Derivatives: The Wild Beast of Finance [Hardcover]

Alfred Steinherr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0471965448 | ISBN-13: 978-0471965442 | Edition: 1

Advance praise for Derivatives: The Wild Beast of Finance "Dr Steinherr has written a most valuable and badly-needed book on an important subject. . this book is to date the most complete, comprehensive and searching description and analysis of derivatives and their markets. Indeed, I can think of no better manual as well as continuous reference work for anyone interested in the subject than this present work." Lord Roll of Ipsden, Senior Adviser SBC Warburg, former Chairman of S. G. Warburg and Co. Ltd "A lot of nonsense has been said about derivatives, none of which has found its way into Steinherr's careful, but lively and very readable analysis." Alexandre Lamfalussy, former President of the European Monetary Institute "With deep understanding of the historical, social and technical forces involved, Alfred Steinherr pertinently extracts for the professional and lay reader the crucial elements of the financial revolution . and alerts them to the further dramatic implications . as the activity moves into the cyberspace world of the next millennium." Jack Wigglesworth, Chairman of LIFFE "A book full of ideas and written in a style that is both serious and entertaining." Karl Otto P?hl, Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie, former President of Deutsche Bundesbank "Alfred Steinherr provides a lively and informative canter through the world of derivatives, including their history, implications - not least for regulators - and their future developments. This is a most valuable book for practitioners, officials and students alike." Professor Charles A. E. Goodhart, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics "Alfred Steinherr's book is a readable and entertaining introduction to the subject with much food for thought for the layman and insider alike." Andrew D. Crockett, General Manager, Bank of International Settlements "Alfred Steinherr has produced a lucid, authoritative tour through an arcane corner of modern finance that has emerged as a pillar of global capital markets. Senior executives in particular would be well advised to read this book if they want to know what their financial specialists are really up to." Professor Ingo Walter, Director of Salomon Center, New York University

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr Steinherr has written a most valuable and badly-needed book on an important subject.... This book is to date the most complete, comprehensive and searching description and analysis of derivatives and their markets. Indeed, I can think of no better manual as well as continuous reference work for anyone interested in the subject than this present work" -- Lord Roll of Ipsden, Senior Adviser SBC Warburg, Former Chairman of S.G. Warburg and Co. Ltd
"A lot of nonsense has been said about derivatives, none of which has found its way into Steinherr's careful, but lively and very readable analysis." -- Alexandre Lanfalussy, former President , European Monetary Institute
"With deep understanding of the historical, social and technical forces involved, Alfred Steinherr pertinently extracts for the professional and the lay reader the crucial elements of the financial revolution... and alerts them to the further dramatic implications... as the activity moves into the cyberspace world of the next millennium." -- Jack Wigglesworth, Chairman, LIFFE
"A book full of ideas and written in a style that is both serious and entertaining." -- Karl Otto Pohl, Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie, former President of Deutsche Bundesbank
"Alfred Steinherr provides a lively and informative canter through the world of derivatives, including their history, implications - not least for regulators - and their future developments. This is a most valuable book for practitioners, officials and students alike." -- Professor Charles A.E. Goodhart, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics
"Alfred Steinherr's book is a readable and entertaining introduction to the subject with much food for thought for the layman and insider alike." -- Andrew D. Crockett, General Manager, Bank of International Settlements
"Alfred Steinherr has produced a lucid, authoritative tour through an arcane corner of modern finance that has emerged as a pillar of global capital markets. Senior executives in particular would be well advised to read this book if they want to know what their financial specialists are really up to." -- Professor Ingo Walter, Director of Salomon Center, New York University

From the Publisher

In their award-winning essay The Wild Beast of Derivatives, the authors made an important contribution to the debate on the regulatory implications of derivatives. In this groundbreaking work they expand on their original ideas, placing derivatives in a wider historical and economic context and reflect on the dramatic implications these powerful instruments may have for the conduct of monetary policy and the future of world banking.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 452 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (April 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471965448
• ISBN-13: 978-0471965442
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,997,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars scary, November 21, 2008

By 

Joe "runner" (big apple) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Derivatives The Wild Beast of Finance: A Path to Effective Globalisation? (Paperback)

Scary. Definitive. Spectacular. Your mind will explode. This is not an uninformed book written by an outsider. It's far more informative and frightening than that. This is a high-finance rocket scientist assessing the risky innovations that have taken over in a deregulatory world.

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD HISTORY AND FUTURE PREDICTION, December 31, 2009

By 

Robert Del Rosso (New York City) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Derivatives The Wild Beast of Finance: A Path to Effective Globalisation? (Paperback)

The author gives us a great history of derivatives going back to how they were used in 15th Century Italy (you could just invest in 10 percent of a ship - so if the whole ship went down you had limited your risk) and ancient Greece. Alfred also shows how derivatives aquired "steroids" (my term) and became supercharged in the 1970s and how if we do not reform the system, they could "blow up" and destroy the world financial system. The quote from the May 14, 1994 Economist magazine is very sobering in that regard.
Well, then came March 2008 and Bear Stearns and Sept 2008 and Fannie, Fredie, AIG, and Lehman Brothers, to show us the author was right, after all.
I think that it's not too late for President Obama, Secy of the Treasury Tim Geitner and Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke to read this book, if they have not already.
If they have, then I would ask why they have not made a stronger case for derivatives to be regulated, before an even GREATER financial crisis occurs!
As Hegel said 150 years ago: "The only thing that History teaches us is that man does not learn from History."

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of Regulatory Topics, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Derivatives: The Wild Beast of Finance (Hardcover)

A good book for looking at recent derivs controversy and related regulatory topics. Probably among the best, certainly in this price range. Highly recommended.