Shelfology Book Pairing

by J. R. R. Tolkien

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and L�thien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and L�thien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and L�thien: for Beren was a mortal man, but L�thien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed L�thien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and L�thien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and L�thien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

How Economics Became Behavioural

by Richard H. Thaler

Get ready to change the way you think about economics. From the renowned and entertaining behavioural economist and co-author of the seminal work Nudge, Misbehavingis an irreverent and enlightening look into human foibles. Traditional economics assumes that rational forces shape everything. Behavioural economics knows better. Richard Thaler has spent his career studying the notion that humans are central to the economy - and that we're error-prone individuals, not Spock-like automatons. Now behavioural economics is hugely influential, changing the way we think not just about money, but about ourselves, our world and all kinds of everyday decisions. Whether buying an alarm clock, selling football tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses and our governments. Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behaviour, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioural economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV quiz shows, sports transfer seasons, and businesses like Uber. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers and policy makers are both profound and entertaining. Acclaim for Misbehaving 'The creative genius who invented the field of behavioural economics is also a master storyteller and a very funny man. All these talents are on display in this wonderful book.' Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and Author of Thinking, Fast and Slow 'Misbehavinggives us the story behind some of the most important insights in modern economics. If I had to be trapped in an elevator with any contemporary intellectual, I'd pick Richard Thaler.' Malcolm Gladwell 'Richard Thaler has been at the centre of the most important revolution to happen in economics in the last thirty years. In this captivating book, he lays out the evidence for behavioural economics and explains why there was so much resistance to it. Read Misbehaving. There is no better guide to this new and exciting economics.' Robert J. Shiller, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and Author of Finance and the Good Society