One of the most influential books of recent decades. Black swans symbolically represent the unexpected. When we encounter unforeseen surprises in our daily lives, it may not be so bad. However, when they haunt entire economies, the system can collapse, as the financial crisis of the last decade has shown. Our world is more fragile than we think: even the smallest mistakes can trigger a catastrophe and plunge us into chaos. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, perhaps one of the smartest, most critical, and innovative thinkers both inside and outside the financial world, demonstrates in his lucid and groundbreaking work that we should always be prepared for "black swans." He relentlessly and incisively identifies the weaknesses of our system and encourages us to be skeptical of predictions.