The human face of finance

something even duller: Finance.

Mr Desai has tried to make it interesting. Instead of using intimidating things like algebra and geometry, he uses stories. From Dashiell Hammett to Jane Austen to Anthony Trollope, John Milton to Samuel Johnson – all are pressed into service.

As pedagogical devices go, it succeeds very well because it places finance in a social and literary context, albeit of the West. But the issues he deals with – risk and how to mitigate it via insurance – are global. For that reason alone, perhaps, this book should become a must-read for students of finance.

Or, better still, and before imitations appear, perhaps Mr Desai should attempt a similar book with Indian stories. The Panchatantra would be a good place to start. I can even suggest a story or two from it for him.

One is where the lion asks some animals if his breath stinks. The sheep says yes and is eaten by the lion for telling the truth. Seeing this, the wolf says no and is killed for lying. The fox sees the wisdom of hedging and says he has a cold and can’t smell a thing.

Another is about the fox in the lion’s den. “I say, old chap,” urges the lion, “why don’t you come closer?” After some hemming and hawing the fox replies: “Boss, there so many footprints going in but none going out.”

The moral, at least for un-hedged Indian companies: Don’t take risks till you know how to de-risk.

After much wondering about how to convince people that finance is not all, or mostly, about crooks, Mihir Desai hit upon the idea of using literary stories