"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'. Desai does this by using a clever and unusual device: literature. [...] the wider philosophical point is, Desai argues, that one of the great failings of our modern world is a 'chasm' between the arts and science, and between finance and humanities. This prevents financiers from understanding the social context in which they operate. It also means that non-financiers do not understand how finance drives our world, or the fact that money encapsulates and crystallises social patterns and values. [...] 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."

"Desai casts a wide net. The result is a lively book full of surprising references. The Wire’s Stringer Bell and Pride and Prejudice’s Lizzy Bennett are your guides to mitigating risk. The accidental success of Springtime for Hitler in The Producers explains the principle-agent problem. An episode of The Simpsons demonstrates how insurance can create moral hazard. But it is when Desai uses finance as a window on life – rather than the inverse – that he writes with the most insight. [...] I asked Desai what he thinks the most common misconception people have about finance. His answer is blunt: 'I think they think it is evil.' [...] Paradoxically, after eight chapters about 'how great finance is', Desai ends The Wisdom of Finance with a chapter on what has gone wrong with it."