Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Commemorative Edition) (Princeton Classic Editions) (Hardcover)

~ John von Neumann (Author), Oskar Morgenstern (Author), Harold William Kuhn (Introduction), Ariel Rubinstein (Afterword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The main achievement of the book lies, more than in its concrete results, in its having introduced into economics the tools of modern logic and in using them with an astounding power of generalization. -- Review

Review

This handsome new edition of von Neumann and Morgenstern's still controversial classic should be welcomed by the entire research community.
(James Case SIAM News )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 776 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 60 Anv edition (May 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691119937
• ISBN-13: 978-0691119939
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #576,738 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Landmark work but heavy going, August 23, 2000

By	Mark (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Paperback)

I'm not even sure I'm qualified to pass judgement on this book, but what I understand, I give 5 stars without hesitation. The authors discuss almost every class of game (2-person, 3-person, zero-sum, non-zero-sum, etc.) and even a very simplified version of poker.

You basically have to be a mathematician to get full value from this book. This book is absolutely full of equations and complex proofs. For a beginner with little math, I'd recommend Game Theory by Morton Davis, or for someone with some university math I'd recommend Games and Decisions by Luce and Raiffa. However, if your math is good, you might as well go straight to this book, which started the whole field of game theory.

79 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Obvious Classic But . . ., October 22, 2002

By	Kurt C. Yost "Pandaemoni" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Paperback)

Let me start out by acknowledging that this is THE BOOK that started Game Theory as it exists today. While Bayesian statistics are an obvious precursor, everyone agrees that von Neumann's and Morgenstern's work was ground breaking.

That said, this is not the best written Game Theory text out there. Like all seminal works, it suffers from the basic fact that we've learned a lot of new things since the time it was written. Many people have gone on to build and expand on the insights contained in this book, especially in the area of bargaining and cooperative game theory.

This is a very impressive book to keep on your shelf, and the discussion of poker and the role of bluffing is very interesting, but, owing largely to the 60+ years that have passed since its initial publication, it's not the best reference work or study material available.

Another word of warning: The review below is correct that the level of math that you must understand to fully appreciate this book is quite substantial. This book is more for the mathematically sophisticated who want to develop an appreciation for the origins of game theory.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, Maybe Too Thorough, January 31, 2008

By	Steven A. Charles "steki" (Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Paperback)

I am in the middle of this book now. I chose it because it was the first in this field. It presents so much information, it can overwhelming. Perhaps I should have chosen a simpler book for my first. Oh well, I will plod along. My limited math skills meas I miss out on a lot of the book, but the stuff in between the math is great and is helping me to better understand the ideas.
I'm giving it four stars. It is jam-packed with great research and the reader can learn quite a bit, but the heavy math emphasis makes it difficult for many to consume.