AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT: INCREDIBLE STORIES, FROM LOTTERY WINS TO LIGHTNING STRIKES

Book ID/图书代码： 03819010B37157

English Summary/英文概要： "I felt, intuitively, that luck exists. It’s like capitalism: For better or for worse, and whether you believe in it or not, luck is inescapable." - AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT

While cowriting the books in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, Joshua Piven came across dozens of people with tremendously compelling stories of triumph (or misfortune), seemingly against all odds and logic. When they were asked what they had in common, invariably their answer was: good luck, or not enough of it. The beneficiary of his own brand of extraordinary luck in publishing, Piven decided to take a closer look at how this phenomenon plays a part in success and survival.

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT offers a fascinating survey of the phenomenon, presented through incredible first- person stories: the swimming pool repairman who had only a hundred-dollar bill to pay for his hot dog, asked for his change in lottery tickets, and won $180 million; the woman who survived a plane crash at sea; the teller who was struck by lightning while at his window inside the bank; the guy who invented the Pet Rock. Weaving the subjects’ own beliefs about their experiences with compelling research on chance, probability, and luck psychology, AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT also includes research on how to prepare for luck, how to deal with it when it arrives, and how to make the choices that will help us benefit from luck.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 天啊！為什麼他那麼好運，到底什麼時候輪到我？！

運氣真的存在嗎？有些人就是比其他人更輕易的獲得額外的報酬；有些人就是能在大災難中死裡逃生；有些人就是會被那命中率千萬分之一的雷擊中。這些真實例子雖然可能不常發生在我們身上甚至周遭的朋友，但運氣就是這麼回事，不管你相不相信它，你都無法避免與它相遇的機會，無法主動找它，但它卻能找到你！書中作者不僅解釋所有關於運氣的現象，更重要是提供我們一個事前準備運氣來臨的方法，讓好運來臨時，並不會與我們擦身而過，反而成為自身的遺憾！(Vincent)

Awards/获奖情况：Rights sold:
World English/Villard; Japanese/Poplar; Korean/Myung Jin; Portuguese/Fundamento; UK/Hodder

As a former technology journalist who was offered an opportunity to coauthor what became the phenomenally bestselling Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and its five sequels, Piven is no stranger to the vagaries of fortune. This series of short profiles of people who have experienced good or bad luck is less a scientific investigation of the nature of fortune and more a paean to those, in many cases, extraordinary individuals who were affected by and reacted to moments of chance events. Among his subjects who benefited from good luck are a contractor whose chance purchase of lottery tickets nets $336 million and a whale researcher who instinctively grabs a radio that saves her after her plane crashes at sea. He profiles people who developed an interesting idea into a phenomenon: the inventor of pet rocks and the American importer of the Japanese game Pokemon. And in the case of a bank teller struck by lightning, Piven shows how 15 years of pain led to the formation of an international advocacy group for lightning strike and electric shock victims. These people are all fascinating, and the details in each profile are well presented. Overall, however, the writing lacks the lively wit that gave substance to what could have been just dull detail in the Survival handbooks. Also, Piven’s attempts to draw broader conclusions from his subjects’ experiences only result in extremely general insights, such as those in a short concluding chapter that lists "luck management techniques" such as "be prepared" and "keep an open mind." ---From Publishers Weekly

Readers who remember the television series That’s Incredible! will have some idea what to expect from this book. Piven has assembled a handful of stories about people whose lives were affected by luck, either bad or good. Here’s the man who bought a hot dog with a $100 bill, took his change in lottery tickets, and won $181.5 million. Here’s the advertising copywriter who struck it rich because he decided to write a spoof pet-owners’ guide to be sold with the pet itself: the Pet Rock. Here’s the rock band that lucked into a smash-hit single because its video was among the first aired on MTV. And so on. In his introduction, the author claims his book will examine how one’s attitude affects the kind of luck one experiences in life, but the text fails to deliver on the author’s promise. Those looking for a philosophical or psychological examination of the concept of luck will be disappointed, but readers satisfied with the That’s Incredible! approach will get exactly what they’re looking for. David Pitt---From Booklist

About the Author/作者介绍： Joshua Piven，著有全球暢銷系列《如何在最糟情況下的生存手冊》Worst-Case Scenario Survival series，也因此成為世界級的名人。經常接受美國電視媒體如：Today Show, Montel Williams 及ABC News的節目訪問，也常在報章媒體如：the BBC, The New York Times, the Washington Post等發表言論及訪談。

Format:HARDCOVER

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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