The Art of Strategy

The authors who brought you the bestseller in game theory, Thinking Strategically, now provide the long-awaited sequel.

Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies―from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history―the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it. Are the winners of reality-TV contests instinctive game theorists? Do big-time investors see things that most people miss? What do great poker players know that you don’t? Mastering game theory will make you more successful in business and life, and this lively book is the key to that mastery.

Table of Contents

PART I

1. Ten Tales of Strategy

2. Games Solvable by Backward Reasoning

3. Prisoners· Dilemmas and How to Resolve Them

4. A Beautiful Equilibrium Epilogue to Part I

PART II

5. Choice and Chance

6. Strategic Moves

7. Making Strategies Credible Epilogue to Part II: A Nobel History

PART Ill

8. Interpreting and Manipulating Information

9. Cooperation and Coordination

10. Auctions, Bidding, and Contests

11. Bargaining

12. Voting

13. Incentives

14. Case Studies

About the Author

Avinash K. Dixit is Emeritus John J.F. Sherrerd University Professor of Economics at Princeton University, where he offered his popular freshman course in game theory. He is among the world’s leading economists, having made fundamental contributions in several major fields as well as in game theory. He is the author of many books, including Dixit/Nalebuff: Thinking Strategically (Norton, 1991), Dixit/Pindyck: Investment Under Uncertainty (Princeton University Press, 1994), and Dixit/Nalebuff: The Art of Strategy (Norton, 2009).

Barry J. Nalebuff is the Milton Steinbach Professor at the Yale School of Management. Nalebuff applies game theory to business strategy and is the co-founder of one of America’s fastest-growing companies, Honest Tea.