LESSON FIVE: Going Postal

BUILD AND LOSE AN EMPIRE: No one outside the Pacific Northwest seems to remember much about the Astor party. Peter Stark, writing a book about the last open spaces in America checked into a hotel in John Day, Oregon and began to change that. Who was John Day, he wondered? When he found out that the trapper had come west with an overland expedition, was robbed and stripped naked in the wilderness, only to survive physically but lose his mind, Stark knew he had a book in the making. Check out his work Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival (2014). 

Peter Stark: Astoria, The Lost Pacific Empire

Over 200 years ago, there was only one tradable good coming out of the Northwest: furs. And rich people - from China to New York to the capitals of Europe - all wanted them. German-born, New York-based entrepreneur John Jacob Astor had a grand plan to corner the Northwest fur market and start a global trading hub based out of modern-day Astoria.

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PLAY AROUND: If you can’t read the book, see the play. Chris Coleman wrote and directed an adaptation of Stark’s book for the stage in two parts. See a behind the scenes peek with the actress who plays the lone woman on the Astor expedition. So far, the play’s only run has been at the Portland (Oregon) Center Stage. Worth the trip, even if it is an adventure for you to get there. 

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Let's Make A Deal

Welcome to the OFFICIAL YouTube channel for Let's Make A Deal! Let's Make A Deal is an updated version of the classic television game show, hosted by Emmy Award-winner Wayne Brady, where audience members try to win cash and prizes by making wacky deals.

GET THE FULL MONTY: Check out the official Let’s Make a Deal YouTube feed. The CBS gameshow is now hosted by Wayne Brady in the role that Monty Hall made famous. Now imagine yourself as a contestant, having done well enough to win $500. But Wayne asks you if you’d like to walk away with that money or choose from one of two doors? Behind one door will be $1,000, but behind the other is nothing. For $500 risked, you can win $500. Contestants who are risk averse will take the money and run. To get more contes- tants to make things interesting, the show might change the payout behind one of the doors to $1,500. They’ve doubled the risk premium. Note that gameshows, like the lottery, are not for investment purposes and should be played for entertainment only. 

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DON’T BE DAUNTED: The original historical recounting of a trip through the wilderness to the Pacific is Stephen E. Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. After read- ing of their trials and the suicide of Lewis, it is a wonder anyone followed in their footsteps. Which tells you just how high the potential profits were for Astor and Hunt. 

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BE BRIEF: The University of Texas McCombs School of Business presents a series of videos decoding various financial lingo. Their explanation of the risk premium takes about a minute. If you are watching while on a wilderness journey, roaming and data charges may apply.