A text with a thoroughly integrated applications orientation revolving around the philosophy that companies need to know how to finance organizations in order to reach optimal capital structure. Recognizing that every investment decision involves choosing the right amount of debt and equity, the text suggests readers look at data and ask, "What is relevant? Why is this detail important? How does it answer the question?"
Aswath Damodaran is a Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University (Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education). He is well known as the author of several widely used academic and practitioner texts on Valuation, Corporate Finance and Investment Management; as well as a provider of comprehensive data for valuation purposes.
The most lucid textbook out there to attenuate difficult finance concepts to the lay student. Wish this would be more of a mandatory reading to the Wall street types.