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tritlo's review against another edition
3.0
A good book that gives one a lot of insights into the 2008 collapse. A documentary told in a very narrative way, it really helps you gain some understanding of what happened.
aqsa_ayman's review against another edition
3.0
I feel I can take away ideas like CDOs and credit default swaps from this book for further research, but that’s also because I couldn’t understand everything I wanted to while reading this. I liked the tower analogy for the CDOs for example, but generally there was more emphasis on stating how corrupt or deceptive the decisions that these financiers made were. That makes complete sense; the book is describing the causes of the crisis and isn’t a tutorial to supplement my (weak) financial knowledge. But I kept asking myself why such decisions were allowed, and wishing for more insight from the people that the main characters were betting against.
I liked how the author talks about these characters in a way that brings out their very distinct personalities, even though morally I don’t know how to feel about them. They bet against the “baddies” of the financial system, but they also admit to fuelling the machine that caused the collapse.
I had to rewind pretty much every time I came back to this book to make sure I still had some sense of what was currently happening, and there were parts that got a bit dull, but overall I’m grateful to have gained some insight into the 2008 crisis, and as a result allow myself to be more cynical, especially when I’m at a point in life to be considering big financial commitments.
I liked how the author talks about these characters in a way that brings out their very distinct personalities, even though morally I don’t know how to feel about them. They bet against the “baddies” of the financial system, but they also admit to fuelling the machine that caused the collapse.
I had to rewind pretty much every time I came back to this book to make sure I still had some sense of what was currently happening, and there were parts that got a bit dull, but overall I’m grateful to have gained some insight into the 2008 crisis, and as a result allow myself to be more cynical, especially when I’m at a point in life to be considering big financial commitments.
ableinchrist14's review against another edition
2.0
This book was very dry and boring. It has a lot of information as to what happened and why during the 2008 housing bust, but it just drug on and on. I'm willing to bet the movie is much better than this book is.
lastpaige111's review against another edition
3.0
I understood about a third of this book, and both comforted and discomforted knowing that even the people who sold these arcane financial instruments -- and those who bought them -- didn't understand them either. What I did take away from the book is that I am very glad I fled Wall Street in 1981 before I was seduced and became a vampiress who produced nothing but misery.
Hey -- I did figure out what selling short means. That's something, right?
Plus I watched BLINDSIDE while skimming the book -- how gripping Lewis' one narrative is compared to the other. But maybe that's just me. I just can't get excited reading about how Wall Street's CEO's have bankrupted us. Even if the book is about the oddballs who figured it all out in advance ...
I remembered the guys I worked with in 1980-81, and I hated them even more. But they don't care. They're very rich. And we taxpayers took care of that for them.
But I read this entire book and I didn't care about anyone in it, one way or the other. I think that means that Lewis is not the greatest nonfiction story teller of a generation, as he has been touted to be.
And Obama is wrong wanting to end the Bush tax cuts? Puh-lease. They should send all of us personal checks, too.
Hey -- I did figure out what selling short means. That's something, right?
Plus I watched BLINDSIDE while skimming the book -- how gripping Lewis' one narrative is compared to the other. But maybe that's just me. I just can't get excited reading about how Wall Street's CEO's have bankrupted us. Even if the book is about the oddballs who figured it all out in advance ...
I remembered the guys I worked with in 1980-81, and I hated them even more. But they don't care. They're very rich. And we taxpayers took care of that for them.
But I read this entire book and I didn't care about anyone in it, one way or the other. I think that means that Lewis is not the greatest nonfiction story teller of a generation, as he has been touted to be.
And Obama is wrong wanting to end the Bush tax cuts? Puh-lease. They should send all of us personal checks, too.
johnlambrechts's review against another edition
5.0
Allows a sneak peak into the institutional investors debt markets.
Something I always wondered about.
Something I always wondered about.
marcymurli's review against another edition
2.0
Although the book is well written, it's rather difficult to plod through. For one thing, none of the people Lewis profiles are remotely likable as characters; in fact they are literally the scum of the earth. But more importantly the complex factors that led to the subprime crash on Wall Street are not explained well enough. Finally, there are way too many f-bombs in this book, which makes it a difficult book to recommend to my students who are interested in economics.
sunset8305's review against another edition
5.0
A FANTASTIC audiobook that breaks down the 2008 financial crisis in layman’s terms… or close enough. I was still confused about the various financial instruments and terms being referenced, but the author makes clear that even the big banks had no clue. The movie is equally as good.