Strategic Risk Taking: A Framework for Risk Management

Footnotes

Chapter 1

¹ The average life span of prehistoric man was less than 30 years. Even the ancient Greeks and Romans were considered aged by the time they turned 40.

² A fascinating account of the spice trade is provided in Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, a book by Giles Milton that follows Nathaniel Courthope, a British spice trader, through the wars between the Dutch East India Company and the British Crown for Run Island, a tiny Indonesian island where nutmeg grew freely. Milton provides details of the dangers that awaited the sailors on ships from foul weather, disease, malnutrition, and hostile natives as they made the long trip from Europe around the horn of Africa past southern Asia to the island. The huge markup on the price of nutmeg (about ...