In 1962, mathematics professor Edward Thorp published Beat the Dealer, explaining the technique of card counting at the blackjack table and sending a seismic tremor through the Las Vegas casino industry. Thereafter Thorp shifted his sights to Wall Street, devising mathematical formulas to beat the market, and ushered in the era of quantitative finance; along the way, he helped develop the first wearable computer, to help him beat the roulette wheel. In this memoir, Thorp tells the story of what he did, how he did it, and what intrigues him, illuminating the curiosity that has always driven him to devise game-changing solutions to seemingly insoluble problems.

"[Thorp] delightfully recounts his progress (if that is the word) from college teacher to gambler to hedge-fund manager. Along the way we learn important lessons about the functioning of markets and the logic of investment."—Wall Street Journal