"e;A straightforward, accessible, and often hilarious overview of our financial and economic systems."e; -Publishers WeeklyMan vs. Markets by Paddy Hirsch of NPR's Marketplace is economics explained, pure and simple, for the layperson who wouldn't know a bond from an option and who believes that a "e;future"e; is when we'll all have flying cars. Here is an illuminating, insightful, and wonderfully witty journey of discovery through the often-confusing financial markets, offering clear, relatable-but never simplistic-explanations and definitions of the system's various instruments. Man vs. Markets is a must-read handbook for everyday investors, students of finance and economics, and everyone who wants to understand what they're reading in the business section."e;An excellent primer for anyone who needs to know how markets really work and why they sometimes don't."e; -Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor and author of Saving Capitalism
After years of TV and radio coverage, gallons of newsprint ink, and billions of scholarly opinions on the blogosphere, do we really understand the financial engineering that brought the global economy to the brink?
The terms and acronyms that make up the language of economics are enough to cause the layman's head to start spinning: leverage, securitization, futures, options, MBS, CDS, CDO. Luckily, we have veteran journalist Paddy Hirsch?senior producer at APM's Marketplace and acknowledged Whiteboard Guru?to help us crack the code. In Man vs. Markets, he proves that it's not impossible to understand what's going on in the glass-and-steel canyons of Wall Street; that most international financial transactions aren't all that different from those taking place every day in stores, in car dealerships, even on the playgrounds of Main Street.
Bonds? They're basically loans. Futures? You probably used one when you ordered your Thanksgiving turkey last year. Options? Ever bought a fully transferable, returnable airline ticket? That's pretty much the same thing.
With a winning combination of acquired wisdom, common sense, market savvy, and an outrageous sense of humor, Hirsch clearly explains and defines the instruments that power our financial system and very nearly caused its demise. Clever, insightful, hugely educational, and always entertaining, Man vs. Markets translates the often confusing language of finance, enabling every one of us to truly comprehend what makes the markets tick.
