The Fundamentals of Risk Measurement

Rating:
Summary: An impressive textbook on the fundamentals of risk
Review: This book is exactly what it aims to be: a textbook on the fundamentals of risk. The value of Marrison's book resides precisely in its ability to gather an enormous amount of material and present it to the reader in a clear, transparent form. It is true that other authors delve into certain aspects of risk more deeply, but no other book gathers all aspects of risk in such a comprehensible, yet hands-on work. Even if you want to spend the time and money in gathering 30 other books to cover this material, "The Fundamentals of Risk Measurement" is still a good buy: it is a practical guide to risk that encompasses every aspect of risk measurement without getting overly convoluted; an invaluable tool for the beginner and a handy reference for the experienced.

Rating:
Summary: Regurgitated Text Book
Review: This is the best book on risk I've read. I liked the introduction to risk & capital, very "ground-up". I've read a few risk books, but finally with this one I understand the stuff. I like the way all the equations are built from first principles, very easy to follow. There are lots of sections on how to do thing, even saying what Excel functions to use. It does get a bit too detailed at some points, like the liquidity section, but I was able to skip those and still understand the rest of the book. I'll go back to them later. I would recommend this as both a good introduction to risk, and as a reference. I wish I had had this book a year ago.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to risk management
Review: This is the best book on risk I've read. I liked the introduction to risk & capital, very "ground-up". I've read a few risk books, but finally with this one I understand the stuff. I like the way all the equations are built from first principles, very easy to follow. There are lots of sections on how to do thing, even saying what Excel functions to use. It does get a bit too detailed at some points, like the liquidity section, but I was able to skip those and still understand the rest of the book. I'll go back to them later. I would recommend this as both a good introduction to risk, and as a reference. I wish I had had this book a year ago.

Rating:
Summary: Moderately interesting
Review: While I would not go as far in criticising this book as one previous reviewer, I do question why the author wrote the book. It does provide a useful summary of the basics. But that is exactly the danger, it only describes the basics and does not indicate how you go beyond the basics. The problem is that risk management is too important and too complicated to be left to beginners. The danger is that someone could read this book and be left with the impression that they understood risk management. There is so much more that is not covered here and very little guidance on how to find it. I am sure that beginners will love this book, it makes it all seem so easy. The only problem is that it is not all so easy and many topics skimmed over in this book e.g. operational risk need much more attention than this book provides.

Rating:
Summary: Moderately interesting
Review: While I would not go as far in criticising this book as one previous reviewer, I do question why the author wrote the book. It does provide a useful summary of the basics. But that is exactly the danger, it only describes the basics and does not indicate how you go beyond the basics. The problem is that risk management is too important and too complicated to be left to beginners. The danger is that someone could read this book and be left with the impression that they understood risk management. There is so much more that is not covered here and very little guidance on how to find it. I am sure that beginners will love this book, it makes it all seem so easy. The only problem is that it is not all so easy and many topics skimmed over in this book e.g. operational risk need much more attention than this book provides.