Customer Reviews

Chancing It: Why We Take Risks

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I can honestly say that, as a college student over twenty years ago, reading Chancing It permanently changed my views on life. But this is NOT a self-help book by any stretch of the imagination. Chancing It is a literary dissertation of a caliber rarely found today, full of anticdotes, profiles, interviews and reflections. It is never preachy or simplistic, and never devolves into a hackneyed checklist of options. It doesn't instruct the reader, it simply invites one to come along on a nuanced, fun, credible and sophisticated exploration of the true meaning of "risk" in its broadest sense, why we take risks, and the varied and surprising forms it takes in people's lives. It will perhaps seem dated to a reader today, but there is no better introduction to the subject.

The first chapter of Keyes's highly readable book is on Philippe Petit, the subject of the superb 2008 documentary Man on Wire. Petit has his fears, e.g. spiders, marriage and parenthood, and is revealed as an interesting person as well as a unique chance-taker. Sky divers, entrepreneurs, couples in love, etc. get attention. Copious notes but no index or separate bibliography. A fine resource.

Back in 2001, I read Ralph Keyes' Chancing It. At the time, I had a demeaning job and no direction. Risk taking seemed like a possible way to get out of the rut. Chancing It gave me a different perspective on risk, and that helped me through my difficulties.

Ralph Keyes discusses the role that risk plays in our lives. He believes that there are two basic types of risk. Type I risks fill us with adrenaline: skydiving, combat, racing cars, etc. Type II risks involve commitment - marriage, careers, children, etc. Keyes notes that those who excel at taking one type of risk often struggle with the other type.

Chancing It includes great anecdotes about Type I risk takers. Readers meet -

- a Vietnam Vet who turns to drug smuggling to replace the rush of combat,

- an Iowa housewife who moved to California, divorced her husband, and became a stripper, and

- a skydiver who tried to land on St. Louis' Gateway Arch to relieve his boredom.

Keyes' descriptions of Type II risks are not quite as engaging, though they are still interesting.

I reread Chancing It this year (2010) and I remain a big fan. The book will cause readers to change their thinking. Keyes does not fall for the easy out of telling us to "take more risks." Rather, he tells us that we all accept some risks, but avoid others. This book makes a deep impression. I strongly recommend it.