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Summary: A great book that combines theory and practice
Review: A great book that combines theory and practice. Wilmott is a practitioner who clearly harbors great doubts about classical theories. If you read this book thoroughly you will get a knowledge on which you can really build. Wilmott also has the most amazing website.
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Summary: A Good Financial Dictionary
Review: A lot of chapters, a lot of topics covered. Wilmott manages to cover just about everything you need to know about mathematical finance. However with 67 chapters squeezed into 1100 pages - he only _just_ manages to touch on everything. He is also trapped in the methodological past - he reduces everything down to the PDE and looks to solve that. The more recent methods, involving Martingale representations, are not only much simpler (no PDEs) but are also more powerful. Yet Wilmott continues to ignore these methods. Having said that, he does cover everything else you might ever want to know. Use this book as a good dictionary. If you see a term used that you do not know - look it up in Wilmott. Then if you need to know details about that topic, go elsewhere.
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Summary: Wilmott did it again--another mother of all QF books
Review: After looking at my colleague's copy of this new fantastic, super-duper book, I had to get a copy. How does this guy write so well? Also, I like his approach of uncovering the mysteries of mathematics. Often, QF papers are ridden with symbols that only a select people would understand. With Wilmott's book, anybody with college training in math and motivation can understand and internalize the concepts. I wish other academics follow his examples.
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Summary: Great companion text
Review: After reading the reviews by various readers, I bought the text. After reading it, I must commend Paul Wilmott for his work. The text reads well and the icons are particularly interesting, and yes, helpful in identifying critical matter. Some reviewers found his entertaining writing style to be distracting; I didn't. I believe it's okay to chuckle from time to time. Others found his use of different symbology confusing. Learning and applying derivatives is not about a particular symbol, rather it's about the equation form and meaning. The use of different symbols from that of other authors served to reinforce meaning and form to me. And still, others found the lack of examples to be unacceptable. I agree to some degree, but referring to texts and examples by other authors (e.g., Hull, Prisman, Kolb) helped me to appreciate the application as well as meaning and form. The text is designed for serious study and was not a "quick read" for me. Hope this helps you decide to buy this text. I think it is worth the investment...only if you have additional texts on your bookshelf.
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Summary: Wilmott raises the dead
Review: Are you in an academic midlife crisis, realising you don't care about finance, maths and economics anymore because all the books and research articles you encounter are boring boring boring? Read this book and you will become aware, again, of how fascinating quantitative finance can be. The nice thing is, everything is explained so well. What I found very helpful and entertaining is that the author makes clear that he has doubts about some bits of the theory that by many are taken for granted (Value at Risk modelling, for example), and why. Not a religious efficient markets, no arbitrage, fanatic. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Wilmott strikes again
Review: I have been an appreciative reader of the previous books by Paul Wilmott, and I eagerly bought this updated edition of Derivatives right away. There was no surprise: this is possibly the most comprehensive book on mathematical finance up to date. Several new chapters have been added, some of them addressing very interesting subjects such as stochastic control (one of my favourites), and many others have been expanded. For instance, American options are explained more thoroughly in this edition. You won't need a PhD in math to read the book: it takes little mathematical knowledge to understand the models to a good level of accuracy (strange as it may sound, the author succeeds in demonstrating it is so), and the derivation of more subtle quantitative subjects is straightforward. Wilmott as usual includes some funny lines throughout the text that make the reading light and enjoyable. The drawing boxes depicting the author himself providing concise advice on what issues to focus on may certainly look childish, yet I think they are of some help to the reader. Actually, I think it's impossible to conceive a topic in derivatives theory (and practice, as the author reminds) not covered in these volumes. Do not expect Paul Wilmott on quantitative finance to provide a useful quick reference for formulas and basic ideas, though. The thick and heavy two volumes are a nightmare to carry around (despite the stylish box that accomodates them) and you won't like to browse through the index jumping from one book to the other. Overall, I think this book is a must for all those interested in financial mathematics. Students and first-timers can not, in my humble opinion, find a better textbook for developing a wide knowledge of mathematical finance, and they will certainly read it cover to cover and will have hard time putting it down. More experienced readers might find the level of exposition, especially in the first chapters, quite introductory, but they certainly will appreciate the broad scope of the book and the unconventional yet very enjoyable style with which the subjects are explained. Moreover, Wilmott is available for answering questions and exchanging ideas and opinions, and I think that's a huge resource, considering how greatly knowledgeable he is. There are only two small drawbacks with this book: the price tag and the ugly suit worn by the author (who, surprisingly enough, seems proud of it) in a picture on the back cover of one of the volumes, but serious Wilmott enthusiasts will happily accept both. As a matter of fact, I'm already looking forward to hear about his next (4 volumes, 2K pages?) release.
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Summary: Keep up the good work!
Review: I loved this book. It goes way beyond his other books such as Derivatives, to places not even conceived of by other authors. The first part of the book is pretty basic, but very well written. But by the end your mind will be totally blown. I've read lots of reviews comparing and contrasting Wilmott to Feynman, Sagan, and god knows who else. One thing is for certain Feynman and Sagan aren't writing much these days so it's good to have Wilmott! Long live Wilmott!
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Summary: The first resource
Review: I own 'most' of the standard texts, oddly enough, this was one of my most recent purchases. Now, whenenver I need to find out about some concept I am unfamiliar with, or brush up on something, this is the first reference. Very often the other books don't get a look in.
Luckily I work from home. They aren't the sort of books you would take home from the office for bedtime reading, unless you did weightlifting as a hobby.
Pity the martingale approach is missing. Ignore the ridiculous comment by another reviewer who dismisses the martingale approach as useless. The approach is hard, that's all. It would be great to see it boiled down in further volumes.
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Summary: Wilmott is no Feynman
Review: I own a copy of Wilmott's "Derivatives", which I find to be a useful, if somewhat superficial, reference for a wide variety of financial problems. It was worth buying. In his new opus, Wilmott makes an obvious attempt to copy the style and insight of "The Feynman Lectures on Physics". However, Wilmott falls rather short, and cannot deliver anything beyond what is in his previous books. Forget the boxed set and fancy signature, and stick with the previous book.
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Summary: Just buy the Derivatives book
Review: I was hoping for something more than the derivatives book. I was really disappointed. Not only it is mostly repeating the other book. It is even less detailed. I love Paul Wilmott's books.. However, this last one you can do without.. Just buy the derivatives the theory and practice book and you will be happy you did. I am sending this one back...I was really hoping for more Juice from Wilmott..
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