The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir Desai

The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir Desai

"Entertaining and informative. Desai takes us on a journey through the fundamentals of finance, from asset pricing to risk and risk management, via options, mergers, debt, and bankruptcy."- John Lanchester, The New Yorker



"A fascinating new perspective on modern finance," --Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel Laureate in Economics



"Lucid, 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 feast." --Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan



Longlisted for 2017 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year 



A 2017 AMAZON PICK IN BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP



A WealthManagement.com BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2017



In 1688, essayist Josef de la Vega described finance as both "the fairest and most deceitful business . . . the noblest and the most infamous in the world, the finest and most vulgar on earth."



The characterization of finance as deceitful, infamous, and vulgar still rings true today - particularly in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But, what happened to the fairest, noblest, and finest profession that de la Vega saw? 



De la Vega hit on an essential truth that has been forgotten: finance can be just as principled, life-affirming, and worthy as it can be fraught with questionable practices.  Today, finance is shrouded in mystery for outsiders, while many insiders are uneasy with the disrepute of their profession.  How can finance become more accessible and also recover its nobility?



Harvard Business School professor Mihir Desai, in his "last lecture" to the graduating Harvard MBA class of 2015, took up the cause of restoring humanity to finance. With incisive wit and irony, his lecture drew upon a rich knowledge of literature, film, history, and philosophy to explain the inner workings of finance in a manner that has never been seen before.



This book captures Desai's lucid exploration of the ideas of finance as seen through the unusual prism of the humanities. Through this novel, creative approach, Desai shows that outsiders can access the underlying ideas easily and insiders can reacquaint themselves with the core humanity of their profession.



The mix of finance and the humanities creates unusual pairings: Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope are guides to risk management; Jeff Koons becomes an advocate of leverage; and Mel Brooks's The Producers teaches us about fiduciary responsibility. In Desai's vision, the principles of finance also provide answers to critical questions in our lives. Among many surprising parallels, bankruptcy teaches us how to react to failure, the lessons of mergers apply to marriages, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model demonstrates the true value of relationships.

THE WISDOM OF FINANCE is a wholly unique book, offering a refreshing new perspective on one of the world's most complex and misunderstood professions.    

Mihir A.Desai is an Indian-born American who grew up in Hong Kong and New Jersey. Desai teaches finance, tax law, entrepreneurship, and has recently established an online finance course for the HBX platform as a professor and award-winning teacher at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. His research on corporate finance, international finance, and tax policy has led to multiple requests to appear before the United States Congress. His advising position to prominent worldwide firms and organizations is based on his testimony before Congress.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780544911130
ISBN 10	054491113X
Title	The Wisdom of Finance
Author	Mihir Desai
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Harper Business
Year published	2017-05-23
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.