Using game theory and examples of actual games people play, Nobel laureate Manfred Eigen and Ruthild Winkler show how the elements of chance and rules underlie all that happens in the universe, from genetic behavior through economic growth to the composition of music. To illustrate their argument, the authors turn to classic games--backgammon, bridge, and chess--and relate them to physical, biological, and social applications of probability theory and number theory. Further, they have invented, and present here, more than a dozen playable games derived from scientific models for equilibrium, selection, growth, and even the composition of RNA.

The rule book of The FA from 1863 is one of the most important books ever published - according to the writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg. Drawing on his recently published work, he explains in the introduction why this book is one of the twelve books that changed the world.

Jack Gordon works in a high-powered law firm, surrounded by unethical and callous attorneys. However, he's about to discover an even darker world that's filled with more deception and treachery than any corporate takeover-youth soccer. When Jack decides to sign his seven-year-old daughter up for spring soccer, his life is far from perfect. His wife is more of a roommate than a lover, his children think of him as a frequent guest rather than a father, and his career is swaying on a tenuous tightrope. Jack tries to find solace on the soccer field, but he soon discovers the competitive and unscrupulous parents on his daughter's team will do anything to assure their children's success. As his life becomes entangled in the politics of the game, nothing in his life will remain untouched. Deceived by a friend, estranged from his family, and betrayed by a partner in his firm, Jack looks for answers to his dysfunctional existence in a place where, in order to succeed, he must first understand the Laws of the Game.