they write, "is explanations that are simple but accurate, facts that will defuse unreasoning panic, and arguments that will stand up under the most skeptical examination."