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Perhaps this should be required reading for all in politics who can affect monetary, banking, and investing policy. In today's economic climate this book remains a pertinent cautionary tale. We don't seem to learn much from our political approaches and faliures in monetary matters, perhaps because of greed and narrowness of view, and this book brings these historical matters to mind in relation to current problems. The author manages to keep the readers interest, and despite the known and obvious conclusions to the tale, he makes it almost like a mystery raging to a bad end. Excellent read, pertinent today, and unfortunately likely tomorrow.
Lewis has a knack for fully developing the characters that made Salomon Brothers and it is both enlightening and entertaining to revisit his life in the frenzied 1980s on Wall Street. In the 1980's, bonds were in their heyday, and consequently, investment houses dedicated a big part of their operations to the almighty bond. Michael Lewis' Liar's Poker is a revealing account of his days as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers, a bulge-bracket investment house. As hilarious as Liar's Poker is, it also, in some respects, is a bit of a sobering read, knowing now how much Wall Street has disintegrated since Lewis' time at Salomon Brothers. Enter Michael Lewis. Fresh out of the London School of Economics, he relies on -- at least partly, anyways -- some chance connections to land a job back on Wall Street. bought this book for 1 cent (plus $3.99 shipping, of course) and it remains one of my all-time favorite books. A must read for anyone who has any interest in business/finance or anyone who wants a closer look at what life was really like as a bond salesman in the 1980s.
A decent read about the happenings inside Salomon Brothers during the 1980s. The author's writing style makes the book very readable and is quite comical at times. It covers the birth of Mortgage backed securities and the junk bond market. A good intro into what the training class at Salomon was like back in the day and tales of various practical jokes/pranks that were apparently commonplace.A good weekend read if you are in the mood.
The testament to this book's greatness (and it's most ironic quality) is that traders for the past 25 years have likened themselves to the guys portrayed in this book. Instead of re-hashing why this book is awesome, I'd emphasize here that it's a great book for the economic layman to read today because it recounts the creation of the collateralized securities market in an entertaining and accurate way. If you want to know the origins of the current economic debacle (and why Lou Ranieri is oft mentioned as a culprit), this book is an ideal choice.
When it was written people thought it was devastatingly funny. The history of mortgaged backed securities is here is here is a nut shell. In December 2009 it is not funny. If you want to understand how Wall Street has driven the world over the edge read this book. The greed that runs Wall Street is here along with the mind set that drives it. I suggest you read this book as background before you get the next part in March 2010- The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
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