Customer Reviews

Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An "Introduction" to anything is going to alienate half the readers. Why? Well, of necessity it is going to compress large topics, simply summarize complex topics, and leave whole swaths of material untouched. Most complaint reviews here fall roughly in to one or more of those buckets.

Let' face some facts: finance is a huge field of inquiry; mathematics is a huge field of inquiry; practical execution is a huge topic in itself (see the offerings of excellent books on Excel (Walkenbach, Benninga) and C++ (Joshi) and VBA (pick one)). An introduction of the intersections of these topics is no small area of inquiry. I stress using AMAZON's "look inside" feature for a table of contents rather than repeat the litany of topics, but major issues like risk, random, returns, and standard methods are all covered in a fine first approximation.

So how well does Paul Wilmott do? The answer is not bad. This is a great first book to use with folks crossing over to quantitative finance from other areas (Theology in my case), or for folks who will work and talk with quants but not be one themselves. It will probably appear frustratingly simple to math or engineering majors, but this is an *introduction* and believe me, the heavy lifting comes latter.

As a teaching text, the lack of exercises is a frustrating, but the CDROM has lots of fun spreadsheets with simple built in macros that make practical lecturing a breeze.

Wilmott's style is light, and he does make some logical leaps that can look sloppy but are transparently obvious to folks like him (trained in math), but it is often difficult to know what others don't know and explain without over explaining. Any author has to pick where to compress explanations and no one is going to be completely pleased with all of where Wilmott squeezes. Still, with a minimum bit of extra effort (you are sitting at a computer reading this, and Google Scholar is about two clicks away) anything that isn't clear can be found in an expanded technical address at Wolfram or other helpful sites.

This book is also a great filter. My students who complain it is too easy I move quickly along. Those who still don't get it I steer towards careers in financial sales, those that are lulled into a false sense of power I hand them Shreve to invoke humble silence.

In short, this is an admirable work for its purpose: an *introduction* to a vast, complex, and growing field. The perfect book to discover the field while drinking a beer. Just don't let the beer talk you into thinking you've mastered the subject with this book alone, and you'll be fine.

I have been reading this book to try to get a better understanding of Hull's book on Options. Wilmott says he is going to keep the math simple but he often leaves out steps in his reasoning. It may be obvious to him but frequently it has not been obvious to me. In fact, I find Hull's book actually more explanatory and easy to follow on topics like stochastic processes and the creation of Ito's lemma than Wilmott's. This is disappointing as Hull gets pretty detailed in his explanations and could use more examples ( not uncommon for academics). I am not an Einstein so I will and do take out pencil and paper to derive results to make sure I understand. I have not been successful in several instances with this book.

Wilmott's sequence to "Derivatives" is 200 pages and 26 chapters shorter. Does that make it less valuable? Not at all! In fact, rather the opposite. Wilmott managed to improve Introduction to Quantitative Finance nicely. He cut out the exercises, added more graphs and more insightful and funny "Wilmott" explanations. Above all, the supplied CD is a real pleasure for Excel friends who will find loads of examples from the book.

I recently adopted Paul Wilmott textbook for a course on financial engineering I regularly give. I have always thought that stochastic calculus and derivatives are subjects very difficult to teach in a friendly manner. Wilmott textbook is very helpful in that regard.

Those that criticize this book as not "mathematical enough" are missing the point. There are plenty of mathematics books out there with loads of detailed math language and rigorous proofs. If you want that it's available. This book is about getting acquainted with difficult material in a compact and human format, and it stills deal with some pretty diffcult topics in an efficient manner. Great book. Buy it. You'll like it.

I have gone through this book to try to get a better understanding of derivative pricing. Math is kept easy but often the author leaves out steps in his reasoning. In fact, I have find Hull's book more explanatory and easy to follow on topics like stochastic processes and the creation of Ito's lemma than Wilmott's. This is disappointing as Hull gets pretty detailed in his explanations. I am not an Einstein so I will not and do take out pencil and paper to derive results to make sure I understand. I have not been successful in several instances with this book. However i would still recommend this book to be read as reference for certain topics that are better explained in this book relative to the other similar ones

This book is not close to the best in class. It's collecting dust on my bookshelf. There isn't enough practical information to make it a reason to take it off the bookshelf after purchase and a read through. "Derivatives Markets" by Robert McDonald is a much better written and more satisfying book. Even the paper quality, cover, and layout are better. The chapters have practical and excellent problem sets. McDonald is also a clearer writer with a better command of the subject.

This book is an excellent starting point for those with no training in the technical aspect of the equities market, although the prime focus is on Derivatives.

Although Derivatives are, as of late, a maligned form of investment, this book delineates a common-sensical approach to evaluating them.

There is a gentle and concise introduction to the mathematics of investments which will please many, but no doubt upset the few purists, especially those who love mathematical rigour and others who would like to retain the mystery and mastery of their universe.

This is an introduction. For those who feel the need to delve deeper, Paul Wilmott has written other books which go into greater depth.

Excellent book for laying foundations. Both theory and practice are covered. Read this first and then follow with the same author's more advanced volumes. Beats Hull for sophistication and ease of understanding. This book is coherent, unlike Hull which is just a random collection of disjoint chapters. Very modern.

This book is the perfect place to start learning about quantitative finance and derivatives. All you need is some basic calculus and the rest is easy. This book is definitely for those who need to understand the mathematics behind finance but it is presented in a way that the understanding comes very naturally. The mathematics is presented in a very intuitive way.

There is also an accompanying CD. This contains Excel spreadsheets for almost every chapter and model in the book. This is the best such CD I've seen. (Most authors throw in a CD as an afterthought or as part of a sales pitch, this CD is carefully thought out and adds a lot of value...

If you want the best introduction to this subject BUY THIS BOOK!