Nerds on Wall Street: Math, Machines and Wired Markets |  | Author: David J. Leinweber
Publisher: Wiley
List Price: $39.95
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Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 35937
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 353
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0471369462
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.64273
EAN: 9780471369462
ASIN: 0471369462
Publication Date: June 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
An intriguing look at how technology is changing financial markets, from an innovator on the frontlines of this revolution
Nerds on Wall Street tells the tale of the ongoing technological transformation of the world's financial markets. The impact of technology on investing is profound, and author David Leinweber provides readers with an overview of where we were just a few short years ago, and where we are going. Being a successful investor today and tomorrow--individual or institutional--involves more than stock picking, asset allocation, or market timing: it involves technology. And Leinweber helps readers go beyond the numbers to see exactly how this technology has become more responsible for managing modern markets. In essence, the financial game has changed and will continue to change due entirely to technology. The new "players," human or otherwise, offer investors opportunities and dangers. With this intriguing and entertaining book, Leinweber shows where technology on Wall Street has been, what it has meant, and how it will impact the markets of tomorrow.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 Informative, entertaining, timely read! October 17, 2009
C. Solomon (New York, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As someone outside of the financial world, with no familiarity with the ways of Wall Street or the workings of financial markets, I found this book to be a great read. I actually learned something about the newer financial instruments that dominated the news last fall and the background of the "quants" phenomenon. Anyone who has not been under a rock for the last year should find this a compelling and entertaining read. Buy it!
Herds on Wall Street August 14, 2009
John Beck (Phoenix AZ)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Really good book. Very light, humorous approach that makes the technical-to-most-of-us material interesting and readable.
When I was done, I understood things about trading on Wall Street that I've never understood before.
And I also understood that innovation on Wall Street is just like innovation in every other market -- new things that are based on real needs and principles yield real, lasting value. But profiting from those "new insights" is limited by the time it takes the rest of the "herd" to follow. The problem comes, as we seen in the last section of the book, when the "herd" stampedes after innovation-for-innovation-sake instruments like derivatives and CDOs and we are faced with near market collapse.
All of this begs the question -- have the "real" innovations on the stock market been largely exploited already? Is there anything but "fad" left for the Nerds on Wall Street to offer the rest of the herd?
** Lighten-up, Aaron! ** August 14, 2009
Jeffrey G. Nolan (New Haven, CT United States)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Aaron Brown's surprisingly peevish review is out-of-context for what this book is.
Nerds is a cartoon-covered romp that announces itself at the outset as Borscht-belt shtick. It's a self-deprecating look at vending machine ice cream bars melting in the shirt pockets of those dateless, hygiene-challenged, quant-jock-inhabitants of basement labs, who pioneered practical uses of artificial intelligence on Wall Street. It's Rodney Dangerfield meets Douglas Hofstadter; Alfred E. Neuman explaining Warren Buffett; the Hasty Puddings on Nobel Prize winners.
The audience for this kind of entertainment expects hoots, spilled drinks and cracker crumbs. Loosen your tie, lighten-up, and enjoy the amusing and informative story telling.
This book is born of the same spirit as the pithy 1954 best-seller, How to Lie with Statistics, is as informative as the Pulitzer Prizing winning, The Soul of a New Machine, and is delivered in a decidedly humorous way. Enjoy it for what it is.
Leinweber is the man! August 13, 2009
David Porter (Irvine, CA USA)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
This was a very informative and fun book to read. Most books in this area are dry and self-serving. Leinweber has made a very timely and complex topic accessible to all of us. Buy the book.
Romping in the Market July 28, 2009
goldie (Saratoga, NY)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
As someone who is totally unschooled in the ways of Wall Street, I found myself actually enjoying the treatment Leinweber gives to the history of the market--lively, entertaining, and informative. Although the going gets tough for the novice like me, it was well worth the reading effort to actually get a grip on the inner workings of the market. As a math nerd, I found his treatment of Wall Street very similar to Berlinski's A Tour of the Calculus. I have recommended this to many friends, and so far no friendships have been lost.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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