Putting the humanity back into finance by looking at the profession's core principles through the prism of art, literature and film.

Longlisted for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2017 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 takes up the cause of restoring humanity to finance. With deft wit, he draws upon a rich knowledge of literature, film, history, and philosophy to explain finance's inner workings. Through this creative approach, he shows that outsiders can easily access the underlying ideas and insiders can reacquaint themselves with the core values of their profession. This combination of finance and the humanities creates unusual and illuminating 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: 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 an enlivening new perspective on one of the world's most complex and misunderstood professions.

"A charming, provocative and readable book." - Financial Times

"Those familiar with the world of finance will have their perspective shifted, and for the rest of us, Desai provides a welcome entry." - The Boston Globe

"A fascinating romp through history and Desai is to be commended for finding fresh examples away from the obvious reference points ... highly original." - Money Week

"Desai skilfully makes his subject accessible without dumbing it down." - Director magazine

"Desai's approach will broaden and enrich any perspective." - Publishers Weekly

"The Wisdom of Finance offers a thoughtful explanation of how money works that recognises how perverted the industry can be, but which also argues that "there is great value - and there are great values - in finance" ... This is a charming, provocative and readable book. For non-financiers, it can be a great teaching tool; for financiers, it is a badly needed rap on the knuckles, and perhaps an inspiration." - Financial Times

"This 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

"Desai takes a real step towards creating a dialogue of disciplines ... if only more people - whether financiers or academics - could combine with such finesse economic knowledge and an appreciation of the human condition." - Times Higher Education Supplement

"A beautiful book for everyone." - Drapers

"By linking to literature, history and philosophy, [Desai] tries to build deeper resonance. It is a daring, intriguing work, offbeat and fascinating, something both practitioners of finance and the general public can learn from." - The Globe and Mail

"Fascinating ... [Desai] regrets the chasm between finance and the rest of society, and he sets out to bridge it with a warm-hearted and engaging set of stories" - New Yorker