Book Review: Capital Ideas Evolving

<a Capital Ideas Evolving
Peter L. Bernstein

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Smug and clubby, but still a valuable survey.

The author, Peter L. Bernstein, definitely has been around, and shares with us his access to his friends to some of the great thinkers and innovators in finance. If you want to know about the core philosophies of Goldman Sachs or Barclays Global Investors, Bernstein has friends in high places there, and he tells you what they themselves have to say on the topic.

But, Bernstein's style is quirky and at times distracting. He is obsessed with one particular footnote* to such an extent that you might want to make a drinking game out of it. And there are so many quotation marks around so many of his friends' bon mots, at times it feels like the Zagat guide to modern portfolio theory.

Nevertheless, I did learn that, like me, Andrew Lo was influenced by Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. That is classic sci-fi nerd cred that is not easy to come by.

*"Unless otherwise specified, all quotations are from personal interviews or personal correspondence."

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