The Devil's Financial Dictionary by Jason Zweig

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The Devil's Financial Dictionary

by Jason ZweigPublishedbyPublic Affairs (£12.99)

In 1906, journalist Ambrose Bierce published The Cynic's Word Book. Later renamed The Devil's Dictionary, it presented satirical, sarcastic, but largely accurate, definitions of words for example, a lawyer is defined as "one skilled in circumvention of the law".

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The Devil's Financial Dictionary, by Jason Zweig, applies this template to the world of finance. But Zweig doesn't just want to entertain his readers with snark he wants to help them "master the many ways in which Wall Street uses language to conceal rather than reveal information". So while some definitions are very short and pithy, others are longer, purely educational explanations, with no attempt at satire. And it works.

Zweig, an experiencedfinancial columnist in the US, excels at explaining conceptsin simple terms, while being neither patronising nor dull. Heis also genuinely funny. For example, he defines forecastingas the "attempt to predict the unknowable by measuring theirrelevant; a task that, in one way or another, employs mostpeople on Wall Street".

My only quibble is with his use ofmade-up quotes from fictitious bankers. Given the number ofgaffes that litter the financial landscape, it shouldn't have beenhard to stick to actual quotes throughout. But this is a minorflaw and the book has had generally positive reviews.

Thosewho already work in finance will find it entertaining thosewho don't will find it educational. In all, it's the ideal Christmasstocking-stuffer for anyone with a remote interest in investing.

The Devil's Financial Dictionary by Jason Zweig is published byPublic Affairs (£12.99).