The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return

A charming, provocative and readable book - Financial TimesThose familiar with the world of finance will have their perspective shifted, and for the rest of us, Desai provides a welcome entry - The Boston GlobeMihir Desai is a fortunate person: he is an expert economist who is also well-read. In this book he uses his skills to provide a fascinating new perspective on modern finance, showing how the main concepts have parallels in literature and the arts. Students of finance will learn literature, students of literature will learn finance, and everybody will learn somethingLucid, witty and delightfully erudite...From the French revolution to film noir, from the history of probability to Jane Austen and The Simpsons, this is an astonishing intellectual feastThis book is startling, a stunning, erudite, fascinating look at the world as we think we know it, but it's a world where all roads lead to finance, and in particular, insurance. Highly recommendedA fascinating romp through history and Desai is to be commended for finding fresh examples away from the obvious reference points ... highly original - Money WeekDesai skilfully makes his subject accessible without dumbing it down - Director magazineThis slender but erudite treatise...does valuable work toward demystifying finance for laypeople and deepening the art for practitioners. Desai's approach will broaden and enrich any perspective - Publishers Weekly