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astroprof's review against another edition
3.0
Informative, instructive, and infuriating (especially in the epilogue), it also feels thin in its analysis of the broader implications of the way that the big banks were allowed to rip-off their shareholders and hand off their bad bets to the American people.
fbroom's review against another edition
3.0
great book, difficult to read for someone with no financial background
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.
xcinnamonsugar's review against another edition
5.0
Michael Lewis has an impressively clear writing style and wonderfully creative analogies. He does a fantastic job of explaining products and trades in a way that I believe a non-finance
person can grasp, while adding a healthy dose of hilarious anecdotes. This book is about more than just the subprime mortgage crisis and truly worth a read. Looking forward to checking out more of the author's work (and rewatching the movie adaptation)!
person can grasp, while adding a healthy dose of hilarious anecdotes. This book is about more than just the subprime mortgage crisis and truly worth a read. Looking forward to checking out more of the author's work (and rewatching the movie adaptation)!
the_schaef's review against another edition
4.0
Great insight into the largest financial calamity since the Great Depression. Written in typical Michael Lewis manner that is entertaining and leaves you thinking, why didn't they (whoever they is) do something about it. It helps to have an understanding of asset backed securities or the players involved.