How to Speak Money - Softcover

John Lanchester is contributing editor of the London Review of Books, and a regular contributor to the New Yorker. He has written four novels, The Debt to Pleasure, Mr Phillips and Fragrant Harbour, and Capital, and two works of non-fiction: Family Romance, a memoir; and Whoops!: Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay, about the global financial crisis. His books have won the Hawthornden Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Prize and been longlisted for the Booker Prize.

“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

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

“How to Speak Money is a wonderful and enlightening book. Refreshingly clear, sharp, and funny, it’ll help you understand not only what the language of finance means but also why it matters.”
- James Surowiecki, best-selling author of The Wisdom of Crowds

“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?

“A terrific primer on financial jargon... Anyone who wants to understand the nightly news should keep this volume at hand.”
- Publishers Weekly

“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