Can a renowned mathematician successfully outwit the stock market? Not when his biggest investment is WorldCom. The book tells the fascinating, funny and often excruciating story of how John Allen Paulos gambled - and lost - in his calamitous attempts to make a fortune on the stock market. Throughout his adventures in the marketplace, Paulos manages to shed light on its paradoxes and puzzles: how random is it? How do you assess risk? This tale of greed, business gurus and gullible punters is for anyone fascinated by how the market works - and how it can go horribly wrong.