November 11th 2003 saw a landmark event take place in London. As the first conference designed for quants by quants the Quantitative Finance Review 2003, moved away from the anonymous bazaars that have become the norm, and instead delivered valuable information to market practitioners with the greatest interest. The roster of speakers was phenomenal, ranging from founding fathers to bright young things, discussing the latest developments, with a specific emphasis on the burgeoning field of credit derivatives. You really had to be there. Until now, at least. The Best of Wilmott 1: Including the latest research from Quantitative Finance Review 2003 contains these first- class articles, originally presented at the QFR 2003, along with a collection of selected technical papers from Wilmott magazine. In publishing this book we hope to share some of the great insights that, until now, only delegates at QFR 2003 were privy to, and give you some idea why Wilmott magazine is the most talked about periodical in the market.