Guide to Financial Markets (6th edition): The Economist

This book is the probably the best introductory resource to a complex topic. Each chapter focusses on a particular kind of financial market, and they are written in a manner that enables the reader to choose how deeply they want to explore the market. For example, I wanted a simple working knowledge, and the first 5-6 pages of each chapter were sufficient to gain a high level understanding.

An excellent over view of the financial markets. I wish I had read this book, or one like it a long time ago.

I knew nothing about financial markets before this book. It is a very simple and easy book for you to start understanding the financial market dynamics!

If you have money that is invested, and you want to learn more about the basics of the different financial markets then this is the book. It covers nearly all the different financial markets and gives a good amount of detail to how they work, what common used words mean and important history about that market.A must read for all Beginning-Intermediate investors or speculators interested in finance/investing.

Really tells you a lot of the workings of the various financial markets, especially conditions and changes after the crisis. As a young professional just getting my feet wet in studying financial markets (and with a more theoretical economics background) this has been pretty useful.

Definitely liked the fact that every market has been covered in the book. Doesn’t leave you wondering about things like, “what’s a derivative?” Or “what is a futures market?” when you read them. It is however a bit complex for beginners.

I needed this as a textbook for a graduate course, so it wasn't something I just picked up to read for fun. That said, it is a well laid-out approach to learning about financial markets. It has many clear examples and plenty of statistics to back up its points.

Easy to read book that describes in detail how financial markets work.

Having read a previous edition some years ago, I read this to expand my knowledge as I work in a related industry. It seems to cover most aspects of markets and is reasonably clear, but I thought it a bit long on bonds and short on equities and derivatives. I would have liked more detail on settlement and market data.It has clearly been re-written to cover some of the 2008 crash, which is a good thing. Overall, it's unlikely to hold the interest of the casual reader, and I found it hard going last thing at night. Insomniacs may be well-served.

It’s a good 101 guide to financial markets

This book gives a great insight but can be difficult to get through and can be very dry at times.

A very good beginners guide to economics covering all aspects of modern day economic structures. This is a must read to set you on your way to understanding the complex structure and theory behind economics.

PROS: Higher level breakdown of different types of financial markets. Has some illustrations to help provide examples within.CONS: Not very specific or mapped out well. You will find it bounces around form one thing to the next without any real context or examples. You never really get engaged. It's that same feel as watching someone flipped through channels on TV.