Listen free for 30 days
-
The Wisdom of Finance
- Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return
- Narrated by: Mihir A. Desai
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $27.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
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 that 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' 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Wisdom of Finance
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ravi S.
- 2022-05-14
Understand Finance without learning Finance
I really enjoyed this book. I was able to understand the concepts of Finance when related to real life scenarios that ultimately gave birth for so many of the key financial institutions and thier products.
If you want to learn about insurance, options, risk and other concepts and not the details, then read/listen to this book. you won't learn the technical details about these concepts, but you'll be able to understand how they apply to daily living, and that's powerful.
Great work, Mihir!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike Leblanc
- 2023-03-26
What a waste of money and time.
All I hear is blah blah blah stories. Can I request a refund? I didn’t get halfway through the book. Very boring to listen to. Learned zero.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!