How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say―And What It Really Means - Softcover

Lanchester, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 039335170X ISBN 13: 9780393351705

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015

Synopsis

"Refreshingly clear, sharp, and funny, How to Speak Money will help you understand not only what the language of finance means but also why it matters." ―James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds

To those who don’t speak it, the language of money can seem impenetrable. Fortunately, John Lanchester―the best-selling novelist and reporter hailed by The Economist for "explain[ing] complex stuff in a down-to-earth and witty style"―is here to bridge the gap between the money people and the rest of us. With wit and candor, Lanchester explains more than 300 common words and phrases from "AAA rating" and "amortization" to "yield curve" and "zombie bank."

About this title

About the Author

John Lanchester is the author of five novels, including The Wall, the best-selling Debt to Pleasure and Capital, as well as several works of nonfiction, including I.O.U. and How to Speak Money. His books, which have been translated into twenty-five languages, have won the Whitbread First Novel Prize, the Hawthornden Prize, and the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a contributing editor to the London Review of Books and a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in London.

Review

“Mixes the helpful, the sarcastic and the entertaining...[with] a touch of Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary about it.”
- Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“An idiosyncratic collection of short, sharp essays translating the jargon of finance with admirable concision and wit.”
- Peter Sokolowski, New York Times Book Review

“Lays out the case for financial literacy and then provides an essential glossary of terms for those who would like to achieve this happy state.”
- Sarah Lyall, New York Times

“A hugely enjoyable book...Lanchester is a kind of brainy Everyman, a brilliant communicator.”
- Melanie Reid, The Times

“An entertaining and informative read...Witty, provocative and engaging.”
- Evening Standard

“Insightful and often funny...An invaluable primer.”
- Ian Critchley, Sunday Times

“One of the world’s great explainers of the financial crisis and its aftermath.”
- Michael Lewis

“Reading this book is like meeting an easy-going guy at a cocktail party who can explain everything that’s always mystified you about high finance―‘inverted yield curve,’ anyone?―with sparkle, wit, and crystal clarity. And if you’re already a finance-insider, you’ll get a kick out of Lanchester’s sly ironies.”
- Jim Holt, best-selling author of Why Does the World Exist?

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 039335170X
• ISBN 13: 9780393351705
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288