The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

In this time of financial crisis, a resonant exploration of economic behaviour and its consequences. Neuroscientist and former Wall Street trader John Coates here explains how we think with our body as well as our brain; when we take risks at work, in sport, on the battlefield, and the financial markets. Could the biological responses to making and losing money trigger the extreme reactions that regularly destabilise the global economy? In a series of groundbreaking experiments, Coates shows that under the pressure of risk we biologically transform, a metamorphosis he refers to as the hour between dog and wolf. Traders are especially prone; testosterone-driven when winning, tentative when cowering from losses. Drawing on recent research, Coates looks at how our bodies produce the gut feelings we often rely on and how sports science can teach us to overcome stress. The Hour Between Dog and Wolf comprehensively reveals the biology behind bubbles and crashes.