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njdarkish's review against another edition
4.0
Very informative, but the reality of all that happened is infuriating.
gayatriii's review against another edition
4.0
Super compelling read, even for someone who didn't quite understand it all. I had to google a lot of terms for the book to make sense, and often just skipped over a few concepts altogether hoping they wouldn't be crucial to the narrative. Despite all that, it is deeply insightful and shocks you into realising that the great recession wasn't just the making of a few million greedy American home-owners (which is what I believed until now). Must read for everyone, definite must read if you understand financial jargon.
gemblebeeb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Did I enjoy it? Yes!
Did I understand it? Almost!
Will have to re-listen again soon. See if I get more second time around.
Did I understand it? Almost!
Will have to re-listen again soon. See if I get more second time around.
kivt's review against another edition
5.0
this is some of the best writing i’ve read in a long time.
j_m_alexander's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I am real late to this read and doubt I have any new insights to really add - so, simply: A well-told, quick-paced deep dive into what lead up to the housing market crash/financial crisis/great recession by focusing on a few individuals that saw the shenanigans in the market for what it was and what it would inevitably lead to before everyone else and figured out how to make a smart bet against the house before the whole Jenga tower of bad debt came crashing down.
It was interesting to look back at an event that seemed so calamitous at the time and directly or indirectly had a real impact on all of our lives, but it generally feels like we moved on from... probably because there have been other calamitous crises since + short attention spans and all that.
Very consumable. Excellent portraits of people at the center of the story. Makes you feel smarter.
It was interesting to look back at an event that seemed so calamitous at the time and directly or indirectly had a real impact on all of our lives, but it generally feels like we moved on from... probably because there have been other calamitous crises since + short attention spans and all that.
Very consumable. Excellent portraits of people at the center of the story. Makes you feel smarter.
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
Only in America can you be so incompetent at your job that you go beyond the mere bonds of not knowing what you're doing. You lose BILLIONS of dollars and still end up making millions. Wow, would use middle and lower class folk like to know the secret of screwing up that spectacularly at our jobs, and still getting rich while doing it. If you feel like getting angry all over again at the financial meltdown, read this book. If not, well, it might be best for your sanity if you avoid it.
In other words, this is an excellent, revealing, and rage-making book about one of the biggest financial disasters in history.
In other words, this is an excellent, revealing, and rage-making book about one of the biggest financial disasters in history.
cdjdhj's review against another edition
4.0
Every summer, my husband an I read the same book as sort of a "reading date." I had heard good things about this book, so for Father's Day, I gave us both a copy so we could read it together. My husband is a former accountant/finance guy and is very astute and the economy and markets in general. The most interesting and yet the most unsettling thing about the story told in this book is that it is true. It is the real tale of how our entire economy, society, and way of life very nearly went down the tubes due to incompetence, dishonesty, fraud and greed. The worst part is that the story isn't over, because the problems have not been solved and we, as a society, are setting ourselves up to have them happen again. We do not seem to learn the vitally important lessons we need to learn.
I finished the book before my husband, even though I read many parts of it 2-3 times just to make sure I understood it. (My husband took notes on much of it). It is not that the book is poorly written, Michael Lewis makes the very complex financial issues he writes about in this book about as clear as they can possibly be made, yet for someone like me, they are still hard to understand. Lewis says that a root cause of the Great Recession of 2008 is that even those in government, banks and brokerage houses, who are paid millions to understand the risks and rewards of our capitalistic economy, really had no clue as to what was going on in the sub-prime mortgage industry prior to 2007.
Lewis does not come across as either a liberal or conservation in this book, he simply tells the story, through the eyes of several of the key players, of how the shortsightedness and greed of a few brought the economy of the United States of America to its knees. In my opinion, every American needs to read this book or one like it. We all need to know just how fragile our system really is, especially when manipulated by greed and self-serving interests. There is some language when Lewis quotes the hedge fund managers who were manipulating our economy. Highly recommended - even though I gave it only four stars because it deals with such a complex issue. Don't let that deter you - READ IT!
I finished the book before my husband, even though I read many parts of it 2-3 times just to make sure I understood it. (My husband took notes on much of it). It is not that the book is poorly written, Michael Lewis makes the very complex financial issues he writes about in this book about as clear as they can possibly be made, yet for someone like me, they are still hard to understand. Lewis says that a root cause of the Great Recession of 2008 is that even those in government, banks and brokerage houses, who are paid millions to understand the risks and rewards of our capitalistic economy, really had no clue as to what was going on in the sub-prime mortgage industry prior to 2007.
Lewis does not come across as either a liberal or conservation in this book, he simply tells the story, through the eyes of several of the key players, of how the shortsightedness and greed of a few brought the economy of the United States of America to its knees. In my opinion, every American needs to read this book or one like it. We all need to know just how fragile our system really is, especially when manipulated by greed and self-serving interests. There is some language when Lewis quotes the hedge fund managers who were manipulating our economy. Highly recommended - even though I gave it only four stars because it deals with such a complex issue. Don't let that deter you - READ IT!