Could somone recommend a single book for me to start off with?

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Turtle

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I've recently graduated (undergraduate) in math and physics and have settled on finance as my career path. This direction, however, is thanks to an interest in applied math and a fascination with the flow of the economy, not thanks to an appreciation for the inner workings of financial institutions, about which I know very little.

I've done a little searching on the board and most requests like this one are referred to the reading list here:

Master reading list for MFE - QuantNetwork - Financial Engineering Forum

which is certainly a valuable resource, but not very specific. Is there a single book or couple of books that someone could recommend to start off with?
 
I believe:

  1. Hull, Shreve, Stefanica are common starting points from a financial instruments perspective
  2. Emanuel Derman's book for a flavor of the industry
Can you be more specific about your interests in mathematical finance & knowledge?
 
doug reich said:
Can you be more specific about your interests in mathematical finance & knowledge?
Click to expand...

I'm... not sure that I can. Thank you for the suggestions, one of those will probably give me a better idea of what to expect.
 
After Doug's post, I browsed a bit through Shreve's "Methods of Mathematical Finance". I like it and I will read it in more detail, however it would be a bit more difficult as a starter.

I would start with Math Primer from Stefanica. It gives a feel of option pricing and it starts from simple calculus/probability. After going through entire Hull, not sure if it is really worth it.
It is definitely a good reference, but it seems pretty far from a pure Math Finance program ...
 
Stefan Zota said:
After Doug's post, I browsed a bit through Shreve's "Methods of Mathematical Finance". I like it and I will read it in more detail, however it would be a bit more difficult as a starter.

I would start with Math Primer from Stefanica. It gives a feel of option pricing and it starts from simple calculus/probability. After going through entire Hull, not sure if it is really worth it.
It is definitely a good reference, but it seems pretty far from a pure Math Finance program ...
Click to expand...

Huh. Well I was going to go with Hull, because I couldn't find Stefanica at the library and paying for textbooks that I don't need for a class just seems... expensive. None the less, it's cheaper than the average textbook and I suppose that if I want to do this right I'd better be ready to shell out for it.
 
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