Reddit mentions of The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future

I used to love all those new age books! Why not head down to the used bookstore and pick up half a dozen books that look fun out of that section? There's always something entertaining there. If she's a true believer, avoid anything that suggests people can survive by eating nothing but air.

Or, if she's not a true believer but just interested in the subject, have you considered getting her some non-fiction books that delve into the psychology behind ghost sightings and such? Like Investigating the Paranormal (less skeptical) or Demon-Haunted World (much more skeptical)?

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches was a fascinating read and IIRC largely historical. She might also enjoy branching out into a book like The Predictioneer's Game, which is about game theory and how to use it effectively in modern life.

If she likes mysteries at all, I suggest Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time. It's about a police officer who is laid up in hospital and decides to use the time to solve a famous historical mystery. You could also consider biographies of strong and active women who inspire -- Princess Diana, maybe, or Martha Stewart?

(Edited to add links)

A little tidbit (of the synchronicity variety)... The (basically) game theory of Nobel Prize winner John Nash has become the cornerstone of economic planning in many quarters. It has also affected the thinking of social and political theoreticians, such as Bruce Bueno de Mesquita:

http://www.amazon.com/Predictioneers-Game-Brazen-Self-Interest-Future/dp/081297977X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1302785594&sr=8-8

It seems that as computer game-playing has become more mainstream, it has become a more widespread part of people's experience, and consequently, its structures and behaviors have become a more acceptable element of other "real-world" activities. For example, the military is filled with young people who have made the leap between FPS games and strategic games to real military situations. Such folk used to be looked down upon as geeks and freaks. Now they're commonplace.

One of the models I'm playing with is based somewhat loosely on the ideas presented in The Predictioneer's Game.

The author is a little grandiose with his view of himself, but some of the ideas he puts forward have been interesting to play with.

Bruce Bueno De Mesquita's book, "he Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future" starts out addressing this very historical situation.

book link

Technically, we have world peace, right now, but are you proposing an Alliance, but there will always be dissenters, so should the US and China start agreeing to things, Russia will feel almost compelled to veto- unless of course it's absolutely also in their interests as well. But that's the problem of politics, William H. Riker and especially Bruce Bueno de Mesquita's EXECELLENT "The Predictioneer's Game" - explains how this stuff works far better than I've seen in many other books on politics.