The Wisdom of Finance

Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return

By: Mihir A. Desai

Narrated by: Mihir A. Desai

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2017 Mihir Desai (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

nice

I loved it it was great would recommend to everybody this book is enjoying to read

life via finance perspective - interesting view

Interesting to take life lessons from the lens of finance perspective. I guess that when you are good in any subject, you can apply the principles to many other seemingly different topics.

Good for the novice

I enjoyed the book as it was presented from a humanistic perspective, not the dry technical presentation I'm used to reading on financial texts.

Why some authors should not narrate their own book

I really like your book but I think you could use lessons in narration or hire a professional narrator.

Great Read

As someone who enjoys finance I think this is a great and creative way of going through key concepts of the profession. I think anyone can pickup this book for a read or listen and walk away with a deeper understanding of finance.

Great listen

Super informative book, nicely ties together finance and stories to give examples that share insight into the complexities of finance in a very accessible way.

Excellent Book

This is probably the best finance book I’ve ever read. I’ve never witnessed anyone explain the intersection of finance and humanity as well as the author. There are so many lessons contained in this book. It’s definitely worth the listen.

😎

This book was awesome! Wish there were more like it. Will listen again in the future.

It was a good book. What else should I say?

It was a good book. I hate when they require reviews to be a certain length.

Enthralling read....

I loved the book, I picked it up after hearing the author in the HBR idea-cast. The topic is very inclusive and relate-able. I would highly recommend reading this book to give you a holistic perspective on life and finance.