Originally published in 1995, this is the book that inspired Chris Anderson to formulate his Long Tail thesis as a challenge to the ideas it presented. The authors claim that modern markets are about a few winning at the expense of everyone else. Anderson's principle points to online markets as evidence that consumers can now access every book, song or film they might want and, thus, there are lots of winners in every market.

Frank and Cook applaud that optimism, but suggest that such markets serve consumers well, but not producers, who can find it hard to make money. Rewards therefore still favour only a handful of star performers.

The ideas put forward here resonate now more than ever. From superstar bankers pocketing outrageous bonuses to the obsession with celebrity, it means a few winners are being excessively rewarded for doing very little.

With capitalism still under the spotlight following the recession, books such as this force us to re-evaluate the pros and cons of how markets have developed in recent years. Even if the authors provide few answers, there's a job done in simply raising the question.