How to Speak Money - Hardcover

A hugely enjoyable book... It's true: anything's understandable if you have a fun teacher. ... Lanchester, award-winning novelist apart, is a kind of brainy Everyman, a brilliant communicator., The Times

What makes this such an entertaining and informative read if that it spells out why you should be able to speak money... witty, provocative and engaging., Evening Standard

One of the great explainers of the financial crisis and its aftermath. -- Michael Lewis, author of Flash Boys

I have read and re-read John Lanchester's wonderful book on economics. It's a dazzling, most wonderful book and it really excites me - it is so witty and so clear and so original - a most extraordinary book! -- Claire Tomalin

'It works - for three reasons. First, Lanchester is a fine writer. His prose is clear and precise, and that helps a lot when the subject matter is challenging. Second, he peps up the list with humour. ... Third, he gets the balance right: the book is neither too technical nor too patronising. -- Larry Elliott, The Guardian

John Lanchester continues his mission to explain the world of finance to the uninitiated with this insightful and often funny book on the language the money people use ... If, as Lanchester says, arguments about the economy are going to dominate the social and political landscape over the next decade, we should all aim to become more financially literate. His book is an invaluable primer. -- Ian Critchley, Sunday Times

Anyone who wants to demystify finance and economics should read this excellent primer on the jargon that we use, usually to obscure rather than to clarify. -- Chris Johns, The Irish Times

Ever since the crash, Lanchester has made it his mission to try to translate between the two cultures ... he suggests that "one of my ambitions for this book is that it'll make readers want to go and read more about money and economics". It may; but if you only want a short course in financial linguistics and the way they shape our world, this volume will do the job just fine on its own. -- Tim Adams, The Observer

A very entertaining read and a clear guide to the kind of economics spoken in the financial markets and the media. Those who already speak the language would do well to read the initial essay and reflect on it, and in particular on what normal people hear when they are using the jargon. The understanding gap is large, and any effort to narrow it is welcome. -- Diane Coyle, LSE Review of Books

'John Lanchester says one of his aims in writing How to Speak Money is to encourage his readers to learn more about money and economics. He also says, if pushed, that his big ambition is to encourage everyone to go and read more about economics, a subject h claims is not a "dismal science" at all, but the essence of human behaviour in all forms.

Well, Lanchester has pulled off both ambitions...The book works because Lanchester follows the famous rule of showing rather than telling, and injects narrative as well as context into the subject matter.'

-- Margareta Pagan, The Independent on Sunday